Body Paragraphs

And the road to success!

Traffic Light StrategyCreated by J. Elitzin

Centennial Campus Middle School

The key to passing the writing test & successful

writing lies in well supported/elaborated BODY PARAGRAPHS!

But how do I write a body paragraph?

“The Traffic Light” method will help you

write your body paragraphs.

But what is it?

• In your body paragraph, the first thing you should do is… GO!

This means… Go ahead and get started by giving your transition word and topic sentence

GO

• In your body paragraph, the next thing you should do (after passing GO) is to SLOW DOWN!

• This means… restate what you just said, but put it in different words. This guarantees that readers will understand what you mean.

GO

SLOW

• After passing GO and SLOWING DOWN… now it is time to STOP!

• This means STOP and give examples, details, & evidence, that will help to prove or support your topic sentence. How can you prove your GO… STOP and prove it now!

GO

SLOW

STOP

WARNING!

Because STOPPING is the most important part… this

aspect of your body paragraph should be the longest part and have the

most sentences.

• After you have come to a complete STOP (by giving lots of examples and elaboration), then it is time to GO BACK!

• This means, GO BACK and restate your topic sentence… this sort of helps to wrap up your body paragraph.

GO

SLOW

STOP

GO

BACK

Let’s Practice…

• Let’s just pretend the writing test has asked you to write about how to solve the problem of graffiti in the bathrooms.

• Let’s also pretend that in your introduction, you listed three solutions in your THESIS:

A) Student monitorsB) Tougher consequencesC) Install cameras outside

bathrooms

• Okay… let’s skip the introduction for now.

• How can we write the first body paragraph?

• Keep the “Traffic Light” in mind!

• Well… the first light means GO!

• Give a transition word + topic sentence

GO

• For this example… we could say:

First of all, to solve the unsightly problem of bathroom graffiti, our school should implement a student-monitor system.

GO

First of all, to solve the unsightly problem of bathroom graffiti, our school should implement a student-monitor system.

Transition word (phrase)

Topic Sentence(this is the topic this entire paragraph will cover or attempt to prove)

• Next, we need to SLOW DOWN and restate what we just said by using different words and explaining what we meant.

• We might begin such a sentence with “By this I mean…” or “In other words…”

GO

SLOW

First of all, to solve the unsightly problem of bathroom graffiti, our school should implement a student-monitor system. By this I mean that teachers and administrators should select students to help watch the bathroom during important times of the day, such as passing periods. These students would be trained in how to “monitor” and what to do if someone is committing an act of graffiti or other crime.

• Now we need to come to a full STOP! To do this we need to prove the green… our topic sentence.

• But how can we prove this? Consider using FEEDCATS!

GO

SLOW

STOP

…I know this is a viable solution because student monitors will prevent vandals from committing graffiti and will help to catch students who continue. At my previous school, Baucom Elementary, students began to terrorize the bathroom walls with their permanent markers. In fact my friend, Peter, especially enjoyed committing such a crime. Then one day, the teachers elected a bathroom-monitor to “stand guard.” My friend Peter, and many other students, who usually marked all over the walls, were then afraid to do so, and stopped. Likewise, the few pupils who continued were reported to the principal by the hall-monitor and received serious consequences. As a result of this solution, the bathroom graffiti problem dropped 98% in only two weeks.

• Now… we can’t just leave the paragraph hanging like that. We need to wrap it up. In other words, GO BACK and restate the topic sentence.

• “As you can see…” is sometimes a good way to end a body paragraph.

GO

SLOW

STOP

GO

BACK

• As you can see, imploring the solution of student-monitors is certain to ensure that our bathrooms remain clean and free of graffiti-vandalism.

• If we put it ALL together… we have one well-organized, and well-supported body paragraph.

• With body paragraphs like this… we are certain to pass the test!

All together now… First of all, to solve the unsightly problem of bathroom

graffiti, our school should implement a student-monitor system. By this I mean that teachers and administrators should select students to help watch the bathroom during important times of the day, such as passing periods. These students would be trained in how to “monitor” and what to do if someone is committing an act of graffiti or other crime. I know this is a viable solution because student-monitors will prevent vandals from committing graffiti and will help to catch students who continue. At my previous school, Baucom Elementary, students began to terrorize the bathroom walls with their permanent markers. In fact my friend, Peter, especially enjoyed committing such a crime. Then one day, the teachers elected a bathroom-monitor to “stand guard.” My friend Peter, and many other students, who usually marked all over the walls, were then afraid to do so, and stopped. Likewise, the few pupils who continued were reported to the principal by the hall-monitor and received serious consequences. As a result of this solution, the bathroom graffiti problem dropped 98% in only two weeks. As you can see, imploring the solution of student-monitors is certain to ensure that our bathrooms remain clean and free of the unsightly act of graffiti vandalism.

• Notice: This body paragraph is 11 sentences long!

• Notice: the STOP portion contains 8 sentences!

• What does that tell you?

Let’s see what you can do…

Write a body paragraph that follows the “Traffic Light” pattern for the second solution: tougher

consequences.

Try this as a class or individually.

Remember…

A body paragraphlooks like this:

GO

SLOW

STOP

GO

BACK

The End