Paragraph Development

Using the

Fires

Strategy

Understanding Paragraphs

• A paragraph is group of related sentences that develop a single idea or accomplish a single purpose. All good paragraphs share two characteristics: unity and coherence. In a paragraph with unity, all sentences are related to the main idea or purpose of the paragraph. In a coherent paragraph, all the sentences in the paragraph follow each other in a logical order and are clearly connected.

Constructing Paragraphs

• Use a topic sentence to give the main idea or purpose for the paragraph. This sentence lets the reader know what to expect from the rest of the paragraph.

FIRE up your Writing!

Use the “FIRES” strategy to improve paragraph development.

• F – facts and statistics

• I - incidents

• R - reasons

• E - examples

• S – sensory details

Developing the Paragraph

• A paragraph is made up of details to support the topic sentence. Use the “FIRES” strategy to help you elaborate or support an idea.– Facts/statistics -Statements that can be proved– Incidents - Events that illustrate the main idea– Reasons - Specific reasons/points to illustrate

the main idea or topic sentence– Examples - Specific cases that illustrate a main

idea– Sensory details - Words that appeal to the

reader’s senses (Show Don’t Tell Writing)

Facts & Statistics

A fact is a statement that can be proved by observation, experience, checking in a reference work, or consulting an authority.

Example: Baseball was played by soldiers during the Civil War.

A statistic is a fact that involves numbers. Example: Cy Young won 511 games as a major league pitcher.

Incidents

• An incident is a happening, or an occurrence. Retelling an incident can be a good way to explain a main point or idea.

Reasons and Examples

• You can support your point by giving specific reasons or examples. – Example: Leaving garbage behind is one way

people ruin state parks.

Sensory Details

• You can add interest by adding words that appeal to the senses. When you show the way something looks, sounds, smells, feels,or tastes, you are providing sensory details. – Example: The wet wood crackled, popped, and hissed as it

burned. Use your words to show something; don’t just tell. After the storm, the city was silent. -OR- After the storm, a strange eerie silence hung over the

city. The bells had stilled in their steeples, and houses stopped collapsing momentarily. It was as if the city itself held its breath. Then, we could hear the hissing of gas from broken pipes, like dozens of angry snakes.

Using language imaginatively

• Figurative language is the imaginative use of words to create pictures and sensations. These devices can be used for emphasizing important details of a subject. Three types include

• Similes• Metaphors• Personification

Similes

• A simile is a comparison of two unlike things using the words like or as. – Example:

His temper was as explosive as a volcano.

Metaphors

• A metaphor makes a direct comparison, but without using the word like or as.

– Example: Lucy is such a mule; we cannot get her to change her mind.

Personification

• Personification gives human qualities to nonhuman things such as plants, objects, animals, or ideas.– Example: The sun crept slowly across the

sky and slunk down the horizon.Personification gives human qualities to nonhuman things such as plants, objects, animals, or ideas.

Example: The sun crept slowly across the sky and slunk down the horizon.

Writing is more than a formula!

• Find your voice.• Be creative.• Make sure to write enough; The body

paragraphs need adequate support.• Now is the time to show what you

know!