ESL Blogs

Welcome to this month's writing challenge! Anyone can join. You don't even have to be a member of MyEC. You just need a blog! 

This month we are going to review the importance of paragraphs. A paragraph is a single block of text. It typically focuses on one main idea. A good paragraph size for the web is 3-5 lines.  

Paragraphs are important to readers. They help readers follow a piece of text more easily. It is difficult to read a large amount of text that doesn't contain paragraphs. If your readers are English learners, they will be very thankful for your paragraphs.

Paragraphs aren't just for essays. You should use paragraphs when writing letters (e.g. email), stories,  and blog posts. Blog posts don't have to be long. They can be written in one or two paragraphs. Paragraphs (and even subtitles) are even more important in longer blog posts. You want your reader to read to the end, don't you? 

You don't have to indent your paragraph, but you should add a space after a paragraph. Spaces help readers stay focused. Poems and song lyrics have unit breaks called stanzas or verses. 

Now that we've reviewed some important things about paragraphs, let's get writing!

Your Task

1) Start a new blog post. Use the title: Writing Challenge: Pretty Paragraphs

2) Choose something in this world that you think is "pretty". The choice is entirely yours!

3) Write a blog post about this pretty thing (or person). Use 3-5 paragraphs. Your post doesn't have to be in an essay format with an introduction and conclusion. The important thing is readability. 

4) Share a link to your "pretty post" in the comments below. Be sure to check out other members' posts, too. 

My Example

Pretty Petunias

This year I planted petunias in my garden. I noticed last year that petunias are quite hardy. They bloom for most of the spring and summer, and they seem to grow in sun or shade. According to the Internet, petunias need about five hours of sun every day. I don't think my petunias get that much sun. 

The petunias I chose this year were white and purple. I have a white and yellow flower theme in my front yard, and a white and purple theme in my backyard. The white petunia in my window box planter has a single pink flower on it! I have no idea how that happened. 

My garden is prettier than usual because we had so much rain this spring. The petunias always look a little soggy after a rainstorm, but they bounce back quickly. The ones that are in hanging baskets are the happiest. 

There was a creature in my garden that was trying to kill my petunias last week. I never saw what it was. I sprinkled some hot chili flakes in with my petunias and haven't had a problem since. 

I think petunias are pretty, but I don't like their name. The word "petunia" reminds me of a pig. I think there was a pig named Petunia in the Looney Tunes cartoons. My mom used to make up names for flowers. She called bleeding hearts "droopin' lovers". Maybe I should think of a new name for my petunias.