REASON PARAGRAPH

Reason paragraph is based on defining the

causes of things. In other words, a reason
paragraph states why an event or something
happens. It generally answers the question
WHY?. For example, when you are faced with
a stressful situation, you will feel sad or
unhappy, and because of this your family or
friends will ask you the question ‘Why are you
sad/unhappy?’. The answer you provide for
this question is a basic guideline to how you
write a Reason Paragraph.

A: Oh my, you look unhappy? Why are you like this?

B: I got a D from my exam and I am going to fail my class which
means I can’t graduate this year. If I can’t graduate, I will lose
my scholarship. These are my reasons to be so unhappy.
A: Oh, that is unfortunate, you are right to be unhappy.

In normal life, conversation rarely goes this organized or well thought out, but
for us this is just a guideline to understand how to write a reason paragraph.
Reason paragraphs tell us why something is so. Why is traffic so bad in Ankara?
Why are coral reefs becoming extinct? All in all, when you answer such
questions, you are organizing a reason paragraph.

1
How to Write a Reason Paragraph-Brief Introduction
First, you must brainstorm or think about what the causes/reasons are for the
topic given.
❖Title
❖A hook statement (If you find it necessary)
Hook sentences usually introduce the topic and your controlling idea to the
reader. The reader becomes aware of what you are going to write about and it
makes the paragraph more interesting.
❖Topic sentence (indicates reasons)
❖Supporting sentences
This section consists of at least 6 to 9 sentences depending on the number of
reasons and their supporting explanations/ definitions or examples you decide
to provide.
❖ Reason 1
⮚ explanation/ definition
▪ examples
❖ Reason 2
⮚ explanation/ definition
▪ examples
❖ Reason 3
⮚ explanation/ definition
▪ examples
❖ Concluding sentence
⮚ Restate the thesis statement.
⮚ Remind the reader of the main points.

2
A Sample Reason Paragraph

Travelling Abroad

We all love to travel and it makes life more fun and bearable. You can travel
to places in your own country but if you have more time and economy you can
choose to travel to other countries. Travelling abroad is essential for several
reasons. First of all, you can learn new things. When you travel to other
countries you see different things from your own lifestyle and this helps you to
learn different things. For example, you can try new food or see a historical
place and learn its history. People sometimes travel just to try and learn about
different cuisines. Second, travelling is a pleasant activity. Our daily lives
become static and boring sometimes. When you travel internationally, you can
do many amazing things such as participating in a local festival or taking a
safari tour. Finally, you get to meet new people and make friends. Travelling is
a good way to make new acquaintances. My best friend met her husband on
her vacation to Italy, and she got married and moved there. For these reasons,
learning new things, making life more interesting and making new friends,
travelling abroad is a must for all human beings. (194 words)

3
 ANALYSIS OF THE SAMPLE PARAGRAPH
Travelling Abroad (suitable title for your topic)
o We all love to travel and it makes life more fun and bearable. You can travel to
places in your own country but if you have more time and economy you can
choose to travel to other countries. (Hook statements)
o Travelling abroad is essential for several reasons. (Topic sentence)
Topic Controlling Idea
First of all, you can learn new things. (Reason 1)
✔ When you travel to other countries you see different things from your own
lifestyle and this helps you to learn different things. People sometimes travel
just to learn about different cuisines. (explanation/ definition for Reason 1)
✔ For example, you can learn new food or see a historical place and learn its
history (example)
Second, travelling is a pleasant activity. (Reason 2)
✔ Our daily lives become static and boring sometimes. (explanation/ definition)
✔ When you travel internationally, you can do many amazing things such as
participating in a local festival or taking a safari tour.(example)
Finally, you get to meet new people and make friends. (Reason 3)
✔ Travelling is a good way to make new acquaintances. (explanation/ definition)
✔ My best friend met her husband on her vacation to Italy and she got married
and moved there. (example)
For these reasons, learning new things, making life more interesting and making
new friends, travelling abroad is a must for all human beings. (Concluding
sentence)

4
How to Start Writing a Reason Paragraph
To start your paragraph, you can follow the easy steps below. It will help you
save time and write a properly sequenced paragraph.
1. Decide on your topic.
2. Brainstorm ideas
● Make a list of your reasons
● Try to find details for your reasons
3. Make a list of transitions
4. Begin with an engaging hook statement
5. Write a suitable topic sentence with a controlling idea
6. Start writing
7. After you finish writing your paragraph, edit
8. After you are done with your editing, revise
9. Try to avoid word repetition

