Organization, Transitions,and Lead-ins, Oh My!

1. Organization, Transitions,and Lead-ins, Oh My! Preparing for your paper

2. Organizing your Paper • First paragraph = opening paragraph • Hook • Title, Author, Genre (TAG) • Brief overview of the portion of the story that is relevant to your topic • Thesis Statement

3. Body Paragraphs • Each paragraph should start with an arguable topic sentence • YES: Janie’s first husband did not show her the love she needed. • NO: Janie’s first husband was a farmer. • Each paragraph should either end or begin with a transitional word or phrase • Because, For Example, Therefore

4. Concluding Paragraph • Echo your thesis without repeating words verbatim. • Then, broaden from the thesis to answer the “so what?” question for your reader. • Reflect on how your topic relates to the book as a whole, give your opinion of the novel’s significance (without saying “I”), or connect back to your creative opening.

5. Punctuation Rules for Transitions • Transitional Words and Phrases: • Put a comma after these if they are at the beginning of a sentence. example: I like to travel. Specifically, I enjoy places with old cathedrals. • Use a semicolon to connect the two sentences. example: I like to travel; specifically, I enjoy places with old cathedrals. • Use a comma before and after the transitional word/phrase in the middle of a clause. example: I like to travel, and, specifically, I enjoy places with old cathedrals.

6. What is a Lead-in? • A lead-in is word(s) that introduce your quotations • There are 3 different type of lead-ins • You MUST use at least 2 types of these • Lead-ins can also introduce your paraphrasing • You CANNOT just insert your quotations, you need to connect your quotation to what you are saying, a lead-in does this

7. Somebody said lead-in • This type of lead in is most frequently used • This is when you use the authors name to introduce the quote • Example: Jane M. Agee comments, “Many students who would not have attempted college even seven years ago are not coming into universities through junior colleges” (10).

8. Blended lead-in • This type of lead-in provides flexibility to the writer • The writer chooses the part of the quote necessary for his paper and blends it smoothly into the rest of the sentence • Example: State universities are serving a broader student population than ever before by admitting students from junior colleges and through “special remedial programs where students who do not meet entrance requirements are admitted on probation” (Agee 10).

9. Sentence lead-in • This is an effective lead-in where the sentence prior to the quote leads directly to the following sentence • Example: Agee insists that English instruction on the college level will not be improved until educations examine the situation realistically: “Public school teachers, professors of English Education, students, and state leaders need to sit down together and evaluate the current realities before any real progress can be made” (10).

10. Something to remember … • Do not use the author’s name as a possessive and then make reference with a personal pronoun • NOT THIS: In Steinbeck’s novel, he says, “There grew up governments in the world, with leaders, with elders” (266). • BUT THIS: In the Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck comments, “There grew up governments in the world, with leaders, with elders” (266).