Writing the Body Paragraph
The evidence or support for the thesis statement comes in the body paragraphs. The essay map sets up the topics covered in the body paragraphs, and the body paragraphs are where you convince your audience that the thesis is valid. There are a variety of ways to organize a body paragraph; however, the typical academic essay is most effective if it follows the following pattern:
1) Topic Sentence - This topic sentence serves as a control rod for the paragraph. You must cover the material presented by your topic sentence, but you may not cover material that is not listed in your topic sentence. Additionally, your topic sentence should include a key word or phrase from the corresponding idea in your plan of development. Do not use an implied topic sentence. Effective academic essays typically have the topic sentences at the beginning of the body paragraph.
2) Subtopic #1 supports the topic sentence 3) supporting detail with specific examples 4) supporting detail with specific examples 5) Subtopic #2 supports the topic sentence 6) supporting detail with specific examples 7) supporting detail with specific examples 8) Subtopic #3 supports the topic sentence 9) supporting detail with specific examples 10) supporting detail with specific examples 11) Concluding Sentence - The concluding sentence should sum up the content of the body paragraph and bridge one body paragraph to the next. **Topic sentences can be used to bridge the two paragraphs by including transitions. |
Note: Each point in the essay map should have its own body paragraph. Therefore, if there are three points in the essay map, there will be three body paragraphs. If there are two points, then there are two body paragraphs, and so forth. This also means that paragraphs can get rather long. If the paragraphs are uncomfortably long, then you can break them up, but you must use transitions and create another topic sentence that shows the reader that the point is still continuing. As essays get more complicated, this pattern can be altered. Keep in mind that you should learn the rules before you learn how to break them.
Building a Strong Paragraph (Video)
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