Instructor Notes for Paragraph Writing: Introducing Yourself

Content:

These lessons can serve as an introduction to the writing

process and an introduction to U. S. academic paragraph form.

The Writing Process

Prewriting: Brainstorming
Prewriting: Choosing a Topic
Prewriting: An Outline
Writing: The First Draft
Writing: The Concluding Sentence
Revising
Editing
Publishing

Page 1
Page 2
Pages 3 and 4
Pages 5 and 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Pages 10 and 11
Page 12

Target Students: Intermediate to Advanced ESL students who are beginning

writers.
Objective:

Students will be able to use the steps of the writing process to

write a well-organized paragraph on a specific topic in U.S.
academic form.

Lesson Format:

Lessons are divided into short segments so that a small amount

of class time can be used over a period of two weeks.
Alternatively, several segments can be grouped together for a
shorter overall time frame.

These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community College
District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006

SUGGESTIONS:
Before you begin the unit, it would be beneficial to explore with students
the idea that there are many types of writing. Elicit from the students different
kinds of writing such as stories, news reports, instructions, letters, messages,
notes, memos, poems, song lyrics and academic writing. It is important to point out
to students that this unit teaches only one type of paragraph writing: academic
writing in the U.S. style. Students are not only learning to compose in English, but
they are also learning how ideas are expected to be organized in our school culture.
Though these pages are reproducible, you may feel that twelve pages are too
many photocopies. It is not necessary to give Ss copies of each page. In order to
reduce the amount of copies you have to make, several pages can be well utilized
for presentation purposes on the OHP without distributing a copy to each student.
Consider pages 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 12 for this.
Page 4 asks Ss to design a star about themselves with words or pictures.
You may prefer to hand out large pieces of drawing or construction paper for this
step. If possible, Ss enjoy adding color with markers or colored pencils after
designing in pencil. Its fun to photograph Ss with their stars or save the stars to
display later with a completed paragraph.
After completing this unit, it would be beneficial to repeat the steps of the
writing process with new topics until your Ss have written at least three
paragraphs organized in this format. A paragraph related to your current theme
or reading would be easier to integrate into your class. Otherwise, the star
exercise provides for more topics about oneself or you could direct Ss to interview
each other and write a paragraph about a classmate.

These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community College
District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006

The Writing Process: A Paragraph

Introducing Yourself
These lessons will take you through the steps of the writing process as you
develop a well-organized paragraph about yourself. The skills you learn in these
lessons can be used again and again to write paragraphs about other topics as well.
The writing process will show you that good writing comes from working on
your paragraph step by step. Sometimes students are surprised that the first
step is not to begin writing! Before writing your paragraph, you will use prewriting
strategies such as brainstorming and outlining. You may also be surprised that
much of the work takes place after you write your paragraph. In these lessons you
will learn to revise and edit your paragraph before giving a copy to your instructor.

Publish
Edit
Revise
am a
First
Draft
Outline

Brainstorm

Writing your paragraph step by step will make writing easier for you in the
future, and you will feel more confident about the good quality of your work!

These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community College
District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006

Prewriting: Brainstorming
One of the most important aspects of good writing is to have a clear,
specific topic. Before you begin writing, its best to consider all possible ideas.
Brainstorming is the process of getting your ideas on paper without stopping to
analyze them. First, write down everything that comes to mind. This is part of
PRE writing which means getting ready BEFORE you write.

1Talk about the topics below.

Then silently write words about yourself in

each box. Write anything that comes into your mind. Please dont worry about
spelling and dont write complete sentences.
Your personal qualities:

People you love:

Things you do well:

Future goals:

Important events in your life:

2 Now, read over your ideas slowly.

In each box, circle one idea that you

would like to share with your classmates.

These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community College
District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006

Prewriting: Choosing a Topic

Now you have five possible topics for your paragraph about yourself. If you
wrote about all of these topics, your paragraph wouldnt be well organized. A
paragraph should have only one topic. Spend some time thinking about your topics
by designing a star about yourself. This will help you decide which topic to choose
for your paragraph. Follow the model below.

SOMETHING
YOU ARE
GOOD AT

A FUTURE GOAL

SOMEONE YOU LOVE

THE NAME YOU WOULD LIKE

TO BE CALLED IN CLASS

A PERSONAL
QUALITY

AN IMPORTANT
EVENT IN
YOUR LIFE

These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community College
District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006

Prewriting: Choosing a Topic

1. Fill in your star with words or pictures according to the model.
2. In a small group, tell your classmates about your star.

