MelCON Hey Im Mel What is MelCON A

Mel-CON Hey, I’m Mel!

What is Mel-CON? • A logical, easy way to organize writing • A format to follow when writing a paragraph • A paragraph is • a group of complete sentences that discuss one main topic or argument • composed of a main idea/topic sentence, supporting details, and closing sentence

Mel-CON stands for… M =Main Idea (Topic Sentence) E =Evidence/Examples (Support/Proof) L =Link (Explains how evidence proves main idea) Con =Concluding sentence (Sums up paragraph)

M=Main Idea • The first sentence of the paragraph • Previews what the paragraph will be about • Identifies the topic or argument

E=Evidence/Examples • Information that directly proves the main idea or argument • Can come from sources such as experience, books, articles, online databases, etc. • Can be quotes, statistics, facts

L=Link • Connects the evidence to the main idea • Explains how the evidence supports your topic • Also known as analysis • The most important part of an argument

CON=Concluding sentence • Summarizes the main points of the paragraph • Wraps up/adds closure to the argument

Transitions • Words or phrases used to separate each piece of evidence • Used to add organization to your paragraph and to make it easy for the reader to follow • Examples: first in addition finally in conclusion furthermore next