Writing Body Paragraphs

The first sentence of your body paragraph is called . . .

• hook

• thesis

• topic sentence

• introduction

Tags

CCSS.W.9-10.2A

A topic sentence can also be called the . . .

• the VIP

• ruling sentence

• bossy sentence

• controlling sentence

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

A topic sentence should be. . .

• boring so that the reader will want to read the rest of your sentences

• a very detailed explanation of your opinion

• very specific and include facts and numbers

• general so that all the information you want to include in the paragraph will fit the topic

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Which of these would be a good topic sentence?

• Eastern chipmunks have 4-5 babies each spring.

• Chipmunks have several interesting physical characteristics.

• Eastern chipmunks hibernate in the winter while Western chipmunks do not, instead they live in burrows.

• Chipmunks sleep 15 hours per day in captivitiy.

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Which of these would make a good topic sentence?

• Sloths live in many different habitats.

• Sloths are a group of arboreal Neotropical xenarthran mammals constituting the suborder Folivora.

• Despite this traditional naming, all sloths have three toes on each rear limb-- although two-toed sloths have only two digits on each forelimb.

• Megalonychidae: ground sloths that existed for about 35 million years and went extinct about 11,000 years ago.

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.11-12.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Which would make a good topic sentence?

• Hamsters are rodents (order Rodentia) belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae, which contains 19 species classified in seven genera

• Hamsters are a popular pet for many reasons.

• Hamster evolutionary history is recorded by 15 extinct fossil genera and extends back 11.2 million to 16.4 million years to the Middle Miocene Epoch in Europe and North Africa; in Asia it extends 6 million to 11 million years

• Although the Syrian hamster or golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) was first described scientifically by George Robert Waterhouse in 1839, researchers were not able to successfully breed and domesticate hamsters until 1939

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Your interesting details about your topic should be. . .

• in your first sentence.

• part of the body paragraph.

• your topic sentence.

• at the end of your essay.

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.5

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.7.5

CCSS.RI.8.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.5

"Axolotl's physical characteristics have made them popular in pop culture."

• This is a general topic sentence.

• This is too detailed to be a topic sentence.

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

"Axolotls are unusual among amphibians in that they reach adulthood without undergoing metamorphosis. Instead of taking to the land, adults remain aquatic and gilled"

• This is a good example of a general topic sentence.

• This kind of detailed information goes in the body of the paragraph, but is not the topic sentence.

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Two answers: A good paragraph should. . . .

• have 4 sentences.

• be about ONE topic.

• have 5 sentences.

• be long enough to discuss the topic.

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2