3. Think about which topic you most enjoyed talking about. This might be the best
topic to write about. Choose one of the five topics for your paragraph.

These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community College
District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006

Prewriting: An Outline
After you have chosen a topic, its important to organize your ideas. An
outline is a list of your ideas written in order from first to last. Making an outline
helps you to write a paragraph that includes all of your ideas and is easy for others
to understand.
This is what a paragraph outline looks like:

Title: ____________________
Topic Sentence: ___________________________________
Support: _____________________________________________
Support: _____________________________________________
Support: _____________________________________________
Conclusion: ___________________________________________

Title: The title should be one or a few words that tell the reader the topic of your
paragraph.
Topic Sentence: The topic sentence is the first sentence of your paragraph. It
must be a complete sentence that tells your reader what your paragraph is about.
The topic sentence repeats the idea in your title, but it is a complete sentence.
Please remember to indent (leave 5 spaces) the topic sentence.
Support Sentences: The support sentences describe your topic. They include an
explanation, a description, or examples of your topic. Each support sentence must
relate to your topic. This outline has three support sentences. You may write
more than three if you would like to. In an outline, you only write your ideas, not
complete support sentences yet.
Conclusion: The concluding sentence tells your reader that you have completed
your message, and it repeats the main idea of your paragraph. Often it is not
written into an outline. We will create a concluding sentence later in this lesson.

These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community College
District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006

Prewriting: An Outline
Look at an outline example made by a student named Sara. Sara chose to
write about something that she is good at doing. Shes a good cook. Here is Saras
outline.

Title: Something I am Good at

Topic Sentence: One of my talents is cooking._____________________
Support: cooking with my mother_____________________________________
Support: old dishes and new _________________________________________
Support: pot lucks, compliments______________________________________
Conclusion: ______________________________________________________
Notice that Sara wrote a complete topic sentence. Then she only wrote the
main ideas of her support sentences.
Where can you get ideas for the support sentences? Think about the things
you told your classmates when you presented your star. What did you talk about?
The examples, descriptions or explanations you gave to your classmates were
supporting ideas.

-------------- Its your turn! Write an outline for your paragraph below. ---Title: ______________________________
Topic Sentence: ____________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Support: __________________________________________________
Support: __________________________________________________
Support: __________________________________________________
Conclusion: ___ (Please wait to write this part later!)_______________________
These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community College
District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006

Writing: The First Draft

The first draft is your first try at writing the paragraph. Follow your
outline to create a paragraph.
Look at Saras example below.
Outline:
Title: Something I am Good at
Topic Sentence: One of my talents is cooking._____________________
Support: cooking with my mother_____________________________________
Support: old dishes and new _________________________________________
Support: pot lucks, compliments______________________________________
Conclusion: _______________________________________________________

First Draft:
Something I am Good at
Hello, I would like to introduce myself. One of my talents is cooking. I also like to swim
and play volleyball. I begin cooking with my Mother when I was a small child, and I
have always enjoyed it I still make the dishes my mother teach me a long time ago, but
I also try new resapees. My family frequently attends pot luck picnics where I get
compliments that me make proud.

This is Saras first draft. She has done a good job. However, everybody
makes mistakes, especially on the first try. You might have noticed some errors in
Saras paragraph. After writing the first draft, its necessary to revise and edit
the work. Well do that soon in another lesson.
Now its your turn! On another piece of paper, write the first draft of a
paragraph that introduces you. Use your outline as a guide. Save your first draft
to use later!

These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community College
District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006

Writing: The First Draft, a Concluding Sentence

The last sentence of a well organized paragraph should summarize, or repeat
the main ideas, of the whole paragraph. The content is similar to the topic
sentence, but it also signals to the reader that you have finished your message.
New ideas should not be introduced in the conclusion.
Look at Saras first draft again. (Remember, shell edit her errors later!)
First Draft:
Something I am Good at
Hello, I would like to introduce myself. One of my talents is cooking. I also like to swim
and play volleyball. I begin cooking with my Mother when I was a small child, and I
have always enjoyed it I still make the dishes my mother teach me a long time ago, but
I also try new resapees. My family frequently attends pot luck picnics where I get
compliments that me make proud.
So far it is incomplete because she doesnt have a conclusion. Read the
following sentences. Which ones would be acceptable concluding sentences for
Saras paragraph? Discuss the options with a classmate. There are three good
options.
A) In brief, creating great food is something that I am good at.
B) In the future, I plan to spend more time studying English.
C) In sum, thanks to my mother and others, I enjoy being a good cook.
D) Unfortunately, cooking takes too much time.
E) Finally, I hope that I will continue to cultivate my culinary skills while
sharing the joy of cooking with others.
F) In conclusion, Im sorry for my mistakes and I thank you very much for
reading my paragraph.

