Contrast Paragraph: Quilting Techniques
Read the following paragraph carefully. Answer the questions that follow the paragraph by typing your responses in the text boxes. After you complete this exercise, click on Email to email your work to your instructor, or click on Print to print a copy of your work.

Quilting Techniques
Though the early Colonists taught quilting techniques to Native Americans, the Colonists' "crazy quilts" differ greatly from Native American quilts. Quilting for the Colonists was born out of necessity. As the Colonists' blankets and coverlets wore out, they patched their bedding with fabric remnants that they salvaged from worn-out clothing. As a result, the Colonists' quilts became random conglomerations of fabrics of varying colors, fabrics, and textures. Early crazy quilts show no signs of fancy quilting stitches or batting for added thickness. The traditional crazy quilts lack symmetrical designs or specific color schemes. The quilts were functional and not intended to be a form of art. Unlike the crazy quilts, Native American quilting was born out of the desire to express traditions through storytelling. Native American quilts depict tribal histories, pictorial records of people's lives and significant events, and reflections of visions and cultural beliefs. They show traditional motifs, colorful designs, detailed patterns, and fabrics selected specifically to enhance the design. Native American quilts show meticulous attention to the consistency between each quilting stitch. Though stitched by hand, each stitch penetrates the fabric and the batting equally. Native American quilting is an art form that represents the cooperative effort of many individuals and often several generations working together to finish the heirloom. Though both forms of quilting are different in origin, purpose, and design, each is a valued symbol of the past that is living in the present.

1. Is the topic sentence effective? Explain your answer.




2. In the topic sentence, which follows, what is Subject A, and what is Subject B?

Though the early Colonists taught quilting techniques to Native Americans, the Colonists' "crazy quilts" differ greatly from Native American quilts.




3. Are the subtopics and secondary details organized by using the point-by-point method or the block method? Explain your answer.




4. Create an outline for this paragraph. You will need to print a copy of the paragraph or scroll back up to the paragraph to find the subtopics. Your outline should identify each subtopic. The beginning of the outline is shown below.

Example:

1. Topic Sentence
   1. Colonists' quilts
      1. Subtopic 1: Purpose of the quilts
      2. Subtopic 2:

5. Does this paragraph have unity? Explain.




6. Does this paragraph have coherence? Explain.




7. Is the concluding sentence effective? Explain.