TIE-BACK TO THESIS STATEMENTS TRANSITION SENTENCES Body Paragraphs TIE-BACK TO THESIS STATEMENTS TRANSITION SENTENCES

The Body Paragraph Outline Topic Sentence: States the cause or effect that is being analyzed. Explanation of Cause or Effect: Describe the cause or effect. What happened? Why is it important? How do we know that it is related to the event? Evidence: Paraphrase or quote with author tag and in-text citations. Quote proves that cause or effect is related to event. Tie-back to Thesis: In your own words, explain how your evidence proves that your cause or effect is an agent of your event or a direct result of your event. Transition: Connect to the next cause or effect

Tiger Wood’s Example Let’s look at the class example. We will first look at it as a whole and then examine its parts. After Tiger Woods’ Thanksgiving car crash, his golf game has been significantly weakened. Woods once was thought of as the greatest golfer to ever play the game. However, since the crash, he has been beat by countless non-ranking players and suffered humiliating losses at tournaments he once dominated. According to an article in USA Today, “Woods, who won the PGA Tour's inaugural playoffs and is the defending champion, is 119th in the points race for the four-tournament event. Only the top 125 make the field for the first event…” (“Woods” 1). A year prior, Woods dominated and won the PGA playoffs and now may not make the cut for further tournament play. A year later, he sits at the bottom of the pile for points. The only difference between this year and last: Woods’ personal life is a disaster due to his car crash and infidelity scandal. Woods’ golf game is not the only causality of the crash: numerous sponsors are dumping the golfer as well.

Topic Sentence: Tiger Woods Topic Sentences: Example After Woods’ Thanksgiving car crash, his golf game has been significantly weakened. Topic Sentences need to connect your event to your identified causes and effects. They need to state the focus of the entire paragraph. Topic Sentences need to be direct and to the point. Do not be coy or creative!

Explanation: Tiger Woods Explanation of Cause/Effect: Tiger Woods once was thought of as the greatest golfer to ever play the game. However, since the crash, he has been beat by countless non-ranking players and suffered humiliating losses at tournaments he once dominated. When explaining your Cause or Effect, consider the following: What information does my audience need to know to understand the cause/effect? How does my cause/effect connect to my thesis? What does my audience need to know about the cause/effect in order to understand my evidence?

Evidence Evidence: According to an article in USA Today, “Woods, who won the PGA Tour's inaugural playoffs and is the defending champion, is 119th in the points race for the four-tournament event. Only the top 125 make the field for the first event…” (“Woods” 1). When offering evidence in your essay: You must either paraphrase or directly quote Author tag In-text citation

Tie-back to Thesis Tie-back to Thesis: A year prior, Woods dominated and won the PGA playoffs and now may not make the cut for further tournament play. A year later, he sits at the bottom of the pile for points. The only difference between this year and last: Woods’ personal life is a disaster due to his car crash and infidelity scandal. When you tie-back to your thesis: Connect your cause/effect to your event-how does your evidence prove that things were different before and/or after? Discuss the relationship between the causes/effects and the event itself. What does the evidence illustrate about the causes and effects and its relationship to the event? Are they related?

Transition Transition to the next idea: Woods’ golf game is not the only causality of the crash, numerous sponsors are dumping the golfer as well. In a properly constructed sentence, connect what you have been talking about to what you will be talking about in the next paragraph. The first part of the sentence should be about the idea that you are currently discussing. The second part of the sentence should be about the ideas that you will be addressing in the next paragraph.