Paragraph writing makes a scribbler feel like a writer. Even though
the hardest part of writing is the preparation, you'll never convince
your younger students that they are doing real writing until they
start writing paragraphs.
Start by teaching students how to write body paragraphs.
They are used more frequently than the other types. Also, they canand
frequently do stand on their own as miniature essays.
Save teaching about introductions and conclusions until after students
master the art of body-paragraph writing.
The body paragraph is writing's heart
When writers plan an essay modeled on the thesis + support
(or persuasive essay) pattern, what Ms. Inky Fingers calls
writing an outline
they concern themselves only with the middle or body section
of the paper.
Together those body paragraphs develop the thesis
statement that is the main idea of the entire paper. The introduction
and conclusion are merely
ornaments that help focus attention on that thesis.
Each body paragraph has a topic
sentence that sums up its main idea in much the same way the
thesis sentence sums up the central idea of the entire essay.
Click here for more about
body paragraph structure, including diagrams.
If you use just topic, some students will think you mean
the general subject about which they must write a thesis statement.
Writers develop their topic sentences by supplying
-
Evidence,
-
Specific detail,
-
Logical reasoning.
Efficient writers plan their support in advance,
noting it in the outline or template
they use to organize their material.
Body paragraph writing requires using linking devices and
transitions to make the separate sentences mesh into an entire
unit.
Linking devices are tricks
like repeating key words, using synonyms for those
terms, and including unambiguous pronoun references. Such
links help writers convey their ideas clearly.
Transitions are words
or phrases that indicate changes in the direction of thought.
In combination, linking devices and transitions make a piece of
writing cohere.
Students first need a thesis
statement, topic sentences
for their body paragraphs, and supporting
evidence for the topic sentences. They develop all that material
at the planning stage before they get to composition.
Introduction paragraph
The job of the introduction is to get the readers attention
and direct it toward the thesis.
To do that well, writers have to know what will be in their body
paragraphs so they don't duplicate that content in their introductions.
Learn more about introductions
and get help teaching introduction
paragraph writing elsewhere on this site.
Conclusion paragraph
The conclusion paragraph
is a little more elegant than writing the end, but
it amounts to the same thing, which is fortunate: teaching students
how to write a conclusion
paragraph is nearly impossible.
Published 13-Feb-2008; Updated: 15-Jun-2010