Body of the Essay

                  Body of an Essay

1) Usually the first sentence of each paragraph will state the main idea stated in each part of the thesis. This statement controls the entire paragraph and tells the reader what the paragraph is about. This should help the writer focus on the main idea and not stray from it.

2) The supporting detail sentences give information that SUPPORTS the main idea that was stated in the topic sentence. At least three details - preferably more - are needed to provide strong support for the main idea. Following are ways that you can elaborate:

         Personal story
         Rhetorical question
         Statistics
         Direct quotes
         Examples
         Definitions
         Descriptions

3) SENTENCES THAT DO NOT SUPPORT THE TOPIC SENTENCE DESTROY THE UNITY OF THE PARAGRAPH. (Sorry for shouting, but this is REALLY important!)

4) A smooth transition is accomplished when you have an ending sentence which reflects what you have just discussed in the paragraph and signals a change into the next paragraph.

Teacher Websites © 2009 SchoolWorld