Expanding Paragraphs

Look over the example paragraph below. It is a good example of a detailed body paragraph. This is what a six-sentence paragraph should look like. Everyone’s body paragraphs should be this detailed and specific. For the rest of the paragraphs on the front of this page, you need to rewrite them on your own paper by adding specific details and examples and having different sentence types and lengths.

Example Paragraph: Another reason why Christmas is my favorite time of the year is the delicious food. After we are done going around in the snow, a warm mouth-watering cup of hot chocolate is very refreshing. On Christmas Day, we eat lunch when we are finished opening all of the presents. My grandmother and mother make the extremely delicious, gooey, and cheesy macaroni. Also, my grandmother cooks a sweet and tender honey glazed ham. My aunt brings soft, fresh, and chocolate-filled cookies for dessert, and my grandmother adds to the feast with a sweet potato pie.

Expand the following paragraphs into at least six sentences with as many details and examples as you see in the example paragraph. These are very short, general paragraphs, so you need to add A LOT of details, examples, and information to them. Add transitions and make the topic sentences very specific. Add and change whatever you need to.

1. The gifts are great. There are many gifts under our tree every year. My sister gets gifts. My parents get gifts. I get gifts. I love the gifts at Christmas.

2. I love the family coming together. Everyone gets together at Christmas. We eat a lot. We exchange presents. I get to see family that I don’t get to see a lot. I love seeing my family.

3. (Use your own examples for this paragraph. Don’t copy the example.) There is a lot of food at Christmas. The breakfast food is awesome. My grandmother’s dressing is the best. All of the other food makes it even better. You wouldn’t believe all of the desserts.

4. The decorations look good. We have some outside and many inside. They all make me feel good. I like the decoration all over town. I like to put them out, but I hate putting them back up after Christmas.