Its your turn! Take out your rough draft. Write a concluding sentence for your
paragraph. Below are signal words that you may choose to begin the concluding
sentence.
In brief,

In short,

Indeed,

In sum,

In conclusion,

Finally,

These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community College
District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006

Writing: Revise Your Work

After writing a first draft, it is necessary to read it carefully and ask
yourself if it is easy for another person to understand. Ask yourself these
questions when you revise your work:

Does the paragraph begin with a sentence that tells me the main idea?
Are all of the sentences about the same main idea?
Are the sentences in an order that makes sense to me?
Is there enough information to completely describe the main idea to me?
Does each sentence contain important information?

Lets practice revising with Saras first draft. Read it carefully. Ask
yourself the questions above. Do you see any sentences that dont belong?
First Draft:
Something I am Good at
Hello, I would like to introduce myself. One of my talents is cooking. I also like to swim
and play volleyball. I begin cooking with my Mother when I was a small child, and I
have always enjoyed it I still make the dishes my mother teach me a long time ago, but
I also try new resapees. My family frequently attends pot luck picnics where I get
compliments that me make proud. In brief, creating great food is something that I am
good at.

There are two sentences that Sara should take out to improve her
paragraph. Which ones do you think they are?

Its your turn! Read your first draft. Are there any sentences that you
should take out? If you want to change the order of your sentences, you can draw
circles or arrows to make notes for yourself. If you need to add some information,
you can write additional sentences now. Save this page. You dont need to rewrite
your paragraph yet.
These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community College
District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006

Writing: Edit Your Work

After you revise your work for ideas, and organization, you need to edit
your work. Editing focuses on spelling, grammar, capitalization and punctuation.
Lets practice editing with Saras first draft. Read her first draft again. Ask
yourself these questions:

Are all of the words spelled correctly?

Are all of the verbs in the correct tense?
Are there any problems with word order?
Do all of the sentences begin with capital letters and end with periods?
First Draft:
Something I am Good at
Hello, I would like to introduce myself. One of my talents is cooking. I also like to swim
and play volleyball. I begin cooking with my Mother when I was a small child, and I
have always enjoyed it I still make the dishes my mother teach me a long time ago, but
I also try new resapees. My family frequently attends pot luck picnics where I get
compliments that me make proud. In brief, creating great food is something that I am
good at.
Can you identify six errors that Sara should correct to improve her paragraph?

These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community College
District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006

Writing: Edit Your Work

Saras errors are circled.
First Draft:
Something I am Good at
Hello, I would like to introduce myself. One of my talents is cooking. I also like to swim
and play volleyball. I begin cooking with my Mother when I was a small child, and I
have always enjoyed it I still make the dishes my mother teach me a long time ago, but
I also try new resapees. My family frequently attends pot luck picnics where I get
compliments that me make proud. In brief, creating great food is something that I am
good at.

Here is a corrected copy of Saras paragraph.

First Draft:
Something I am Good at
One of my talents is cooking. I began cooking with my mother when I was a
small child, and I have always enjoyed it. I still make the dishes my mother taught me
a long time ago, but I also try new recipes. My family frequently attends pot luck
picnics where I get compliments that make me proud. In brief, creating great food is
something that I am good at.

These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community College
District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006

Its your turn!

1.) Read and edit your first draft. This is a good time to use a dictionary to
check the spelling of words you are not sure about. Write notes on your paper to
correct your work.
2.) Trade papers with a classmate. Read your classmates paper. Ask
yourself the questions above. Do you have any more suggestions to improve your
classmates work?
3.) Return your classmates paper. Talk about your ideas. Listen to your
classmates ideas for your paragraph as well.
4.) Write an improved draft of your paragraph. Give it to your teacher.

