Writing with PowersThe “Powergraph Paragraph” Method

“Powergraph paragraph”

A way of helping students to organize their ideas into paragraphs by assigning one of three “power levels” to each sentence:

POWER 1

POWER 2

POWER 3

Each power is a “level”, according to a sentence’s importance

Power 1

These are the sentences that share the main idea of the paragraph with the reader – they command the paragraph, like a general, or a captain. Every other sentence follows their orders. They are #1 in power!

There are two “Power 1” sentences in a power paragraph

Topic SentenceConcluding Sentence

Power 2

These are the sentences that help support the Power 1 - they give the big ideas/reasons to explain the the Power 1 topic.

You usually have three “Power 2” sentences in a paragraph,

each supporting the “Power 1” topic

Each “Power 2” is followed by a “Power 3” sentence (the “tell me

more” or “prove it” sentence)

Power 3 = Tell Me More

A lawyer would never go to court without evidence. Each “Power 2” sentence has to be supported by a “Power 3” sentence.

In a convincing paragraph, this is your precise example.

In a describing paragraph, this is a “tell me more” sentence.

Students brainstorm, then organize their thoughts into an outline like this:

Students eventually learn the “power pattern” the teacher wants

Example from Creative Writing

Argue for a creative way for protecting a home from robberies, instead of the usual alarm system – prove why your “home security” system is better, in a “powergraph paragraph”. Include the “powers” after each sentence.

Example of a Power 1 sentence for a creative writing persuasive paragraph at the beginning of the year:

“A trained gorilla would make a far better home security system than any burglar alarm you could possibly buy! (Power 1)”

Power 2 – A Reason“First of all, a gorilla is a living, thinking creature, so it could adapt to new situations better than a computer in an alarm system could! (Power 2)”

Power 3 – “Tell Me More or “Prove It!”For example, an alarm system might be programmed to handle someone smashing a window, or breaking down a door, but what if the burglar finds a clever way to come down the chimney? The computer wouldn’t know how to handle that! A guard gorilla would adapt to the new situation and climb the chimney and chase the burglar off the roof! (Power 3)

Closing Sentence = Power 1 Again“In conclusion, don’t bother with spending all your money on “Alarm Force”, or some other unreliable computer program to protect your property: the trained great ape is the perfect burglar buster! (Power 1)”