The Body Paragraph

Directions:

Divide a sheet of paper into 6 blocks and label the blocks as follows:

1. Topic Sentence

2. Concrete Detail

3. Commentary

4. Chunk

5. Concluding Sentence

6. Body Paragraph Outline

Prior Knowledge

What do you know / remember about these terms?

Have you seen them before, and do you think you might know what they mean?

Discuss with your table.

** Note – Remember, in this class, you will always dare to be smart. THINK and voice your opinion, even if you aren’t sure.

Block 1 – Topic Sentence

1st sentence of a body paragraph

Says what the paragraph will be about

General statement, not a specific detail

TS

Block 2 – Concrete Detail

Fact, example, quotation, story, etc.

Can be proven or found

Often begins with a transitional word/phrase

Additional concrete details need to be introduced with transitions

CD

Examples of Concrete Details

For example, Ms. Reyes is always wearing black.

Another example is that Ms. Reyes is called “mean.”

Finally, even the sound of her name, Reyes, is unpleasant.

For example, in eighth grade I made a C in English.

Also, when we would play family games, my brothers would never let me keep score.

Worst of all, in college, I was put into a remedial Algebra class that was made up of the football team and me.

Block 3 - Commentary

Your analysis, opinion, or explanation of the concrete detail

Opinionated

“this shows that” / “this is important because”

Should take more than one sentence of commentary to explain

CM

Examples of commentary

This shows that the author probably chose Ms. Reyes’s name in order to give us a clue about her creepiness. Her name is used as foreshadowing because it makes us realize that she is scary even before she actually does anything.

Block 4 - Chunk

CD plus CM together

A chunk must be kept together and completed before moving on to a new idea

The ratio of a well-written chunk is at least 2:1 (2 CM for every 1 CD)

Block 5: Concluding Sentence

Sums up the entire paragraph

Has the same idea as the topic sentence but in different words

A general statement, not a concrete detail

CS

Basic Body Paragraph Outline

1. TS

2. CD

3. CM

4. CM

5. CS

You try it!

On the back of your paper, write a ONE CHUNK paragraph that follows the format.

Use one of the following topics:

How would you describe your personality?

Why is _____ your best friend?

Why should we keep or abolish NYOS Dress Code?

Check Your Neighbor!

Identify and label all sentences in the paragraph

Group Practice

Follow directions according to your seat number.

1. Initial the topic sentence and concluding sentence.

2. Draw brackets around the three chunks.

3. Highlight all concrete details in one color.

4. Highlight commentary in another color.

2nd Sheet of Paper

Topic: Choose EITHER:

Which Learner Profile Characteristic do you demonstrate the most?

Which Learner Profile Characteristic do you demonstrate the least?

Beyond the Basics – Your Paragraph Outline

1. TS2. CD 13. CM 1A4. CM 1B5. CD 26. CM 2A7. CM 2B8. CD 39. CM 3A10. CM 3B11. CS

Getting Started

Brainstorm concrete details first

ask yourself, “when was a time that I showed I was an inquirer, etc.?”

REMEMBER

EXTRA SENTENCES ARE OKAY!

If it takes you more than one sentence to explain your concrete detail, that’s fine. Just don’t forget that you should still have multiple sentences of commentary.

If it takes you extra commentary to explain your details, fine!