Elements Good Paragraph
Elements of a good paragraph
1. Topic Sentence – this signals to the reader what the paragraph will be about. It states the argument of the paragraph (should also include the author and title)
2. Textual Support – this is evidence (quotes) from the text that supports the argument the paragraph makes 3-Steps to using Textual Support 1. Introduce the quote – tell the situation and/or the speaker 2. Give the quote – rewrite the text as it appears in the original work. Be sure to properly document page number for short stories and novels, or line number for poems 3. Explain how and why this quote proves your topic sentence is true. This explanation should be about two or three lines long ** select quotes that have a lot of meaning and can be written about in more than one sentence ** strong paragraphs have about two or three pieces of textual support ** use transitional words or phrases to signal a shift from one idea to the next
3. Closing sentence – This is the last sentence of the paragraph and should wrap up the thought of the paragraph.
EXAMPLE
In what ways is Will an “outsider” to both …show more content…
Because of the brutality and cruelty of the Institute system, Will claims that he is “damaged goods” and that the “Institute taught [him] about the kind of man [he] did not want to be” (5). Since it was not solely his choice to attend the Institute, rather a fulfillment of his father’s dying wish and his mother’s subtle pressuring, Will never fully embraces the “tyrannical need for order and symmetry” (3) that such a life requires. As a result, the school’s ugly realities shape Will’s memories of the place instead of the lofty myths that most alumni choose to
1. Topic Sentence – this signals to the reader what the paragraph will be about. It states the argument of the paragraph (should also include the author and title)
2. Textual Support – this is evidence (quotes) from the text that supports the argument the paragraph makes 3-Steps to using Textual Support 1. Introduce the quote – tell the situation and/or the speaker 2. Give the quote – rewrite the text as it appears in the original work. Be sure to properly document page number for short stories and novels, or line number for poems 3. Explain how and why this quote proves your topic sentence is true. This explanation should be about two or three lines long ** select quotes that have a lot of meaning and can be written about in more than one sentence ** strong paragraphs have about two or three pieces of textual support ** use transitional words or phrases to signal a shift from one idea to the next
3. Closing sentence – This is the last sentence of the paragraph and should wrap up the thought of the paragraph.
EXAMPLE
In what ways is Will an “outsider” to both …show more content…
Because of the brutality and cruelty of the Institute system, Will claims that he is “damaged goods” and that the “Institute taught [him] about the kind of man [he] did not want to be” (5). Since it was not solely his choice to attend the Institute, rather a fulfillment of his father’s dying wish and his mother’s subtle pressuring, Will never fully embraces the “tyrannical need for order and symmetry” (3) that such a life requires. As a result, the school’s ugly realities shape Will’s memories of the place instead of the lofty myths that most alumni choose to