Transcript The Multi-Paragraph Essay

The Multi-Paragraph Essay
Arp I.S.D. English Language Arts Dept.
Prepared by Melissa Freeman
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Terminology
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Essay
A piece of writing that gives your thoughts
(commentary) about a subject.
All essays you will write in this unit will have at
least four paragraphs: an introductory
paragraph, two body paragraphs, and a
concluding paragraph.
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Introduction
Also called the introductory paragraph.
The first paragraph in an essay.
It includes the thesis, most often at the end of
the paragraph.
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Body Paragraph
A middle paragraph in an essay.
It develops a point you want to make that
supports your thesis.
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Conclusion
Also called the concluding paragraph.
The last paragraph in your essay.
It may sum up your ideas,
…reflect on what you said in your essay,
…give more commentary about your subject,
…or give a personal statement about the
subject.
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Conclusion (cont.)
Your conclusion is ALL commentary and does
NOT include concrete detail.
It does NOT repeat key words from your paper
and especially NOT from your thesis and
introductory paragraphs.
It gives a finished feeling to your whole essay.
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Thesis
A sentence with a subject and opinion.
(opinion = commentary)
This comes somewhere in you introductory
paragraph and most often at the end.
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Pre-Writing
The process of getting your concrete details
down on paper before you organize your essay
into paragraphs.
You can use any or all of the following: bubble
clusters, spider diagrams, outlines, line
clustering, or columns.
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Concrete Details ~ CD
Specific details that form the backbone,
skeleton, framework, or core of your body
paragraphs.
Synonyms for concrete detail include facts,
specifics, examples, descriptions,
illustrations, support, proof, supporting
evidence, quotations, paraphrasing, or plot
references.
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Commentary ~ CM
Your opinion or comment about something; NOT
concrete detail.
Synonyms for commentary include opinion,
insight, analysis, interpretation, inference,
personal response, feelings, evaluation,
explication, and reflection.
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Topic Sentence ~ TS
The first sentence in the body paragraph.
This must have a subject and opinion
(commentary) for the paragraph.
It does the same thing for a body paragraph that
the thesis does for the whole essay.
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Concluding Sentence ~ CS
The last sentence in the body paragraph.
It is ALL commentary,
…does not repeat key words,
…and gives a finished feeling to the paragraph.
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Shaping the Essay
The step that is done after pre-writing…
…and before the first draft of an essay.
It is an outline of your thesis,
…topic sentences,
…concrete details,
…and commentary ideas.
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First Draft
The first version of your essay.
Also called the rough draft ~ RD.
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Final Draft
The final version of your essay.
The last step before “publishing.”
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Peer Response
Written responses and reactions to a partner’s
paper.
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Chunk
One sentence of concrete detail (CD)…
…and two sentences of commentary (CM).
It is the smallest unified group of thoughts that
you can write.
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Weaving
Blending concrete details (CD) and
commentary (CM) in a body paragraph.
You can do this AFTER you master the format.
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Ratio
The ratio of one part concrete detail (CD) to two
parts commentary (CM).
At least two points of commentary for every
point of concrete detail in a body paragraph.
CD:CM
1 : 2+
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Ratio
If a body paragraph has a 1:1 ratio, teachers say
that the student got off to a good start but did not
elaborate enough on the commentary.
If a literature paper has a 1:0 ratio, we call that a
book report…
…or an “and then” paper.
“And then I went to the mall, and then I bought a
pair of jeans. Then I went out with my friends.”
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Ratio
“And then” papers are the dullest kinds of
narratives to read.
As soon as students use a 1:2+ ratio, teachers
are happier with the results.
And
Then
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Word Counts
The minimum length per paragraph to earn a
“C.”
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CD vs. CM
The same as FACT vs. OPINION
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Commentary
Writing commentary means giving your
opinion, interpretation, insight, analysis,
explication, personal reaction, feelings,
evaluation, or reflection about a topic.
Commentary is the higher level of thinking that
makes an essay interesting to read.
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Restrictions of Literature
Commentary
Students may not use I, me, my, we, us would,
should, could, may or might in their essays.
These words encourage them to leave the story and
become “preachy.”
Example: “I hope I have a friend like George some day.”
Or, “They should have just gone on their separate
ways.”
Such commentary does not strengthen student
writing.
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This shows that…
Need help producing commentary?
Start your commentary with:
“This shows that _________________.”
The result is always commentary.
You can always change your phrasing during
revision!
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This shows that…
“In Of Mice and Men, George Milton looks out for
Lennie’s welfare. For example, he tells Lennie
not to say anything to Curley in the ranch house.
This shows that he understands how easily
Lennie gets into trouble without realizing it. This
shows that he wants to keep Lennie out of
harm’s way by shielding him from contact with
strangers.”
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Writing a Thesis
A thesis is a general sentence with a subject
and an opinion (commentary).
Example: Australia is the best country of all for a
vacation.
In this sentence, Australia is the subject.
The rest of the sentence tells the writer’s
opinion, or commentary, about it—that it’s the
best country for a vacation.
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Writing a Thesis ~ Practice
For each of the following sentences, underline
the subject once and the opinion (commentary)
twice.
Fishing is fun to do when I’m with my dad.
English is my favorite class.
It’s exciting going to a new school.
Tacos are my favorite food.
I like radio station Q106 the most.
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Writing a Thesis ~ Practice
Fishing is fun to do when I’m with my dad.
English is my favorite class.
It’s exciting going to a new school.
Tacos are my favorite food.
I like radio station Q106 the most.
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Writing a Thesis ~ Practice
Write a thesis sentence of your own.
First you need to think of some subjects
you know something about.
--getting braces
--bicycling
--homework
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Writing a Thesis ~ Practice
The next step is to write a thesis for your
subject.
Getting braces was one of the best
things that could have happened to me.
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