Body Paragraphs:



The “Skinny” on Body Paragraphs

1. Each body paragraph must focus on one topic, and that topic must support your claim. Since your claim is arguable, the topic sentence for each paragraph must also be arguable. Do NOT start a body paragraph with a quote!!!

2. Using textual evidence:

A. Do not overuse quotations. You should include the most critical part of the quotation into your own sentence structure, rather than allowing a quoted segment to stand by itself.

Ineffective: Richard Cory was very well-respected and polite. “He was a gentleman from sole to crown.” Also, he practiced good hygiene and was very handsome because he was “clean favored and imperially slim.”

Effective: Richard Cory was polite, “a gentleman from sole to crown.” Like a handsome king, he was “clean favored, and imperially slim.”

B. Never put two quotations back-to-back. Your own analysis should act as a transition between the two.

Ineffective: Richard Cory had everything going for him. “He was a gentleman from sole to crown.” “And he was rich—yes, richer than a king.”

Effective: Richard Cory had everything going for him. Not only was he a “gentleman from sole to crown,” but also he was “richer than a king.”

C. Include the quotation smoothly and comfortably into your sentence.

Ineffective: “Darkened by the gloomiest of trees” shows just how frightening the forest looked.

Effective: The forest, “darkened by the gloomiest of trees,” was a frightening place.

D. Avoid introducing quotations by mentioning the quotation.

Ineffective: In the following quotation Danforth exhibits his anger: “Do you deny every scrap and tittle of this?”

Effective: Danforth’s anger is clearly evident when he asks Abigail if she denies “every scrap and tittle of this.”

E. Avoid introducing quotations with the repetitive use of “He says,” or “The narrator states.”

F. Longer quotations (more than two lines of verse of four lines of prose) should be set off from your paragraph. Indent an extra inch on each side and single space.

3. Smoothing the transitions

A. Between paragraphs: Use transitional sentences to help your ideas flow from paragraph to paragraph. If in the previous paragraph you’ve been discussing Gov. Danforth’s hypocrisy, and you’re moving on to Parris’s hypocrisy, you might use a connecting idea such as, “Like Danforth, Parris is also a hypocrite.”

B. Within paragraphs: Use connectives or transitional words between ideas. Here is a list of common connectives:

In addition nevertheless furthermore on the other hand however then

Next first moreover therefore also although

Final Draft

1. Word process (preferred) or NEATLY write your essay on white paper in blue or black ink.

2. Double-space

3. Leave one-inch margins on the top, bottom and sides of each page.

4. Read your paper aloud to catch any awkward sentences or missing transitions.

5. Use the spell-check!!!

6. Include a title page

7. Make sure sources are accurately cited. Use the MLA imbedded citation format in which you put the page number in parentheses.

8. Submit to “” before the deadline and print your submission receipt.

Works Cited in this guide

Smith, Linda J. Education in the 21st Century [online], October 23, 2003.

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59. Draft and Revise a Research Paper

60.

61. "There are days when the result is so bad that no fewer than five revisions are

62. required. In contrast, when I'm greatly inspired, only four revisions are

63. needed."

64. — John Kenneth Galbraith

65.

66. 1. Try freewriting your first draft.

67.

68. a. Freewriting is a discovery process during which the

69. writer freely explores a topic. Let your creative juices

70. flow. In Writing without Teachers, Peter Elbow

71. asserts that "[a]lmost everybody interposes a massive

72. and complicated series of editings between the time

73. words start to be born into consciousness and when

74. they finally come off the end of the pencil or

75. typewriter [or word processor] onto the page" (5).

76.

77. b. Do not let your internal judge interfere with this

78. first draft. If you stop to check spelling, punctuation,

79. or grammar, you are allowing editing to disrupt the

80. flow of creative energy.

81.

82. c. When material you have researched comes easily

83. to mind, include it. Add a quick citation, one you can

84. come back to later to check for form, and get on with

85. your discovery.

86.

