Body Paragraph Cheat Sheet
Body Paragraph Writing Cheat Sheet Start with your
Topic sentence
: introduces the reader to one part of your thesis/argument you’ll be proving in this paragraph.
addresses title and/or author
addresses on idea in your argument
uses unique wording
UNLESS PROMPT ASKS ABOUT ONE CHARACTER, your topic sentence is not about characters, only IDEAS.
How To Craft Topic Sentence
1. Pull ONE part of your CLAIM
2. Begin with a transition
3. Reword some of the ideas or keywords. Example Topic Sentence from claim Claim: Some may argue prejudice is inherent, however, in the novel
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, it is revealed that prejudice is not something you are born with, but something that is taught through what others do and what others say. Topic Sentence
: To begin, Lee reveals prejudice or prejudging others is not something we just have naturally, but it is something we learn through watching others actions.
Next properly integrate your
Evidence from the text:
1. Warm it up – lead into your evidence by giving a brief preview of the evidence .
Ex: She reveals how afraid she is for people to reject her cries for help when she battles standing up for herself at the sleepover.
2. Drop it like it’s hot – Introduce who or where it is coming, put a comma, then start evidence inside quotations. Cite the evidence properly within parenthesis. Then close your sentence.
Ex: She says,
“I open my mouth. The words float up. As I scan the faces around me, my stomach curdles at their glares. I push the words down into my sour belly,
my shaking fingers cover my lips as I picture myself left alone, screaming, with no one batting an eye.” (Childe 45).
3.
Pull apart/Break it down for the reader so you can explain it and start to connect it to claim: Pull apart key moments and explain what it means to you as a reader AND let that help start your analysis of the evidence (reader realization,
Topic sentence
: introduces the reader to one part of your thesis/argument you’ll be proving in this paragraph.
addresses title and/or author
addresses on idea in your argument
uses unique wording
UNLESS PROMPT ASKS ABOUT ONE CHARACTER, your topic sentence is not about characters, only IDEAS.
How To Craft Topic Sentence
1. Pull ONE part of your CLAIM
2. Begin with a transition
3. Reword some of the ideas or keywords. Example Topic Sentence from claim Claim: Some may argue prejudice is inherent, however, in the novel
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, it is revealed that prejudice is not something you are born with, but something that is taught through what others do and what others say. Topic Sentence
: To begin, Lee reveals prejudice or prejudging others is not something we just have naturally, but it is something we learn through watching others actions.
Next properly integrate your
Evidence from the text:
1. Warm it up – lead into your evidence by giving a brief preview of the evidence .
Ex: She reveals how afraid she is for people to reject her cries for help when she battles standing up for herself at the sleepover.
2. Drop it like it’s hot – Introduce who or where it is coming, put a comma, then start evidence inside quotations. Cite the evidence properly within parenthesis. Then close your sentence.
Ex: She says,
“I open my mouth. The words float up. As I scan the faces around me, my stomach curdles at their glares. I push the words down into my sour belly,
my shaking fingers cover my lips as I picture myself left alone, screaming, with no one batting an eye.” (Childe 45).
3.
Pull apart/Break it down for the reader so you can explain it and start to connect it to claim: Pull apart key moments and explain what it means to you as a reader AND let that help start your analysis of the evidence (reader realization,