Body Paragraphs

1. Body Paragraphs Support and Expand your THESIS

2. Body Paragraphs • Contain topic sentences – sentences that introduce the paragraph and its connection to your thesis statement. • Provided support for your thesis – this can be in examples, quotes, statistics, etc. • Connect back, through elaboration, to the thesis statement and the introductory paragraph.

3. Essay Organization and flow… • Each body paragraph and its topic sentence refer directly back to the thesis statement. Introduction & Thesis Statement Body Paragraph 3 _____________ Body Paragraph 4 _____________ Body Paragraph 1 _____________ Body Paragraph 2 _____________

4. Body Paragraph Body Paragraphs: Connection and Conciseness • Within each of your body paragraphs, examples, evidence, etc. support the topic sentence and thus refers back to or connects to your essay thesis. NOTE: Each sentence in a body paragraph should support the topic of the paragraph and thus the thesis. Topic Sentence Elaborate on and explain support. Quote Story Statistic other

5. Body Paragraphs: FORM Most paragraphs contain between five to ten sentences. The first line of a paragraph is usually indented (begin a few spaces to the right of the margin) to show that there is a new paragraph. Begin with a single tab or five spaces (indent), before you begin the paragraph.

6. Key Features of the body paragraph • Topic sentence • Supporting sentences • Elaborating or Explanatory sentences • Concluding or transition sentence

7. Topic Sentences • This sentence contain the controlling and connecting elements of the body paragraph. • It tells the reader what the paragraph will be about and connects back to the thesis statement from the introductory paragraph.

8. Topic Sentence Supporting Sentences Elaborating or Explanatory Sentences Concluding sentence Example Body Paragraph Family vacations can bring people closer together. I remember a time when my sister and I were not getting along. When we first left on family vacation, she and I hardly spoke, but being forced together made us have to interact. Positive situations like this – forced or otherwise – can create closer bonds, important to forging good relationships. According to Dr. John Smith PhD., “people who are open to counseling or group therapy have stronger, healthier relationships” (89). Communication in a variety of forms can improve personal interaction. This demonstrates one of the countless ways to open up vital avenues to quality communication. Family vacations can bring people closer together. I remember a time when my sister and I were not getting along. When we first left on family vacation, she and I hardly spoke, but being forced together made us have to interact. Positive situations like this – forced or otherwise – can create closer bonds, important to forging good relationships. According to Dr. John Smith PhD., “people who are open to counseling or group therapy have stronger, healthier relationships” (89). Communication in a variety of forms can improve personal interaction. This demonstrates one of the countless ways to open up vital avenues to quality communication. Family vacations can bring people closer together. I remember a time when my sister and I were not getting along. When we first left on family vacation, she and I hardly spoke, but being forced together made us have to interact. Positive situations like this – forced or otherwise – can create closer bonds, important to forging good relationships. According to Dr. John Smith PhD., “people who are open to counseling or group therapy have stronger, healthier relationships” (89). Communication in a variety of forms can improve personal interaction. This demonstrates one of the countless ways to open up vital avenues to quality communication.

9. Supporting Sentences • These sentence are used by the author to provide support to the paragraph and the essay thesis. • They can be quotes from researched sources, personal anecdotes, statistics, stories or examples. • NOTE: These must be in complete sentences or woven into complete sentences.

10. Explanatory or Elaborating Sentences • Every paragraph has sentences that relate to the ideas in the topic sentence. These sentences are called supporting sentences. • These are the sentences in which the author explains or elaborates on the connections between the supporting sentences and the overall topic.

11. Concluding sentence • It is sometimes helpful to have a concluding expression in your last sentence to signal the end of your paragraph. • Some common expressions used in concluding sentences are listed below. • It is apparent … • This is just one … • Consequently, • This demonstrates that …

12. Topic sentence First of all, I believe that if all public school children were required to wear uniforms, this would make life much simpler for principals, parents and the students. School administrators would not have to make so many rules about student dress. They would simply monitor that each student wear the required uniform. They would not need to check whether some pants are too baggy or some shirts to long or oversized or whether the shirts have inappropriate art work or phases. This would free up the administrator to do other more important things. In addition, parents would not be burdened by the endless search for name brand clothing. The decisions would be minimal and made quickly. Moreover, students lives would also be simpler in that they would not have to waste so much time deciding what to wear. They would just wear what was required and get on and do more important things. Therefore, if this uniform rule were adopted, everyone involved would have a simpler and more productive life. Example one Example two Example three Closing remarks

13. Vehicle telephones should not be made illegal because they are very convenient. We use vehicle telephones for emergency situations. For example, in case of an automobile accident, we use vehicle phone to call the police department, an emergency ambulance or friends who can help. Another example pertains to a personal experience. Last week I was driving around town, running errands when the nurse in my son’s school called me and informed me about my son’s fever. I was able to pick up my son and rush him to the doctor without delay. This proves that vehicle telephones are convenient for emergency situations.