87. 2. Subsequent drafts focus on writing a paper that flows

88. smoothly, supports fully, and speaks clearly and

89. interestingly.

90.

91. a. Create a smooth flow of words, ideas and

92. paragraphs.

93.

94. 1) Rearrange paragraphs for a logical progression

95. of information.

96.

97. 2) Transition is essential if you want your reader

98. to follow you smoothly from introduction to

99. conclusion.

100.

101. a) Transitional words and phrases are

102. the tiny stitches that provide coherence

103. within your paper. External transition:

104. Words and phrases that are added to a

105. sentence as overt signs of transition are

106. obvious and effective, but should not be

107. overused, as they may draw attention to

108. themselves and away from ideas. Examples

109. of external transition are "however,"

110. "then," "next," "therefore." "first,"

111. "moreover,' and "on the other hand."

112. Internal transition is more subtle. Key

113. words in the introduction become golden

114. threads when they appear in the paper's

115. body and conclusion. When the writer

116. hears a key word repeated too often,

117. however, she/he replaces it with a

118. synonym or a pronoun. Below are examples

119. of internal transition.

120.

121. No longer interested in the fate of Sethe

122. and her children, Baby Suggs, Holy

123. withdraws to her bed and waits for Death.

124. Chattel slavery has finally broken her

125. spirit. Her only request is for patches of

126. color. Grown weary of a world dominated

127. by gray, she longs for a bit of lavender

128. or yellow. For Denver, however, there is

129. no escape. Lonely and afraid, she must

130. survive without the grandmother who

131. has been her only comfort.

132.

133. b) Transitional sentences create a flow

134. from paragraph to paragraph. They include

135. individual words, phrases, or clauses that

136. refer to previous ideas and that point

137. ahead to new ones. They are usually

138. placed at the end or at the beginning of a

139. paragraph. Below are examples of

140. transitional sentences. A sentence that

141. creates a transition from the sample

142. introduction to the first paragraph of the

143. paper:

144.

145. Before exploring the effects of slavery

146. on the women of Sweet Home and 124,

147. / one must first consider the effects of

148. slavery upon black women in general.

149.

150. The first underlined clause points

151. back to the thesis, which, was the

152. last sentence in the introduction.

153. The second underlined clause points

154. ahead to the body of the paper,

155. which will begin by summarizing the

156. effects of slavery on black women.

157.

158. A sentence that creates transition from a

159. discussion of the fate of Baby Suggs to an

160. exploration of the conflicts in Sethe's life:

161.

162. Baby Suggs falters when she sees the

163. scars on Sethe's back; for her they

164. symbolize the horrors of slavery inflicted

165. on one more generation of black women.

166.

167. The use of Baby Suggs' name points the

168. reader back to the preceding section of

169. the paper and connects it to the next

170. section, one that will explore Sethe's life

171. as a slave at Sweet Home.

172.

173. c) A transitional paragraph is designed

174. to conduct your reader from one part of

175. the paper to another. It may be only a few

176. sentences long.

177.

178. b. Each paragraph of the body of the paper should

179. contain adequate support for its one governing idea.

180.

181. c. Speak clearly.

182.

183. 1) Tone: The paper's tone, whether formal,

184. ironic, or humorous, should be appropriate for

185. the audience and the subject.

186.

187. 2) Voice: Keep you language honest. Your

188. paper should sound like you. Understand,

189. paraphrase, absorb, and express in your own

190. words the information you have researched.

191. Avoid phony language.

192.

193. 3) Sentence formation: When you polish your

194. sentences, read them aloud for word choice and

195. word placement. Be concise. According to

196. Wallace Stevens, an American poet, "Life is the

197. elimination of what is dead." So is good writing.

198. Strunk and White in The Elements of Style

199. advise the writer to "omit needless words" (23).

200. First, however, you must recognize them.

201.

202. d. Keep yourself and your reader interested.

203.

