Please prepare for notes (date and title) in your English notebook.

Body Paragraphs

Basic Essay Structure

Introduction Body Paragraph One (covering 1st reason

in thesis) Body Paragraph Two (covering 2nd

reason in thesis) Body Paragraph Three (covering 3rd

reason in thesis) Conclusion

What is a body paragraph?

Body paragraphs are the meat of your essay, and as such are the most important component of your essay. In the body paragraphs, you will expand upon and provide support for the theme you introduced in the first paragraph and will provide the details that move that theme forward.

http://students.berkeley.edu/apa/personalstatement/paragraphs.html

Components of a Body Paragraph

A topic sentence that expands your theme and makes a transition from the previous paragraph

Development of ideas that support your essay's theme

Analysis of how your evidence proves your thesis An ending sentence that wraps up the paragraph,

and helps to transition into the next paragraph

http://students.berkeley.edu/apa/personalstatement/paragraphs.html

In other words, body paragraphs should contain:

Main point: the topic sentence, which describes the focus of the paragraph

Support: explanations, evidence, and examples that reinforce the main point

Transitions: connections between this paragraph and – the thesis statement – nearby paragraphs

First…Your Topic Sentence

Main point All paragraphs should be focused: they

should discuss only one major point (also called a controlling idea).

That point should connect with the overall focus of the essay (as described in the thesis statement).

Body Paragraph Structure

Basically, the topic sentence summarizes the paragraph in the same way that the thesis statement summarizes the whole essay.

The rest of the paragraph supports the topic sentence, by explaining it in detail, and then giving an example, or citing evidence that reinforces it.

Support in a Body Paragraph

The largest part of any body paragraph is the support: explanations, evidence, and examples.

It is not enough to just explain an idea. You need to show specific evidence that supports it as well and explain how it does.

Transitions

Body paragraphs do not exist in isolation. They should fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Transitions show the connections between paragraphs themselves, and the connections between the paragraphs and the overall focus of the essay (the thesis statement).

Thesis: George is the most tragic character in the book because he causes grief, destruction, and death to his only friend.

TOPIC SENTENCE – a mini argument George’s malicious behavior towards Lennie is unwarranted

and causes emotional pain.

CONTEXT – What is the situation where your quote occurs?Even as the two men emerge into the clearing at the beginning of the story, it is clear that although they are codependent on each other, their friendship is unbalanced. George repeatedly refers to Lennie as,

QUOTE – DIRECT, in QUOTES, with page number “you crazy bastard”, and growls contemptuously at him, “You

do bad things and I got to get you out…you keep me in hot water all the time” (5,11).

Transition and New Context with Evidence

Transition/New Context:Later while George and Slim are conversing in the bunkhouse, George admits, somewhat sheepishly,

Quote“Why he’d do anything damn thing I tol’ him…I’ve beat the hell out of him…” (40).

ANALYSIS – how your evidence proves your thesisAlthough Lennie is dense and unable to remember things, he is chastised when George yells at him. Lennie does feel pain and panic when George ridicules him, calling him names, and even admitting to others his abuse of power over Lennie. George may not abandon Lennie, but he unnecessarily causes Lennie mental and physical anguish.

Thesis: George is the most tragic character in the book because he causes grief, destruction, and death to his only friend.

George’s malicious behavior towards Lennie is unwarranted causes emotional pain. Even as the two men emerge into the clearing at the beginning of the story, it is clear that although they are codependent on each other, their friendship is unbalanced. George repeatedly refers to Lennie as, “you crazy bastard”, and growls contemptuously at him, “You do bad things and I got to get you out…you keep me in hot water all the time” (5,11). Later while George and Slim are conversing in the bunkhouse, George admits, somewhat sheepishly, “Why he’d do anything damn thing I tol’ him…I’ve beat the hell out of him…” (40). Although Lennie is dense and unable to remember things, he is chastised when George yells at him. Lennie does feel pain and panic when George cruelly states he can’t tend the rabbits on their dream farm. George may not abandon Lennie, but he unnecessarily causes Lennie mental and physical anguish.