Writing Strong Body Paragraphs and

AnalysisEvidence, Interpretation, and Connection

Parts of the Body

• Topic Sentence• Direction and Controlling Ideas

• Evidence• Quoted material• Relevant, thesis-centered

• Analysis• Connection of parts to whole, evidence to interpretation• Strong, precise verbs

• Transitions• Connecting different arguments in essay

Topic Sentence

•Controlling ideas for each paragraph•Should be analytic and relate back to thesis statements

Organized by P2Thesis: The speaker of Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 130” expresses a whimsical, yet realistic appreciation for his present lover by employing naturalistic similes, ironic imagery, and the uniting Elizabethan sonnet.

- TS1: The speaker’s prolific use of similes comparing his lover to recognizable natural features echoes a tradition of love poetry to elevate the female subject.- TS2: While these comparisons to the natural world do inform the characterization of the woman, the irony of the grotesque images reinforces the imperfection of her physical attributes.

Organized by Chronology (in poem)Thesis: The speaker of Browning’s “Sonnet 43” argues for the necessity of religion in romantic love through varied syntax and hyperbolic figurative language.

• TS1: In the first quatrain [four lines], the speaker employs a rhetorical question and hyperbole to establish the extreme depth of her love towards her husband.

• TS2: This illustration of limitless love continues in the next quatrain, as the speaker adds a sense of timelessness to her devotion through the anaphora of “I will love thee”.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Topic sentence 1Topic sentence 2

Topic sentence 3

If thesis has to do with auditory imagery and varied syntax, prove both patterns in each of your paragraphs

We always look for major shift. Here is a poem:

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Again, the paper isn’t determined by stanzas or paragraphs, but the shifts!How many shifts in this poem? How many body paragraphs?

Topic sentence 1Topic sentence 2

Organized by Controlling IdeaThis approach includes papers organized by a definition, a classification, an analogy/comparison, a comparison-contrast, or a cause-effect. The topic sentences, then articulate separate parts of the thesis statement. For example, topic sentences might define the aspects of a definition, classify the evidence into categories, identify one cause, etc.

• Thesis: In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer uses his diverse characters to explore three moral categories: depravity, vice, and redemption.

• [NOTE: this progression is logical. depravity (cause) -> vice (effect) -> redemption (solution)]

• TS1: The lowest level Chaucer describes is one of complete depravity, representing morality without God.

• TS2: Chaucer’s second moral plane is further defined by the perpetration of evil acts as a direct result of this expanded depravity: sloth, selfishness, and hypocrisy.

Organized by Controlling IdeaThis approach includes papers organized by a definition, a classification, an analogy/comparison, a comparison-contrast, or a cause-effect. The topic sentences, then articulate separate parts of the thesis statement. For example, topic sentences might define the aspects of a definition, classify the evidence into categories, identify one cause, etc.

• Thesis: In this excerpt from Brave New World, Huxley criticizes technology worship using ironic imagery in the individual, social, and religious depictions of the New World State.

• [NOTE: this progression is logical. individual character (smaller) -> social (larger) -> religion (transcendental)]

• TS1: In the portrayal of London’s Hatchery as a hive of insects, Huxley relates the production of humans to that of bees, dehumanizing citizens from the moment of birth.

• TS2: From the dislocation of the individual to the collective, the passage suggests a loss of social identity as the

Transitions – the paper should have a logical development

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Analysis

Remember the Toulmin Model: YOUR CLAIM/ INTERPRETATION EVIDENCE FROM THE TEXT CLEAR ANALYSIS (connecting the dots)

Dickinson’s formal diction reveals a tone of reverence

The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs –The stiff Heart questions ‘was it He, that bore,’

By employing formal language, exhibited in the antiquated “twas” and ritualistic “ceremonious,” Dickinson channels a level of respect that mirrors the speaker’s respect toward her subject.

Analysis: Basics of Strong Analytic/Interpretive Sentences

•Complex (more than 1 clause)•Coherent – transitions used to connect various aspects of the sentence into a unified logical whole.

•Strong, precise verb

In “The Ruin,” the speaker uses morbid imagery to lament the destruction of human

achievements by fate – a theme announced in the first two lines by the contrast of the

“thousand dead eyes” with a city broken by fate.

Context Literary Device

Verb I nterpretation Text Reference

In "The Ruin" the speaker uses

morbid imagery to lament the destruction of human achievements by fate—

a theme announced in the first two lines by the contrast of the “thousand dead eyes” with a city broken by fate.

Qualified Lit Device/Technique!

Specific section, lines, or work

Hooray! Strong, precise verb!

Your claim/argument! Approach it as a persuasive interpretation!

Here’s the connection between “Claim” and “Evidence”

Context

Literary Device

Verb Interpretation Text Reference

In all the stanzas of "Dover Beach,"

language describing setting

suggests positive and negative moods, a part of the larger motif of contrast conveyed by setting

—sea and land, present and past, real and metaphorical places, the individual and society, and national and universal identity.

Example: In all the stanzas of “Dover Beach,” language describing setting suggests positive and negative moods, a part of the larger motif of contrast conveyed by setting—sea and land, present and past, real and metaphorical places, the individual and society, and national and universal identity.

In lines 9-10 of Dickinson’s “Hope is the thing with feathers,” the

speaker celebrates the ubiquity of hope by appealing to the auditory

imagery of the bird that transcends both surfaces of

human habitation, the “land” and “sea.”

OOOOHHHHH!!AHHHHHHH!!

In “Fire and Ice,” Frost’s speaker nonchalantly unites concepts of

desire and destruction through the juxtaposition of contrasting thermal imagery, indicated in the “fire” and

“ice” (1, 2). This lack of concern, expressed in the passive diction of

“would suffice” (9) suggests a powerlessness to change the

“world[‘s] end” (1).

VERY ACADEMIC

SUCH

COLLEGIATE!!

Frost’s use of alliteration in the opening two lines, in which the speaker repeats the soft “s” sound in “some say” (l. 1), brings a light, wispy auditory effect to the poem, a wistfulness that stands in stark contrast to the morally corrupted diction established in “hate” (6) and “destruction” (7).

Parts of the Body

• Topic Sentence• Direction and Controlling Ideas

• Evidence• Quoted material• Relevant, thesis-centered

• Analysis• Connection of parts to whole• Strong, precise verbs

• Transitions• Connecting different arguments in essay

Tocqueville’s opening claim, that “no novelty in the United States struck me more vividly…than did the equality of conditions,” signals a move beyond a simple understanding of democracy and suggests that democratic action stems from basic social conditions.

VERY ANALYSIS

MUCH COLLEGIATE

Look at your prose analysis and rework two sentences to be strong interpretive

sentences.Also, use your “strong

analytic verbs” handout to replace any weak or

imprecise verbs.