Deciding on the Topic

Topic is a very important and crucial part of your paragraph. In exams, you are
usually given a statement or a question, and you are expected to write an answer
to the command. However, in real life, this is not so. You can either write on a
very general topic or a very specific one.
General Topic Specific Topic
Economics Taxes
Health Cancer
Traffic Parking Tickets

5
 Organizing the ideas that you have brainstormed
When you are writing you always have to provide reasons to support your
ideas, and give specific details, explanations, or descriptions and provide
examples. Use the ideas that you have brainstormed and organize them.
Bring the related pieces together to make a meaningful flow in any form of
outlining.
Writing the Topic Sentence and the Hook
🙫 If you don’t want to start your paragraph with the topic sentence you can
write a hook - a sentence that will catch the reader’s attention. Although the
hook comes before the topic sentence, you may want to write it while you are
starting your process paragraph.

*When you are writing your topic sentence you can write from the first
person perspective, other people’s experiences, or just about the activity itself.

e.g. a) I believe obeying traffic rules is vital for several reasons.

b) People believe obeying traffic rules is vital for several reasons.
c) Traffic rules are vital for several reasons.

*Topic sentence = Topic + Controlling Idea (Limiting statement)

Wearing masks outside has become critical for three main reasons.

Never forget, whatever type of paragraph writing you are expected to do, you
must always write a topic sentence which is CLEAR, ABOUT THE TOPIC
GIVEN, and most importantly with a CONTROLLING IDEA.

6
The controlling idea is your best friend in writing. It helps you set boundaries
and it limits the things you can write about, which in writing is a good thing.

Ex 1. Choose the best topic sentence for the given paragraphs.

1) ______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________ .
First of all, we need money to repair old roads and build new roads. We also
need more to pay teachers’ salaries and to pay for services such as trash
collection. Finally, more tax money is needed to give financial help to the poor
citizens of the city. It is clear that the city will have serious problems if taxes are
not raised soon.
a) There are several reasons why we should raise city taxes.
b) There are several reasons city taxes are too high.
c) There are several reasons why we have city taxes.

2) ______________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________ .
First of all, social life in big cities is active. For example, I can communicate
with different people and different cultures. Second, big cities have a lot of
facilities which make life easier. For instance, it is easy to find hospitals, go to
universities, schools and government offices. Third, living in big cities is very
helpful and useful especially in finding jobs. This is because there are a lot of
companies that require employees. To conclude, living in big cities is beneficial
in having a perfect social life, enjoying good facilities, and finding good jobs.
a) I prefer to live in big cities for three reasons.
b) Living in big cities is preferable for children for three reasons.
c) I prefer to live in big cities for its social life.

7
 Ex 2. Write a hook and a topic sentence for each paragraph, and underline
the supporting points. After you underline the supporting points, write
explanations/ definitions and examples.

1) _____________________________________________________________
Vacations are crucial for me to take a break from my responsibilities.

_____________________________________________________________
From my point of view, best place for vacation is Miami for 2 reasons. .
Firstly,Miami is always sunny and warm. The beaches are gorgeous, with soft white
finally,
sand and beautiful water. There are many fine restaurants in the Miami area, and
most of the hotels offer terrific entertainment nightly. It’s no wonder that Miami
is my first choice for a vacation destination. In conclusion

2) ______________________________________________________________
It is very important to be happy and comfortable when you are working. Luckily, I have a desirable job to

_____________________________________________________________
work for 4 reasons. .
First and most importantly, the work is very motivating. In addition, my boss is
very nice. I have also made many new friends at my job. Last, but not least, the
salary is fantastic. In conclusion, these reasons make my workplace a desirable
place to be.

Supporting Reasons
Use your outline to write the supporting reasons. In your paragraph you should
include at least two or three reasons to support your topic sentence.
Examine the topic sentence and the supporting reasons taken from an outline.
How are they related to the topic and each other?

8
 Children like to play in the park for three reasons.
Supporting Reason 1: Move freely
Supporting Reason 2: Play with their friends
Supporting Reason 3: Make a lot of noise

Your supporting reasons must be connected with your topic sentence logically
and as this is a reason paragraph, must answer the question WHY? If it doesn’t,
then there will be problems within your paragraph.
Examine the outline below and discuss whether a paragraph based on it would
have logically connected ideas.

Air pollution is a big problem in cities for several reasons.

Supporting Reason 1: Health
★ Air pollution affects the health of all individuals in a society.
★ Air pollution affected my grandfather’s health.

Supporting Reason 2: Eco-Health

★ The environment is severely damaged by the outcomes of air
pollution.
★ The environment is getting polluted more and more every
year.
Supporting Reason 3: Economy
★ Air pollution is a big burden on the economy as it takes big
budgets to overcome its hazardous effects.
★ Buying an electrical car to prevent air pollution was a big
burden on my economy.

