The Body of a Research Report 8 TH GRADE LA RESEARCH REPORT

Objective(s)  Understand the function of body paragraphs  Review of MLA format and citations  Application of learning through writing body paragraphs

Functions of the Body Paragraph(s)  Order must be logical but depends on purpose, audience, text structure  May include headings and or subheadings  Explain and develop the key points (elaborate subtopics “slugs”)  Topic sentence states the key point of the paragraph.  Use of transitions and consistent language (objective and formal tone)  Cite evidence (either paraphrased or direct quotations)  Elaborate, reasoning, and/or commentary  Concluding sentence restates the key point in the topic sentence and helps transition to the next idea

Your turn  Take out your research paper exemplar texts. Analyze one body paragraph from the Harlem Renaissance exemplar research paper. You may opt to do a critical read; however, you must answer the following questions in your WRITING JOURNALS :  What is the topic sentence  List the key points that support the topic  List at least two transitions. Do they cue the reader as to what the text structure is?  Identify word choice that reflects the introduction and/or is domain-specific  How is the evidence cited?  What is an example of elaboration/reasoning?  How does the author conclude his/her paragraph? Is the topic restated?

Your Turn: Application  Use the information from your outline and notecards to write your body paragraphs.  Use the back of the handout for formatting and citations.  Also refer to Ms. Peterson’s library for in-text citations  r_lake_library/m/writing_standards/ aspx r_lake_library/m/writing_standards/ aspx  This is where all the “information delivery” is.  Remember to focus on your purpose and text structure.  Due Tomorrow - Yes, you will likely have homework