Lesson EightBody

Paragraphs

I will not be here next week. No class.

First Draft & Outline:

Due Week 12

First Draft:Focus on body paragraphs, proving your

premises.

About 1,200 words.

Just get your ideas down on paper.

Don’t worry about making it perfect or beautiful.

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

Write effective body paragraphs for the first draft of your argumentative paper.

Today’s Objective

Paragraph

“A unit of writing focused on a single idea or topic.”

Elements of a Paragraph1. Unity

2. Coherence

3. Topic Sentence

4. Adequate Development

Group WorkIn your own words, explain each of the elements

of paragraphs.

Do not use your dictionary.

Do not copy from your book.

15 minutes

UnityThe entire paragraph should concern itself with a

single focus. If it begins with a one focus or major point of discussion, it should not end with

another or wander within different ideas.

CoherenceCoherence is the trait that makes the paragraph easily understandable to a reader. You can help create coherence in your paragraphs by creating

logical bridges and verbal bridges.

Logical Bridges• The same idea of a topic is carried over from

sentence to sentence

• Successive sentences can be constructed in parallel form

Verbal Bridges• Key words can be repeated in several sentences • Synonymous words can be repeated in several

sentences • Pronouns can refer to nouns in previous sentences • Transition words can be used to link ideas from

different sentences

A Topic Sentence Regardless of whether you include an explicit

topic sentence or not, you should be able to easily summarize what the paragraph is about.

Adequate DevelopmentThe topic should be discussed fully and

adequately.

The elements of paragraphs apply to all paragraphs, not matter what we are writing.

Now, let’s turn our attention to argumentative paragraphs.

Argumentative Body Paragraphs1. Supporting evidence (think: courtroom)

2. Valleys and mountains (think: tour guide)

Methods of Guiding

Methods of using supporting evidence and guiding your reader through the valleys and

hilltops:

• Exposition

• Interpretation

• Signposts

Methods of Guiding

Exposition:“Discourse designed to convey information or

explain what is difficult to understand.”

facts / individual bits / evidence

Methods of Guiding

Interpretation:“To explain or tell the meaning of something.”

inductive / deductive reasoning

Methods of Guiding

SignpostsSignposts are internal aids to assist readers; they

usually consist of several sentences or a paragraph outlining what the article has covered

and where the article will be going.

Exposition

The most important material for exposition is source material. How do we effectively

incorporate source material into our body paragraphs?

Using Sources

1. Use your sources as support for your insights, not as the backbone of your paper.

Using Sources

2. Summarize (condense a text by stating the main ideas in your own words) and paraphrase (say the same thing in a different way) much more often than you use direct quotes (same words as the original, in quotation marks).

Using Sources

3. Don't use direct quotes as fillers but because the author says something so aptly or dramatically that a paraphrase would lose that power. Or, if you're analyzing the language of a passage.

Using Sources

4. Explain direct quotes. Readers have to know why you include source material where you do.

Using Sources

5. If multiple sources say the same thing, summarize what they say and put a few key names in brackets at the end of the sentence.

Using Sources

6. When you do use direct quotes, the most fluid way to integrate them is to incorporate key words right into your text.

Example

"We can see this change when Othello calls his wife a 'strumpet' (4.2.81) . . . ."

7. Don't summarize plots of primary sources. Assume your audience has read the work. Only explain as much as you need in order to establish context for an example.

Using Sources

How do I know when to start a new paragraph?

You should start a new paragraph:

•When you begin a new idea or point. New ideas should always start in new paragraphs.

•To contrast information or ideas. Separate paragraphs can serve to contrast sides in a debate, different points in an argument, or any other difference.

You should start a new paragraph:

• When your readers need a pause. You would create a break if the paragraph becomes too long or the material is complex.

• When you are ending your introduction or starting your conclusion. Your introductory and concluding material should always be in a new paragraph.

It is in within this context that Tess was written and it is within this context that we find its characters trying to define themselves. In trying to type Tess’ spirituality, the reader is immediately confronted with difficulty because of her lack of education. The difficulty of this task is realized when she is juxtaposed against Mr. Clare, who is easily typed by the narrator, as well as other characters, as being an Evangelical.

TransitionTopic Sentence (enthymeme)

Mountain(Compare/Contrast)

…His two most defining characteristics are that he is of the Low Evangelical sort and that he is earnest in his pursuit of Evangelicalism and spreading the Word. Nearly every time the reader is given a description of Mr. Clare by the narrator or another character, he is characterized in this way…

• Inductive Reasoning Supporting Evidence

Mountain

…Mr. Crick offers the first description of him as being “the earnestest man in all Wessex… the last of the old Low Church sort” (134). The narrator describes him as “an Evangelical of the Evangelicals, a Conversionist…” (183). And this description is confirmed over and over again throughout the novel…

• Supporting Evidence Exposition

Valley Quote

…The narrator and other characters are able to type him with ease because he is an educated, self-reflexive individual. Because of his education, Mr. Clare is associated with the likes of Wycliff, Huss, Luther, and Calvin; he is typed as ‘a spiritual descendent in the direct line’ of these men…

• Supporting Evidence Interpretation

Quote

…The reader is told that he loves Paul of Tarsus, likes St. John, hates St. James, and has mixed feelings about Timothy, Titus, and Philemon (183). Mr. Clare is educated and well-read enough to know what he believes as well as what he likes and dislikes in theology.

• Supporting Evidence Interpretation

Quote

MountainInterpretation

Valley Exposition

MountainInterpretation

Example Body Paragraph II

But whether Tess knows whether her principles are High, Low, or Broad, Angel must nevertheless attempt to place her into one of these movements if she is going to be presentable to his educated family as anything other than a milkmaid…

Example Body Paragraph II

…In doing so, Angel also asks the reader to think of her in terms of this debate. An admittedly difficult task because even Tess does not even know herself and this creates “confused beliefs,” Angel nevertheless takes what he knows of her and tries to place her into one of these movements (200)…

Example Body Paragraph II

...His assessment is that Tess is “Tractarian as to phraseology, and Pantheistic as to essence” (200). In other words, Angel believes that Tess is Pantheistic at her core, but this Pantheism finds its manner or style of expression in Tractarianism…

Example Body Paragraph II

…But this is only Angel’s assessment of Tess and the reader must not take its accuracy for granted. Thus, the following question must be answered: Does the text support this assessment? If it does, how are these two ideologies reconciled?

First Draft & Outline:

Due Week 12

First Draft:Just get your ideas down on paper.

Don’t worry about making it perfect or beautiful.

About 1,000 words.

ReadingReview Informal Logic Handouts

Pg. 127 - 129