Body Paragraphs

Writing Body Paragraphs

LET'S REVIEW​

Multiple Choice

What is a thesis statement?

• It is a one-sentence explanation of the entire piece of writing, which gives focus to the essay.

• It is a two-sentence explanation of the entire piece of writing, which gives focus to the first and last paragraphs only.

• It is a one-sentence explanation of the entire piece of writing, but only gives focus to the conclusion paragraph.

• It is the entire opening paragraph of the essay, including the grabber, details and last sentence.

Multiple Choice

Where does your thesis statement need to appear in your essay?

• At the beginning of your introduction

• In your body paragraphs

• At the end of your introduction

• At the end of your entire essay

Multiple Choice

The thesis statement lists the reasons that I am going discuss in each of my body paragraphs.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is the strongest thesis statement?

• Friendship is cool.

• It is important to have a good friend because they will help you when needed, give good advice, and listen.

• Friends are the most important people in your life.

• Having friends is important.

Multiple Choice

In an argumentative essay, the thesis statement is called the

• Claim Statement

• Thesis Statement

• Topic Sentence

• Hook

​What is an argumentative essay?

​

An essay that uses evidence and facts to support the claim it's making. Its purpose is to persuade the reader to agree with the argument being made.

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​Let's Talk About the Body Paragraphs

​What does a body paragraph do?

• ​It is where you write about the reasons to support your claim

• ​It is where you back up what you are saying

• ​​There are 3 body paragraphs in a 5 paragraph essay.

• ​Each reason from your thesis becomes the topic of a body paragraph.

Multiple Choice

How many body paragraphs do you need in a 5 paragraph essay?

• 5

• 2

• 3

• 1

​Your body paragraph must have:

• ​A clear topic sentence (RESTATE & ANSWER)

• Specific evidence or supporting detail (CITE)

• ​Examples, explanation, and elaboration (EXPLAIN)

• ​A concluding sentence that ties the evidence or details back to the main point and brings the paragraph to a close (SUM IT UP)

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• ​Do NOT use personal pronouns like I, we, you, our, my, etc.

• ​Use transitions between sentences and paragraphs

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​Topic Sentence

• ​A topic sentence generally appears in the 1st sentence of the body paragraph and controls the paragraph. This should include only one (1) reason (claim).

• When the author states a claim at the beginning of a body paragraph, this is a topic sentence. A topic sentence is like a mini thesis sentence for each paragraph and serves to unify the contents of the paragraph.  

• ​​Everything that follows in the paragraph needs to relate to the topic sentence.

Multiple Choice

Your body paragraphs should begin with a _____ which lets the reader know what you are going to write about within that paragraph.

• evidence

• topic sentence

• explanation

• concluding sentence

Multiple Choice

How many reasons should you include in each body paragraph?

• Only 1

• 2

• 3

• 4 or more

EXAMPLE OF A CLAIM STATEMENT:

Video games significantly affect a person’s physical health by helping them beome physically fit, improving vision, and correcting lazy eye.

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• ​EXAMPLE OF A TOPIC SENTENCE:  

Playing video games can help people become physically fit.

Multiple Choice

CLAIM STATEMENT: Vegetarianism is a healthy choice because vegetarians live longer, it helps protect the environment and it prevents animal suffering.

Which topic sentence goes with this claim statement?

• Avoiding meat reduces these unwanted health concerns in a person's life.

• Vegetarians live longer, healthier lives.

• Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from eating meat.

Multiple Select

Which of the following sentences would support the claim that school uniforms should be required in school?

• Students would no longer have to decide what to wear every morning.

• Uniforms not only save time but also would eliminate stress.

• Uniforms eliminate individuality.

​EVIDENCE...

• ​Now that you’ve written the topic sentence, it is time to cite your text evidence.

• Remember to use sentence starters when citing evidence.  Some examples of sentence starters are:

  • According to the text,

    The author states​

  • The passage states

  • The writer explains

  • In paragraph __ it says,

• ​​Be sure to use quotation marks (“ ”) when copying the information word for word from the source.

• ​​​Make sure your evidence matches your topic sentence

​EXAMPLE OF CITED EVIDENCE

​

Playing video games can help people become physically fit.​ According to the text, “some video games can actually help people be more physically active. These games allow players to move their bodies to control the game” (par. 11).

Multiple Choice

Choose the best piece of evidence for the following topic sentence:

TOPIC SENTENCE: Smoking damages our environment with pollution.

• The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that secondhand smoke causes approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths and 37,000 heart disease deaths in nonsmokers each year.

• Cigarettes contain about 4,000 chemicals that are released into the environment, causing pollution and permanent damage to plants and wildlife

• A pack of cigarettes can cost between $4.74 in West Virginia to $11.90 in New York

​ELABORATE/EXPLAIN

• Next, you must elaborate on or explain your cited text evidence.  This means that you need to tell the reader why the evidence you quoted is relevant or important.  Do not simply restate what you have already stated.

​

Playing video games can help people become physically fit. According to the text, “...some video games can actually help people be more physically active. These games allow players to move their bodies to control the game” (par. 11).  By getting up and moving around, players are actually increasing their heart rate and burning calories.  Further, some people feel that exercising is boring. Playing a video game using consoles like the Wii or the Xbox can add excitement to an otherwise boring fitness regimen.

​CONCLUDING SENTENCE

• ​Finally you need a concluding sentence.  This sentence will reiterate how this paragraph is important to your claim. 

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• Although video games have a reputation for making people couch potatoes, video gaming can actually help to improve a person’s physical health.

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• ​Notice how the concluding statement reminds the reader of your claim that video games can have a positive effect on physical health.

​FULL BODY PARAGRAPH​

​Playing video games can help people become physically fit. According to the text, “...some video games can actually help people be more physically active. These games allow players to move their bodies to control the game” (par. 11).  By getting up and moving around, players are actually increasing their heart rate and burning calories.  Further, some people feel that exercising is boring. Playing a video game using consoles like the Wii or the Xbox can add excitement to an otherwise boring fitness regimen. Although video games have a reputation for making people couch potatoes, video gaming can actually help to improve a person’s physical health.