Heroes Frederick DouglassBooker T. Washington Bill Cosby

Writing Paragraphs

Well-organized writing follows a formula. If you know the formula, your writing will be excellent and easy to understand. Organization is the key!

Let’s play with a formula…. 1. Topic1. Ice Cream 2. Support 2. Chocolate 2. Support 2. Vanilla NOTICE that the 2’s DESCRIBE the 1’s! Now you try….. 1. Sports 2. ___________ Now you make one of your own…..

Take it up a notch…. 1. Topic1. Ice Cream 2. Support 2. Vanilla 3. Elaboration 3. Jamal’s favorite 2. Support 2. Chocolate 3. Elaboration 3. Jenny’s favorite NOTICE that the 3’s DESCRIBE the 2’s, which DESCRIBE the 1’s Now You Try…. (hint—write both 2’s first, then the 3’s) 1. Vacation Spots Now you make one of your own....

So how does this relate? A paragraph is a group of sentences that convey a unified message. The main idea of the sentences is the first sentence called a Topic Sentence or 1 st Power Sentence. It directs all the information that follows it. It is followed by Supporting Sentences (2 nd Power) and Elaborating Sentences (3 rd Power). They tell who, what, where, when, why, or how. They provide Concrete Details like Examples, Facts, Statistics, Sensory Details, or Illustrations

1-2-2 Formula: A formula means that the paragraph will have one _________________and two_________________________ sentences. The paragraph will have _______ sentences total. Example paragraph: (1) There are two places I would love to visit if I could go anywhere in the world. (2) First, I would go to sunny Puerto Rico. (2) Second, I would go Ireland.

Now you try…. Write a paragraph about a topic of your choice.

Formula: The formula means that the paragraph will have one ____________________ sentence, two _______________________ sentences, and two ___________________________ sentences. The paragraph will have ________ sentences total. In the paragraph, the ________________ sentence always comes after the __________________________________ sentence. Example paragraph: (1) There are two places I would love to visit if I could go anywhere in the world. (2) First, I would go to sunny Puerto Rico. (3) I love the beach, and I know that Puerto Rico has beautiful, sandy beaches. (2) Second, I would go Ireland. (3) My ancestors came from Ireland and I want to go there to see where I came from.

Now you try… Write a paragraph about a topic of your choice.

Think of a clothesline…. 1 st Power Topic Sentence 2 nd Power Supporting Sentence 3 rd Power Elaboration Sentence

Outline of a Paragraph…. 1. 1st Power Topic Sentence 2. 2 nd Power Supporting Sentence 3. 3 rd Power Elaborating Sentence 2. 2 nd Power Supporting Sentence 3. 3 rd Power Elaborating Sentence Ex. 1. The students in English 1 will learn a great deal this year. 2. First, they will learn how to write paragraphs. 3.. This will help them do well on future assignments. 2. Second, they will learn how to analyze literature. 3. This will help them increase their critical thinking.

The basic paragraph formulas of or work well if you have one main idea and two major details, but what if you have three things you want to change about the world, five favorite foods, or just one important person in your life?

Mix it Up! Think of all the possibilities! The combinations are endless!

Making it flow w/ transitions… Successful writers use transition words in their paragraphs and their essays to increase coherence.

Words and phrases that begin a #2 sentence, or major detail:  First  Second  Third  Even more  Moreover  More than that  Equally  Importantly  Above all  Aside from  Furthermore  Also  Likewise  Next  Then  To begin  With that said  Another  Again  In addition  Lastly  Finally  Some believe  Others say  Still others believe

Words and phrases that begin a #3 sentence, or supporting detail:  For example  That is to say  Namely  Like  As  Just as  Specificall y  To be specific  In such cases  This is made clear by  Because of this  In the same manner  For instance  In other words  This can be explained by  To explain  To clarify  To be more specific

How do you wrap it all up? Use a Clincher (closing) Sentence! Words and phrases that begin a #4 sentence, or conclusion:  In conclusion  To sum up  In closing  In summary  Finally  To conclude