A paragraph is all about one idea. In it, you teach something about that idea, explain it, or prove why it is the right one. One effective question to ask yourself is “What do I want my reader to know about this topic?”
A Note: When one student used this chart to write a paragraph about a type of shark, she saw that she needed a section in her paragraph to describe the shark’s appearance. So she added that between the main idea and the first statement.
A Filled-in Paragraph Chart This is the paragraph, all written out:
Cats are polite. They walk quietly through the house, minding their own business. They purr softly instead of barking their heads off. In fact, my cat Dixie never jumps at me with muddy paws. Instead, she rubs against my legs until I pick her up.
Notice how the main idea, “Cats are polite,” becomes the topic sentence.
Paragraphs in the body of your essay, not the intro or conclusion, need a topic sentence and two or three sentences to explain or prove your topic sentence. These sentences answer “Why?” or “Prove it!”
You can use examples, facts, logical statements, true stories, and so on. In the cat example, this student uses statements (walk quietly and purr softly) and one example from her own experience with Dixie.
If you are writing an essay, you’ll want to fill out one chart for each paragraph in the body of your essay. Most essays have at least three paragraphs in the body.
After you fill out one chart for each of your paragraphs, move the charts around to see which order you want to put your paragraphs in. When you have decided on the order, write an introduction, then your three paragraphs from your charts, and then a conclusion.
Now it’s your turn: Choose one of the following options.
Do you disagree with the paragraph about cats? Then fill in the chart and write a paragraph about dogs!
Choose an animal you love or can’t stand. Next, think of reasons why this animal would make a great pet (or a terrible one). Then fill out the chart. Finally, use the information you put on the chart to write your own paragraph.
HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS You are probably very familiar with the accounts of Jesus’ birth found in Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2:40. They are written in the omniscient point of view. That is, the writers tell us everything about everyone. What if you read the account from the perspective of one of the Magi? Would the…
It’s easy to forget all the noise, confusion, and fear Mary and Joseph experienced. Read the Christmas accounts in the Bible. Which person do you identify with the most? Or which person do you wish you could have been?
MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS Allan G. Odell saved his company from ruin and made it quite popular. How did he do it? In the 1920s, a new shaving product was born called Burma-Shave. It was different from other shaving creams because, now, men didn’t have to lather up some cream or soap with a brush and apply…
SHARON’S BLOG Would any of your sentences ever sell for $1.56 million? That’s what happened recently with Albert Einstein’s one-sentence “Theory of Happiness.” The story, according to USA TODAY, is that Einstein was visiting Japan to receive his Nobel Prize in physics in 1922 when he did not have enough money to tip a messenger….
Former US presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson corresponded almost daily, and they were waiting for something important to happen. They wanted to live to see the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. What are you waiting for in your life?
HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS Japanese scientists are hot on the trail of the extinct wooly mammoth’s DNA, which is available from tissue preserved in Russia. What do they want to do with the DNA? They want to clone it and, in about five years, make a modern mammoth. Ryan Phelan of Revive & Restore would like…
