how to write body paragraphs

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How to write body paragraphs Supporting your opinion and being convincing Presented by Erika Wanczuk Based on a presentation by Gina Drago

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How to write body paragraphs. Supporting your opinion and being convincing Presented by Erika Wanczuk Based on a presentation by Gina Drago. Why do I need evidence?. Your job in this essay is to convince your reader of your opinion. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Page 1: How to write body paragraphs

How to write body paragraphsSupporting your opinion and being convincing

Presented by Erika WanczukBased on a presentation by Gina Drago

Page 2: How to write body paragraphs

Why do I need evidence?

• Your job in this essay is to convince your reader of your opinion.

• In order to be convincing, you need to provide evidence for your opinion from the book.

Page 3: How to write body paragraphs

What is evidence?

• Evidence is made up of quotations from the book.

• Quotations are not just what people say—any sentence you pull from the book is a quotation because you are quoting something Steinbeck wrote.

Page 4: How to write body paragraphs

What is evidence?

Evidence is also made up of well-chosen paraphrases from the text.

A paraphrase is a section of the book that you put in your own words.You MUST still cite a paraphrase with the page number.

Page 5: How to write body paragraphs

How much evidence do I need?

• You will need at least one piece of evidence per body paragraph (although you may need more than one to be convincing!)

• That means a MINIMUM of three quotations with a MINIMUM of three body paragraphs.

Page 6: How to write body paragraphs

Finding good evidence

• Good evidence relates directly to what you are trying to prove.

• It is your job to thoroughly investigate the book and find quotations to convince your reader of your opinion.

• Choose a quotation that relates to your topic sentence of that paragraph.

• Don’t just plop in any old sentence from the book.

Page 7: How to write body paragraphs

Example One• Topic sentence: Carlson demonstrates his mercy for

Candy’s dog in several of his statements and actions leading up to the shooting.

• What do I need to prove?

• Evidence: • “Look, Candy. This ol’ dog just suffers hisself all the

time” (45).• “Well, you ain’t bein’ kind to him keepin’ him alive”

(45).• “If you want me to, I’ll put the old devil out of his

misery right now and get it over with. Ain’t nothing left for him. Can’t eat, can’t see, can’t even walk without hurtin’” (47).

Page 8: How to write body paragraphs

Example Two• Topic sentence: Carlson is concerned about

Candy for several reasons.

• What do I need to prove?

• Evidence:• “He’s all stiff with rheumatism. He ain’t no

good for you, Candy” (44).• “Tell you what. I’ll shoot him for you. Then it

won't be you that does it” (45).• “Look, Slim’s bitch got a litter right now. I

bet Slim would give you one of them pups to raise up, wouldn’t you, Slim?” (45)

Page 9: How to write body paragraphs

Providing Context for your Evidence:

• It is important to tell your reader what is going on in the part of the story from which you take your quotations. Here’s an example:

• Example Topic Sentence: Carlson demonstrates his mercy for Candy’s dog in several of his statements and actions leading up to the shooting.

• Evidence: “Look, Candy. This ol’ dog just suffers hisself all the time” (45).

• “Well, you ain’t bein’ kind to him keepin’ him alive” (45).

Page 10: How to write body paragraphs

Providing Context

They sound like good quotations…but I’m left with several questions:

Who is talking?

Who is the character talking to?

What is the character talking about? What is going on when the character is talking?

Page 11: How to write body paragraphs

Example ParagraphCarlson demonstrates his mercy for Candy’s dog in several of his statements and actions leading up to the shooting. Carlson tries to convince Candy that his dog is suffering when he says, "Look, Candy. This ol’ dog just suffers hisself all the time” (45). When Candy protests, Carlson again shows his mercy for the dog when he argues, “Well, you ain’t bein’ kind to him keepin’ him alive” (45). Carlson makes it clear that the dog is in pain and should be put out of its misery, which is a merciful thing to do.

Page 12: How to write body paragraphs

Example ParagraphCarlson demonstrates his mercy for Candy’s dog in several of his statements and actions leading up to the shooting. Carlson tries to convince Candy that his dog is suffering when he says, "Look, Candy. This ol’ dog just suffers hisself all the time” (45). When Candy protests, Carlson again shows his mercy for the dog when he argues, “Well, you ain’t bein’ kind to him keepin’ him alive” (45). Carlson makes it clear that the dog is in pain and should be put out of its misery, which is a merciful thing to do.

Page 13: How to write body paragraphs

How do I format my quotations?

• Floating quotation: • Blah blah blah. “__________” (52).

Blah Blah.• NOT GOOD

• Embedded quotation:• Blah blah blah “_____” (52) blah

blah. • GOOD.

Page 14: How to write body paragraphs

How do I insert my quotations?• Your quotations should not be floating in your

paragraph—work them in!

• Look back at this paragraph:• Carlson demonstrates his mercy for Candy’s

dog in several of his statements and actions leading up to the shooting. Carlson tries to convince Candy that his dog is suffering when he says, "Look, Candy. This ol’ dog just suffers hisself all the time” (45). When Candy protests, Carlson again shows his mercy for the dog when he argues, “Well, you ain’t bein’ kind to him keepin’ him alive” (45). Carlson makes it clear that the dog is in pain and should be put out of its misery, which is a merciful thing to do.

Page 15: How to write body paragraphs

Providing Analysis

What does “analysis” mean? Analysis is:

the separating of any material or abstract entity into its constituent elementsto deconstruct (to break down)showing relationships

Page 16: How to write body paragraphs

Why do I need Analysis?

To explain your quotations and evidence to your reader

To show HOW your evidence supports your topic sentence.

To show your critical thinking skills

Page 17: How to write body paragraphs

How much analysis do I need?

Enough to satisfy the purposes of analysis:

To explain your quotations and evidence to your readerTo show HOW your evidence supports your topic sentence.To show your critical thinking skills

It should be longer than the quotation.

At least three to five sentences

Page 18: How to write body paragraphs

Example ParagraphCarlson demonstrates his mercy for Candy’s dog in several of his statements and actions leading up to the shooting. Carlson tries to convince Candy that his dog is suffering when he says, "Look, Candy. This ol’ dog just suffers hisself all the time” (45). When Candy protests, Carlson again shows his mercy for the dog when he argues, “Well, you ain’t bein’ kind to him keepin’ him alive” (45). When Carlson says, “suffers hisself,” he shows that he thinks the dog is in pain. When Candy disagrees, Carlson is persistent by telling Candy that he’s not “kind to him by keepin’ him alive,” which shows that Carlson thinks that Candy is being selfish and not thinking about the dog. Carlson thinks the dog should be put out of its misery, which is a merciful thing to do.

Page 19: How to write body paragraphs

Organization of Body Paragraphs

Which body paragraph should come first, second, third? Consider the following ideas:

Chronological order in the book

Order of importance

Order of your choice

Strong paragraph first, weak paragraph hidden in the middle, strongest paragraph last

Make sure paragraphs flow smoothly from one to the other by using transitions

Page 20: How to write body paragraphs

MLA Format• Your paper will be:

• 12 point font, Times New Roman (or like font)• 1 inch margins (top, bottom, sides)• Double spaced• Black ink

• Heading: on the left hand side of the page:• Name• Ms. Wanczuk• English 9 CP• Date

• Header: on the right-hand side: Last Name Page Number

Page 21: How to write body paragraphs

Homework

Page 22: How to write body paragraphs

Today in class