the well-organized paragraph. what do you do with it after you’ve found it?
TRANSCRIPT
The Well-Organized Paragraph
What do you do with it after you’ve found it?
TEXTUAL EVIDENCE
TRY THIS: IMAGINE YOU ARE A LAWYER IN A COURTROOM…
Writing a good paragraph is just like a lawyer presenting evidence in court.
…just like the way a lawyer presents a piece of evidence to a judge and jury and then explains how that evidence proves that a defendant is innocent or guilty.
A good paragraph presents a quote (aka textual evidence) and then explains how it supports your overall thesis…
IF YOU WERE A LAWYER, YOU WOULD NOT, FOR EXAMPLE, WALK UP TO A JUDGE AND JURY, HOLD UP
THE FOLLOWING IN A ZIP-LOCK BAG,
say “Gun,” and then stand there silently.
EVIDENCE & EXPLANATION
If you do not Explain:1.) What the evidence is/says and 2.) How It Proves Your Point,
then it really can’t say anything.
Evidence is only as helpful as the explanations you provide!
THE SIX STEPS OF THE WELL-ORGANIZED PARAGRAPH
• Introduce• Locate• Present• Explain• Interpret• Transition
INTRODUCE
• INTRODUCE the overall topic with the topic sentence.
The topic sentence links back to your thesis, but concentrates on one aspect of that major argument.
Thesis: Genetic engineering is a bad idea for humanity, because it gives people and governments more power than God intended.
Example Topic Sentence: Genetic engineering gives parents power to choose what their child should be like, despite what the child might want.
LOCATE AND PRESENT
• LOCATE who is speaking/writing and the context of the author’s writing.
• PRESENT the evidence –just insert the quote after the introductory statement in the LOCATE step.
Example: (L) In her commentary on the Duchesneau and McCullough situation, Wendy McElroy is shocked by the partners’ choice to (P) “deliberately engineer a genetic defect into their offspring” (ln.12-13).
NOW YOU’VE GOT SOME EXPLAINING TO DO
• EXPLAIN the evidence in your own, everyday language.
• Example: Here McElroy is drawing attention to the fact that these two women chose to genetically engineer a disability into their son.
INTERPRET
• INTERPRET the evidence in terms of how this textual evidence proves your point in the topic sentence/thesis.
• Example: McElroy’s horror points out the strangeness of parents choosing what is “good” for their children before they are born, rather than letting children decide their own future as God intended.
TRANSITION
• Wrap it Up Nice and TRANSITION to the next piece of evidence– Summarize what you just argued and then you can
prepare your reader for the next point.
• Example: Unfortunately, if parents have the opportunity to “create” the perfect child, they will probably take advantage of that possibility regardless of ways the government tries to stop them.
SIX PARTS ALL TOGETHER:
Introduce: Genetic engineering gives parents power to choose what their child should be like, despite what the child might want or what God intended.
Locate and Present: (L) In her commentary on the Duchesneau and McCullough situation, Wendy McElroy is shocked by the partners’ choice to (P) “deliberately engineer a genetic defect into their offspring” (ln.12-13).
Explain: Here McElroy is drawing attention to the fact that these two women chose to genetically engineer a disability into their future son, Gauvin.
Interpret: McElroy’s horror points out the strangeness of parents choosing what is “good” for their children before they are born, rather than letting children decide their own future as God intended.
Transition: Unfortunately, if parents have the opportunity to “create” the perfect child, they will probably take advantage of that possibility regardless of ways the government tries to stop them.
ORDER IN THE COURT!
• Introduce• Locate• Present• Explain• Interpret• Transition
Evidence-based paragraphs