The Skinny on 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 “Turnitin.com” 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. 9. Quick Title Search 10. 11. 12. 13. Press Room | About Us | Contact Us | Site Map 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. Browse Our Catalog 22. 23. 24. Gale > Free Resources > Term Paper > Draft and Revise 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. Free Resources 34. 35. 36. Reference Reviews 37. 38. 39. Marketing for 40. Libraries 41. 42. 43. Black History Month 44. 45. 46. Celebrating Hispanic 47. Heritage 48. 49. 50. Poet's Corner 51. 52. 53. Women's History 54. Month 55. 56. 57. 58. 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. 324. 325. [back | top] 326. 327. 328. 329. Literary Index 330. 331. Glossary of Literary Terms 332. 333. How to Write a Term Paper 334. 335. 336. Citing Information from 337. Gale Databases 338. 339. 340. 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