Body ParagraphsThe Proof is in the Pudding

Three Paragraphs: Three Reasons: One Result

Important Body Paragraph Elements:

Topic Sentences

Supporting Evidence

Transitions within paragraphs and between paragraphs

Topic Sentences

Topic sentences introduce the topic of that particular paragraph

To begin the topic sentence of the first paragraph, try using one of these:

One of the main reasons......

Perhaps the most important reason....

Supporting Evidence

Facts

Statistics

Cause/Effect Relationships

Emotional appeals

Rhetorical Questions

TIE IT ALL BACK TO YOUR READER’S GOAL

Transitions Within and Between Paragraphs

Great transition words and combinations to use:

Even though

Although

Not only/but also

Therefore

However

As a result

Example Body Paragraph

Although it might initially seem like a good idea to adopt the four-day school week, one of the main reasons that you should not do so is that the five-day school week provides an invaluable extra eight hours of instruction per week. Teachers already struggle to teach all of the Georgia Performance Standards as it is, so taking away one day a week is going to make it nearly impossible for teachers to teach the concepts which the state requires them to teach. As a matter of fact, if you calculate how many hours of instruction will be lost, it equals 288 hours of instruction per year. How can you even think of taking away 288 hours from teachers and still expect them to produce the same results? It is foolish to even consider. As a result of lost instruction, CRCT scores will unquestionably plummet, and your county will lose its status as one of the top-performing counties in the state.

Example Transition Between Paragraphs

Not only will teachers lose invaluable instructional time, but also the parents in your county will have to spend thousands of extra dollars in daycare costs to be able to keep the jobs that they already have.

Emotional AppealAn emotional appeal for this topic could be:

Would you feel comfortable leaving your teenager at home unattended? What if your teenage son or daughter began using drugs on the fifth day of each week? Would you feel comfortable leaving your child unsupervised with this possibility?

Counter-Argument

You may think that ________, but_(IC)______.

I know you believe that_____; however, __(IC)__.

You may be under the impression that ___________; nevertheless, _______(IC)_____.

Example of Counter- Argument

You may think that a four-day school week is an effective way for the school system to save money on the amount of energy that is consumed, but the school not be saving any money since the students would still be in school the same number of hours using the same amount of energy. I know you believe that a four-day school week would provide more time for the students to study on their day off; however, there is no way to ensure that students would actually use this day in a productive manner. You may be under the impression this would have a positive effect on your community; nevertheless, this would only cause financial problems and stress for the parents.