These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community College
District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006

Writing: Publish Your Work

The ultimate goal of writing is to share your thoughts and experiences with
others. We must publish, or make public, our writing so that our work can be
appreciated by others. You may have the opportunity to share your work with
others by posting it on a bulletin board or reading it to small group. Newsletters,
newspapers, and the Internet are also great ways to reach a larger audience. If
you have revised and edited your work, its time to write your final draft to publish.
1.) Look over the comments and corrections you may have received from your
classmate and/or instructor. If necessary, ask them to clarify their notes to be
sure that you understand how to incorporate their suggestions.
2.) Ask your instructor if he or she has any preferences about line spacing, a title,
illustrations, etc.
3.) Word process or handwrite your work.
4.) Share your work with others!

These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community College
District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006

Instructor Notes for Essay Writing: From Paragraph to Essay

Content:

These lessons briefly review paragraph structure and

demonstrate how to expand a topic into an essay. The writing
process is not taught explicitly in the lessons. The instructor
needs to implement the steps of revising, editing and publishing.
Student Introduction
Prewriting: Think and Talk
Paragraph Organization: Model
Paragraph Organization: Practice
Parts of an Essay: Diagram
Parts of an Essay: Model, Analysis
Introduction-Thesis Statement: Model
Introduction-Thesis Statement: Practice
The Body: Model
The Body: Practice
The Conclusion: Model and Practice
Putting it All Together

Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12

Target Students: Intermediate to Advanced ESL students who are

high beginning writers. Students should have some
experience writing individual paragraphs.
Objective:

Students will be able to write a well-organized essay on a

specific topic in U.S. academic form.

Lesson Format:

Lessons are divided into short segments so that a small amount

of class time can be used over a period of two weeks.
Alternatively, several segments can be grouped together for a
shorter overall time frame.

These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community College
District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006

INSTRUCTOR INPUT:
Please keep in mind that this unit will require your input! Read through the
entire unit so that you can anticipate areas that will require adaptations for your
individual class and to strategize a time frame. We have provided some basic
pieces to work with, but it will be up to you to provide additional support. You are
also responsible for implementing a revision and editing process for each part of
the essay. Peer and teacher review is referred to throughout the lessons but the
writing process is not taught explicitly.
SUGGESTIONS:
Before you begin the unit, it would be beneficial to explore with students
the idea that there are many types of writing. Elicit from the students different
kinds of writing such as stories, news reports, instructions, letters, messages,
notes, memos, poems, song lyrics and academic writing. It is important to point out
to students that this unit teaches specifically how to write a traditional 5paragraph essay for academic purposes. Students are not only learning to compose
in English, but they are also learning how ideas are expected to be organized in our
school culture.
PHOTOCOPIES:
Though all of these pages are reproducible, you may feel that twelve pages
are too many photocopies. It is not necessary to give Ss copies of each page. In
order to reduce the amount of copies you have to make, several pages can be well
utilized for presentation purposes on the OHP only without distributing a copy to
each student.

These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community College
District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006

Essay Writing: From Paragraph to Essay

Student Introduction
Often a single paragraph isnt enough to express all of your ideas on a single
topic. As adults, your opinions and experiences are complex, so you will want to
write a more complete description of your views. Therefore, lets learn about
essays. An essay is an extended discussion of a topic that includes several
paragraphs. Essays are often written for school or scholarship applications.
Writing an essay is required to receive a GED or to the pass the TOEFL test. In
addition, college students frequently write essays as class assignments. Finally,
learning the basics of essay writing can help you organize other types of writing
such as a report at work or an important message to your childs teacher.
Good writing comes with practice and by following a step by step method.
Please make an effort to attend class regularly and complete each step of these
lessons so that you will be able to put together a great essay. For many students
writing is very difficult and even frightening. At the same time, we would all like
to write better and feel more confident. If youve have had bad experiences with
writing in the past, lets make it a goal to erase those negative feelings! Now is
your chance to take some small steps that will lead you to big discoveries of how
much you really can do!

Discuss these questions with a small group of classmates.

WRITING
1) What is an essay?
2) Why should we learn about writing essays?
3) What can a student do to get the most from these lessons?
4) How do you feel about writing?
5) How do you think you will feel if you complete a five paragraph
essay?

Report your group discussion to your teacher.

These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community College
District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006

Prewriting: Think and talk about the topic.

These lessons will center around one topic:

Which is better, to live alone or to live with others?

Discuss the questions below in small groups to get ready for writing on the topic.
1) What are the benefits of living together with others?
2) What are the benefits of living alone?
3) Which do you prefer?
4) In the U.S. being independent and taking care of yourself are
values that many people respect. Many parents encourage their grown children to
move out and live on their own. Is this similar to or different from your native
country?