9
Exercise 3. Each topic is followed by supporting reasons. Not all support the
topic sentence. Identify the supporting reasons by writing SR on the lines
provided.
1. Many people enjoy playing video games for several reasons.
_______ a. Some video games allow players to pretend to be fantasy
characters.
_______ b. Games and game consoles are expensive.
_______ c. People can play with their friends and share information about
winning strategies.
2. Table tennis or ping pong is a good sport.
_______ a. Table tennis is not hard to learn. Beginners can play right
away and have fun.
_______ b. Advanced players find tennis challenging. They can learn
special ways to hit the ball, such as spins or chops.
_______ c. A decent paddle costs a lot of money.

Writing a Concluding Sentence

1. Use your topic sentence as a guide. Your conclusion can begin with
re-writing or paraphrasing your topic sentence.
2. Summarize the main ideas. Effective conclusions will restate the most
relevant information to sum up the main point of the paragraph. It’s smart to
include a brief summary of all your supporting reasons. Avoid using your
concluding sentence to introduce new information, future research, or new
ideas because it can confuse the reader.

10
3. Include a closing sentence which leaves the reader with a strong impression
of the significance of your reasons. Try to create a powerful, lasting image in
the reader’s mind. This last sentence or your concluding sentences in
general, should help the reader say I totally agree with the writer’s reasons to
say so.

Ex 4. Write a hook and a concluding sentence for each paragraph and

underline the supporting points. After you underline the supporting points,
write explanations/ definitions and examples.

Living in an old apartment makes my life so hard.

1) There are many reasons I hate my apartment. The plumbing doesn’t work
properly and the landlord refuses to fix it. I also have noisy neighbours who
keep me up all night. Furthermore, there are so many bugs in my apartment that
I could start an insect collection.
________________________________________________________________
In conclusion i need to change my apartment with a new one.

________________________________________________________________.

For a long and healthy life, people should be careful on their diets.
2) There are several reasons why vegetables and fruits are an important part of a
healthy diet. First, fruits and vegetables are packed with the vitamins and
minerals you need to keep your body functioning smoothly. In addition, they
give you the carbohydrates you need for energy. Fruits and vegetables have lots
of fibre to help your digestive system work properly. Finally, many scientists
believe that the nutrients in fruits and vegetables can help fight diseases.
________________________________________________________________
To conclude, it is very important to have a healthy diet to have an healthy life.

________________________________________________________________.

11
Ex 5. Write a concluding sentence for each given paragraph.
1) There are many reasons why I like wearing a uniform to school. First of all, it
saves time. I don’t have to spend time picking out my clothes every morning.
Wearing a uniform also saves money. It’s cheaper to purchase a new uniform
than to go out and buy lots of school clothes. In addition, I don’t have the
pressure of keeping up with the latest styles. Most importantly, wearing a school
uniform gives me a sense that I belong. I really think that it adds to the feeling of
school spirit and community. ______________________________________
To conclude it makes my life easier to wear uniforms.

_______________________________________________________________ .
2) There are many reasons why I am against wearing a school uniform. For one
thing, I don’t like the style of the uniform. The navy blazer and plaid skirt are
too conservative for me. Secondly, the uniform isn’t comfortable. I prefer to
wear baggy pants and a sweater instead of a skirt and a jacket. Finally, I want the
freedom to express my individuality through my style of dressing. ______
In conclusion I don't want to wear uniforms anymore.
_______________________________________________________________ .

3) In the 21th century people love to use credit cards. Credit cards have a lot of
advantages for users and there are three main reasons people love to use them.
First of all, credit cards are convenient because you don’t have to carry a lot of
cash around. You can buy the products and services you need even if you do not
have cash in your pocket. In addition, credit cards are very helpful in
emergencies. Finally, you can become a better money manager as you learn to
use credit cards responsibly. _________________________________________
To conclude even if credit cards have some good ways to use

you still should be careful while using them.

________________________________________________________________.

12
 Using Transitions
Transitions are words or phrases that help your sentences flow smoothly and enable
your readers to follow your ideas easily. In addition to signalling order to your
reader, transitional words can also link the sentences within a paragraph. By linking
one sentence to another, they make the general statements more interesting.

