ESSAY: The Body Paragraphs

SOURCES: Fundamentals of Academia Writing. Butler, Linda / Writing Academic English. Oshima, Alice / Introduction to Academic Writing. Oshima, Alice

THE BODY PARAGRAPHS: THE MAIN PART OF THE ESSAY

ESSAY

Body: 3 paragraphs Each paragraph develops a subdivision of the topic. Each body paragraph should be dedicated to one of the supporting points of your thesis.

Structure of a four/five-paragraph essay (Intro…)

Introduction: General statements, thesis statement The introduction should stimulate or grab the reader’s interest.

1.

Introduction

2.

Conclusion: Restatement or summary of the main points; final comment The conclusion is a paragraph similar to the concluding sentence in a paragraph. It is the summary or review of the main points discussed in the body.

3.

A topic sentence comes at the beginning of a paragraph. It gives the writer’s main idea. A good topic sentence helps readers understand the paragraph. The rest of the paragraph is made up of sentences that do the following: 1. They support the idea or topic of the topic sentence 2. They exemplify the idea or topic of the topic sentence 3. They may also personalize the idea or topic of the topic sentence 4. The final sentence of the paragraph should be a closing or transition sentence that finishes off or sets the stage for a transition to the next paragraph.

Topic sentence and more

A paragraph is a group of sentences about one topic. The second sentence follows the first sentence on the same line, not on a new line.

Structure of a paragraph: introduction, body, conclusion

People sometimes confuse sea lions and seals. These animals are different in several ways. Despite looking superficially similar, they are quite different. Seals have flippers that lie flat on their bodies while sea lions have flippers that jut out from their bodies. Another physical point of distinction is that sea lions carry their heads high, and seals carry their heads just about the ground. Of course, these two animals are related and quite similar, but these differences do mark them out from each other.

Good fathers help in the rasing of their children. Our culture expects a father to take part in bringing up his sons or daughters. This is considered to be good parenting. When a father, for instance, spends time with his kids in the park, this is met approvingly by those who see it. Moreover, I recall that my father spent a lot of time with me helping me understand Algebra. This was crucial for me to get a good grade in that class. His attitude and behavior was a classic example of good parenting.

Example

Example

The sentences that follow the topic sentence are the supporting sentences. Supporting sentences give evidence as to why the topic sentence is true. All the supporting sentences in a paragraph must be relevant—they must relate to the main idea. This is important for paragraph unity.

Living in a remote area can make a person’s life rather challenging. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Large cars create a lot of difficulty on our streets. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 1 Write support sentences for these topic sentences to create a cohesive and coherent paragraph.

For an essay, you will have to write various paragraphs. Besides the introductory paragraph, you will have to write two or three body paragraphs. Each paragraph is dedicated to a particular topic within your essay answer. In one case, you may have to offer pro and contra arguments for something. For instance, an essay question may say: “Video games have become present in our culture. However, they still generate some controversy as some say that they harm childrens’, and people’s, development. What arguments are made for both sides of this issue? Where do you stand? The two following body paragraphs may be found answering such an essay: There are many researchers who say that video game use stimulates brain development. Such experts point to studies that show that children who play a lot of these games have greater hand eye coordination. Furthermore, some studies even indicate quicker reaction time and faster drawing of conclusions from visual input. I have even seen my nephew’s amazingly quick manual dexterity, and it seems that this is due to his frequent playing of video games. On the other hand, there is a mountain of research that seems to point to the opposite: video game use is harming young people’s development. There are studies that state that these young people become withdrawn and lack social skills. Moreover, certain physical problems may also arise. These may include vision imparement, headaches, squinting, migrains, and joint problems—especially wrists and elbows.

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Exercise 2 Write two paragraphs that present pro and contra arguments in response to this question: There is a growing trend to see obesity as a public health problem that requires state intervention while some people feel that this is a personal issue that should be resolved accordingly. How do you see this?