These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community College
District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006

Paragraph Organization: A Model Paragraph

Before writing an essay, lets review paragraph organization. Paragraphs are
the building blocks of an essay. Read the model paragraph.
The Benefits of Living Alone
Living alone has several important advantages. First, you can leave your things
anywhere you want. You dont have to keep all of your personal belongings put away.
In addition, you can be noisy. You can play your music as loudly as you want no matter
the time of day. Finally, you have privacy. No one will watch and comment on your
personal life. With these benefits, it is sometimes preferable to live by yourself.

Read the paragraph again with your instructor. Discuss the role of each
sentence. Copy the sentences individually below.

Topic Sentence

______________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________
Support

____________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________
Detail ____________________________________________________________
Support

____________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________
Detail ____________________________________________________________
Support

____________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________
Detail ____________________________________________________________
Concluding Sentence______________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community College
District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006

Adapted from Tools for Writing, Fellag and Drean, pg. 94

Paragraph Organization: Practice

Its your turn!
Write a paragraph about the benefits of living with others. First,
brainstorm ideas with your teacher and classmates. Then fill out the outline to
organize your ideas. Finally, write your sentences in paragraph form on another
piece of paper. You may look at the model for examples of sentence structure,
vocabulary, spelling and grammar.
The Benefits of Living with Others
Topic Sentence

______________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________
Support

____________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________
Detail ____________________________________________________________
Support

____________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________
Detail ____________________________________________________________
Support

____________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________
Detail ____________________________________________________________
Concluding Sentence______________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community College
District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006

The Parts of an Essay

Often wed like to write more than a single paragraph. Students sometimes
write essays. An essay is a developed discussion of a single topic. It is similar to a
paragraph, but each part is expanded. Look at the comparison below.

Paragraph
Topic
Sentence
Support
Sentences

Conclusion

Essay
Introduction
Thesis Statement
Topic Sentence
Support
Close

Topic Sentence
Support
Close

B
O
D
Y

Topic Sentence
Support
Close
Conclusion

These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community College
District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006

The Parts of an Essay: Model

Read the model essay.

The Benefits of Living Alone

One of the most exciting events in a young persons life is moving away
from his or her family for the first time. Many people in the U.S. consider living
alone to be an important step toward independence and adulthood. With it come
new responsibilities and freedoms. In fact, living alone has several important
advantages.
First, you can leave your things anywhere you want. For example, you
dont have to wash the dishes before you leave for work. You can leave your
shoes wherever you take them off and forget about your dirty clothes until you
feel like washing them. Snacks dont have to stay in the kitchen, and mail
doesnt have to be put away. If you like to leave your keys on the kitchen table,
you can do so. You can create your own chaos and no one will be disturbed.
Another advantage of living alone is that you dont have to worry about
noise. For instance, you can wake up early to loud music on the radio. Then
when you are making breakfast, you dont have to be careful about banging
dishes or running water. When you come home after school or work, you can
turn on the TV. You can even go to sleep with the stereo still on if you prefer.
No one will ask you to be quiet.
Most important, you have privacy when you live alone. No one sees or
comments on your personal life. You can leave your letters out, you can put up
pictures of special people, and you can walk around in your underwear. Your
home is your private sanctuary.
Many people argue that staying with family or friends is a better way to
live, especially for young people. Certainly there are some comforts in having
others to live with, but there are also some advantages to living on your own.
Having your own apartment means you can be messy, be noisy, and keep your
privacy.

Talk with a classmate or your teacher. Show him or her the five
paragraphs of the essay and relate each paragraph to a sentence in
the paragraph on page three. Note how each sentence of the original
paragraph has been expanded.

Adapted from Tools for Writing, Fellag and Drean, pg. 95

These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community
College District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006

The Parts of an Essay: Introduction and Thesis Statement

A good essay begins with an introduction that includes a thesis
statement. We learned that paragraphs have a topic sentence to state the
main idea of a single paragraph. However, an essay must have a thesis
statement to state the main ideas of the entire essay.
Look at the introductory paragraph of the model essay. Traditionally,
an introduction starts with some general ideas that lead to the thesis
statement at the end.

One of the most exciting events in a persons life is moving away from his
or her family for the first time. Many people in the U.S. consider living alone to
be an important step toward independence and adulthood. With it come new
responsibilities and freedoms. In fact, living alone has several important
advantages.

