Developing Paragraphs in an Essay

Overview

• Focus of lecture: How to develop essay paragraphs from a thesis statement.
• Emphasis on topic sentences, supporting sentences, and concluding sentences.

Key Strategies for Developing Paragraphs

Integrate Keywords from Thesis

• Place keywords or phrases from your thesis into topic sentences.
• Ensures that body paragraphs align with the thesis.

Example Thesis and Topic Sentences

• Thesis: Experimentation and substance abuse can lead to school failure, addiction, serious health consequences, and death.
• Topic Sentence 1: Drug and alcohol use are correlated with school failure.
• Topic Sentence 2: Drug use can cause psychological dependence and addiction over time.
• Topic Sentence 3: Experimentation with drugs can lead to serious health consequences and death.

Structuring Paragraphs

• Aim for at least five sentences per paragraph.
  • Topic sentence: Introduces the main idea.
  • Major and minor supporting sentences: Provides evidence and details.
  • Concluding or Transitional sentence: Recaps and leads to the next paragraph.

Example of Paragraph Structure

1. Topic Sentence: Drug and alcohol use are correlated with school failure.

   • Major Support: Teens who abuse drugs have lower grades and higher dropout rates.
   • Minor Support: Statistics on marijuana use among students.

2. Topic Sentence: Drug use can cause psychological dependence and addiction over time.

   • Major Support: Teens start with easily accessible substances.
   • Minor Support: Abuse extends to prescription and over-the-counter medications.
   • Major Support: Addicted users may gravitate to harder drugs.

3. Topic Sentence: Experimentation with drugs can lead to serious health consequences and death.

   • Major Support: Substance abuse can cause brain damage and affect major organs.
   • Minor Support: Example of two brothers who died of heroin overdose.
   • Concluding Sentence: Programs like Safety First can help educate kids about drug dangers.

Evaluating Paragraphs

• Ensure each paragraph has a single focus.
• Clear topic sentence at the beginning of each paragraph.
• Check for completeness: sufficient evidence and examples.
• End with a concluding or transition sentence.

Tips for Effective Paragraph Development

• Use statistics, examples, and summaries as supporting sentences.
• Make sure every paragraph supports the thesis.
• Connect paragraphs logically with transitions.

Conclusion

• Developing strong paragraphs ensures a well-organized and coherent essay.
• Consistency between thesis, topic sentences, and supporting details is key.
• Proper paragraph structure aids in clear communication of ideas.

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