Formal Literary Paragraph

1. Formal Literary Paragraph How to write one – structure, format, language

2. What does it mean by formal? • Language – word choice and mechanics are important • No personal pronouns – I, we, us you are not used • No contractions – can’t becomes can not, it’s becomes it is • Avoid slang and cliches – kids is slang, therefore use children • You take the attitude you are talking with someone important and not your friends

3. Word Choice • Verb tense (the action of doing something) is something that is happening now – every time the book is opened, it is alive now • Keep verb tense in the present tense – i.e. He says, NOT he said

4. Structure • Topic sentence • Point • Context and proof • Explanation • Concluding sentence

5. Closer look at structure - topic • Topic sentence • When writing only one paragraph introduce author, title of play (in italics), points to be examined • in a complete essay, the topic sentence will introduce the ideas/points to be discussed in the paragraph • A topic is the material that is under examination in the written work

6. Structure - point • Point – explains the what • A finer look at where in the work studied that the topic is examined • Consider using a variety of areas in the text from beginning to end to support the particular topic • Following the point, it is supported and linked further to a specific example • Marked under a knowledge category

7. Structure – context/proof • Context – giving the reader an idea what is going on in the text when the proof is provided • Proof – a direct example quoted from the text to provide evidence for your point • Citation of quote in brackets behind quotation mark but before period • author’s name the first time you refer to the work and number of page • in a book (Golding 55) • In Shakespeare act, scene, line (Shakespeare 1.3.13-15) • Context/proof is one sentence linked together with appropriate punctuation – a comma in instances where “he says,” or a semi colon when the pause is longer • Marked as both knowledge (understands what is going on), and thinking (chooses the most appropriate quote to support point) • Explains the where and when

8. Structure - explanation • Explanation – also known as link or analysis • Explain how and why the proof supports the point • Links material that happened earlier in the play or what will happen • Offers insight to character or plot development • 1 -2 sentences in length • Be concise and succinct and thoughtful • Marked under a thinking category

9. Concluding sentence • Examining the many units of point/proof/explanation, wrap up what you have written in these 9-12 sentences and link it back to the topic sentence in one sentence • Vary word choice (use thesaurus) and sentence structure

10. Typical paragraph • Topic sentence • Point #1 • Context/proof #1 • Explanation #1 • Transition word + Point #2 • Context/proof #2 • Explanation#2 • Transition word + Point #3 • Context/proof #3 • Explanation #3 • Concluding sentence

11. Length • More than the amount of words, the proper structure will determine length • Topic sentence – 1 sentence • Point – 1 sentence • Context and proof – “1 sentence” – proof will vary in length, so technically your proof can be more than one sentence from the text, but it is considered as a unit of one sentence • Explanation – 1-2 sentences • Concluding sentence – 1 sentence • A paragraph of three p.p.e. will have 11-14 sentences • Approximately ¾ - 1 page typed, double-spaced, 12 font is the norm

12. Order of p.p.e. • Within a body, 90% of the time the proof will be put in order of appearance in the text • Act 1 comes before act 3 then act 5, so the proof will shown accordingly as point/proof 1, then point/proof 2, etc. • Though not typical, you can have point/proof/proof/explanation – two proofs can be used to explain one point, and explained together – these are linked together by transition words like similarly, as well as, later

13. Format quoting one person dialogue • When only one person is quoted use the following format • When Viola discovers a love triangle has formed, she says, “time, thou must untangle this, not I:/it is too hard a knot for me t’untie” (Shakespeare 2.2.39-40). • Note that the comma comes before the opening quotation marks, there is a back slash to indicate a line break in Shakespeare, and the period to end the sentence comes after the citation

14. Format quoting multi dialogue pieces

15. Transitions • Using transitional words and phraseshelps papers read more smoothly, and at the same time allows the reader to flow more smoothly from one point to the next. • Transitions enhance logical organization and understandabilityand improve the connections between thoughts. They indicate relations,whether within a sentence, paragraph, or paper. • This list illustrates categories of "relationships" between ideas,followed by words and phrases that can make the connections.

16. Examples of transitional words • furthermore • therefore • subsequently • Similarly • Conversely • Likewise • As a result of • Moreover • For instance • Finally • Otherwise • consequently