The thesis statement that tells us the topic of the essay is at the end
of the introduction.

One of the most exciting events in a persons life is moving away from his
or her family for the first time. Many people in the U.S. consider living alone to
be an important step toward independence and adulthood. With it come new
responsibilities and freedoms. In fact, living alone has several important
advantages.

These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community
College District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006

The Parts of an Essay: Introduction and Thesis Statement, Practice

Its your turn!
Now you can write an introductory paragraph too. Brainstorm general
ideas about the benefits of living with others with your teacher and
classmates. You may look at the models to help you think of ways to state
general ideas. Write three sentences of general ideas that will lead to your
thesis statement.
The Benefits of Living with Others
_____________________________________________________
General
ideas

_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

Look at your paragraph about the benefits of living with others. Use
your topic sentence as a thesis statement.
Thesis
statement

_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

Now put it all together as one introductory paragraph.

The Benefits of Living with Others
___________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community
College District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006

The Parts of an Essay: The Body

The middle paragraphs of an essay are called the body. These
paragraphs provide details, evidence, examples, etc. to support your thesis
statement. The body can be two, three or four paragraphs long depending
on how much information you have. In this lesson, the body of the model
essay has three paragraphs. Each body paragraph follows this structure:

Topic Sentence
Support Sentences
Closing Sentence

1. Read the first body paragraph again.

First, you can leave your things anywhere you want. For example, you
dont have to wash the dishes before you leave for work. You can leave your
shoes wherever you take them off and forget about your dirty clothes until you
feel like washing them. Snacks dont have to stay in the kitchen, and mail
doesnt have to be put away. If you like to leave your keys on the kitchen table,
you can do so. You can create your own chaos and no one will be disturbed.

2. Circle the topic sentence. Underline the sentences that give examples or
explanations. Circle the closing sentence.
3. Repeat the steps in #2 for the second body paragraph.
Another advantage of living alone is that you dont have to worry about
noise. For instance, you can wake up early to loud music on the radio. Then
when you are making breakfast, you dont have to be careful about banging
dishes or running water. When you come home after school or work, you can
turn on the TV. You can even go to sleep with the stereo still on if you prefer.
No one will ask you to be quiet.

These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community
College District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006

The Parts of an Essay: The Body, Practice

Its your turn!
Now you can write body paragraphs too. Refer to the support
sentences of your paragraph about the benefits of living with others. (pg. 4)
You may look at the models to help you introduce examples.
1. Write the first body paragraph of your essay on another piece of paper...
You can use the following phrases to introduce your first point.
First,

First of all,

One benefit/advantage .

2. Before you give your paragraph to your teacher, ask a classmate to

identify these elements of your paragraph.

Topic Sentence
Support Sentences
Closing Sentence

3. Write the rest of your body paragraphs when your instructor asks you to
proceed. You can use the following phrases to introduce your second and
third point.

Second,

Another benefit/advantage.

Third,

In addition,

Most important,

These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community
College District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006

The Parts of an Essay: The Conclusion

The final paragraph of an essay is called the conclusion. This
paragraph briefly repeats the main ideas of your paragraph and signals to
the reader that your message is complete.
Read the concluding paragraph of the model essay again.

Many people argue that staying with family or friends is a better way to
live, especially for young people. Certainly there are some comforts in having
others to live with, but there are also some advantages to living on your own.
Having your own apartment means you can be messy, be noisy, and keep your
privacy.

The paragraph begins with some general statements about the topic
of living alone. However, the sentences lead to restating the thesis and the
supporting details. Restate means to say the same idea again with different
words.
1. Circle the phrase that restates the thesis statement.
2. Underline the sentence that repeats the supporting details from the body
of the essay.

Its your turn!

3. Now write your concluding paragraph.
CAUTION!

Dont include any new ideas in your conclusion!

Before you give your concluding paragraph to your instructor, show a

classmate where your thesis statement and supporting details are stated
again with different words.

These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community
College District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006

The Parts of an Essay: Putting it All Together

Finally, its time to put your paragraphs all together! Rewrite your
introduction, body and concluding paragraph together to make a complete
essay. Please remember to indent each paragraph.

Congratulations on completing your essay!

These materials were developed and funded by a CalWORKs Grant awarded to the San Diego Community
College District, Continuing Education CalWORKs Program, 2006