Transitional Signals to Transitional Signals to Transitional Signals to

Introduce Reasons Introduce Examples Introduce Conclusion
Used with a comma. At the beginning of a ✔ …for these reasons..
✔ To begin with, sentence: ✔ For these reasons,
✔ First, ✔ For example, ✔ Because of … and …
✔ Firstly, ✔ For instance, ✔ Indeed
✔ First of all, ✔ To sum up
✔ Second, In the middle of a ✔ In conclusion,
✔ Secondly, sentence: ✔ To conclude,
✔ Second of all, ✔ ….. , such as ……… ✔ As a result
✔ Third, ✔ ……….. , for ✔ consequently
✔ Finally, example, …… ✔ accordingly
✔ Lastly and most ✔ ……….. , for instance, ✔ in short
importantly, …… ✔ in summary
Used without comma (No comma after such as) ✔ Due to …..
✔ The first reason is that…. ✔ Finally,
✔ The second reason is because/since/as ✔ Therefore,
that.. result from ✔ thus,
✔ Following….
✔ Most important
✔ Most important of all

13
Ex 6. Write the suitable transition in the blanks. There are more than one
alternative.
A. Daily exercise can be helpful for four major reasons. 1) _____________ reason
people should exercise daily is to keep their hearts strong. When exercising, your
heart pumps more blood. 2) _____________ is that exercise can build and firm
muscles. That way they are ready for any type of use. 3) _____________, exercise
can help with weight control; people can lose weight and stay slim if they exercise
every day. Even exercising a few days a week can help control weight.
4) ____________, people who exercise outdoors get the calming benefits of being in
nature, and they experience all four seasons. 5) _____________, daily exercise
creates a healthier, stronger, slimmer, and happier body.

B. I personally believe that libraries are among humanity’s most important

institutions for several reasons.1) _____________, most of humanity’s collective
knowledge is stored in libraries. 2) _____________, libraries protect and preserve
this knowledge. They also classify or group the materials into logical and easily
available divisions. 3) _____________, libraries make the materials available to
everyone and even provide librarians to help us find what we need.
4) _____________, libraries are our link to the past and our gift to the future.
5) _____________, libraries are important institutions for humanity.

14
Ex 7. Look at the given paragraph below and edit and revise it, with the
help of the things you have learned.
There are three main reasons for traffic accidents to happen. Traffic accidents
are caused by careless drivers. Some drivers ignore the traffic rules such as
traffic lights and other warning signals. They resist wearing seat belts. Some
drivers drink alcohol while or before driving. Reason two is weather
conditions. Drivers tend to lose the control of the car on icy, wet, or slippery
roads and this gives rise to traffic accidents. Too many cars also lead to traffic
accidents. When there is traffic, some drivers tend to become nervous, and
they become more susceptible to making errors. their mistakes cause traffic
accidents to happen. Careless drivers, weather conditions, and too many cars
cause traffic accidents. Drivers should take all these into consideration if they
do not want to have an accident.

Revised and Edited Version:

_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

15
Ex 8. This paragraph is an example of a reason paragraph, but it doesn’t
have enough supporting explanation/definition or examples. Rewrite the
paragraph, adding supporting details to make it a complete one.

If you suffer from shyness, you are not alone, for shyness is a universal
phenomenon. According to recent research, close to 80 percent of people report
having felt shy at some point in their lives. As shyness is prevalent in the world,
it is not surprising that many social scientists are learning more about its
reasons. They state that there are mainly three reasons for it. First, recent
research reveals that some individuals are genetically predisposed to shyness.
Second reason is about the family and culture where people grow up. Third,
technology may play a role for people's shyness as well. To sum up, shyness has
genetic, environmental, and technology-related reasons. It appears that most
people have experienced shyness at some time in their lives and it is an
interesting research topic for researchers.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

16
Homework
Choose one of the topics below and write a
paragraph with at least two or three reasons.
a) What are the reasons for water shortage/ Why has
water become so insufficient?
b) What are the reasons for cheating in exams?
Why do some students cheat in exams?
c) What are the reasons that lead young people to
start smoking? / Why do young people smoke?

Assistance ☺
Water Shortage
•Climate changes
•Unplanned and excessive consumption by the industry
•Inadequate water policies
•People wasting water
Cheating in Exams
•Parental pressure
•Studying requires time and effort, but cheating does not
•Necessity for high grades to enter a good university
•Peer influence
•To avoid embarrassment in case of a low grade
Smoking at a Young Age
•To appear older and more grown up
•Peer influence / Curiosity
•Environmental factors (parents/other people smoking)
•As an act of rebellion (against their parents or teachers, etc.)

17
References

Fitzpatrick, M. (2011). Engaging writing 1. Pearson Longman.

https://studylib.net/doc/6719582/exercises-on-paragraph-writing-a
https://studylib.net/doc/8142566/tr
Oshima, A. & Hogue, A. (2006). Writing Academic English (4th ed.). Pearson
Longman.

18