204. 1) First, deliver on your promises. Be sure the

205. body of your paper fulfills the promise of the

206. introduction.

207.

208. 2) Avoid the obvious. Offer new insights. Reveal

209. the unexpected.

210.

211. 3) Craft your conclusion as carefully as you

212. have your introduction. Conclusions are not

213. merely the repetition of your thesis. The

214. conclusion of a research paper is a synthesis of

215. the information presented in the body. Your

216. research has led you to conclusions and opinions

217. that have helped you understand your thesis

218. more deeply and more clearly. Lift your reader to

219. the full level of understanding that you have

220. achieved.

221.

222. 3. Revision means "to look again."

223.

224. a. Find a peer reader to read your paper with

225. you present. Or, visit your college or

226. university's writing lab. Guide your reader's

227. responses by asking specific questions. Are you

228. unsure of the logical order of your paragraphs?

229. Do you want to know whether you have

230. supported all opinions adequately? Are you

231. concerned about punctuation or grammar? Ask

232. that these issues be addressed. You are in

233. charge.

234.

235. b. Here are some techniques that may prove

236. helpful when you are revising alone or with a

237. reader.

238.

239. 1) When you edit for spelling errors read

240. the sentences backwards. This procedure

241. will help you look closely at individual

242. words.

243.

244. 2) Always read your paper aloud. Hearing

245. your own words puts them in a new light.

246. Listen to the flow of ideas and of

247. language. Decide whether or not the voice

248. sounds honest and the tone is appropriate

249. to the purpose of the paper and to your

250. audience.

251.

252. 3) Listen for awkward or lumpy wording.

253. Find the one right word, Eliminate needless

254. words. Combine sentences.

255.

256. 4) Avoid passive voice. "Beloved was

257. buried without a name." is less energetic

258. than "Sethe buried her baby without a

259. name."

260.

261. 5) Be ruthless. If an idea doesn't serve

262. your thesis, banish it, even if it's one of

263. your favorite bits of prose.

264.

265. 6) In the margins, write the major topic of

266. each paragraph. By outlining after you

267. have written the paper, you are once

268. again evaluating your paper's organization.

269.

270. 4. Ask your professor for guidelines on the paper's

271. final form or refer to The MLA Handbook (pp.

272. 264-65). Some general guidelines:

273.

274. a. Use paper that is 8 1/2" by 11".

275.

276. b. Double-space.

277.

278. c. On the first page, in the left margin, 1" from

279. the top, type

280.

281.

282. Your name

283. Your professor or instructor's name

284. The course name and number

285. The date of submission

286.

287. d. On every subsequent page type your last

288. name and the page number in the right margin

289. 1/2" from the top.

290.

291. e. Create 1" margins on the top, bottom and

292. sides of the page.

293.

294.

295.

296. Works Cited in this Guide

297.

298. Barnet, Sylvan, and Hugo Bedau. Critical Thinking, Reading, and

299. Writing: A Brief Guide to Argument. Boston: Bedford, 1993.

300.

301. Brent, Doug. Reading as Rhetorical Invention:

302. Knowledge,Persuasion and the Teaching of Research-Based

303. Writing. Urbana: NCTE, 1992.

304.

305. Elbow, Peter. Writing without Teachers. New York: Oxford

306. University Press, 1973.

307.

308. Gibladi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.

309. 4th ed. New York: Modern Language Association, 1995.

310.

311. Klauser, Henriette Anne. Writing on Both Sides of the Brain:

312. Breakthrough Techniques for People Who Write. Philadelphia:

313. Harper, 1986.

314.

315. Rico, Gabriele Lusser, Writing the Natural Way: Using Right Brain

316. Techniques to Release Your Expressive Powers. Los Angeles:

317. Houghton, 1983.

318.

319. Sorenson, Sharon. The Research Paper: A Contemporary

320. Approach. New York: AMSCO, 1994.

321.

322. Strunk, William, Jr., and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. 3rd

323. ed. New York: MacMillan, 1979.

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