PARTS OF A BODY PARAGRAPH What is the

PARTS OF A BODY PARAGRAPH

What is the “M” in MEAL? • Main Idea (topic sentence)

What does a MAIN IDEA do in a paragraph? • Tells what the paragraph is going to be about • Answers the prompt

What is the “E” in MEAL? • Evidence (example)

What does EVIDENCE do in a paragraph? • A specific example or a hard fact that supports the main idea • If writing about literature or poetry, the evidence is typically a well-anchored quote (an exact phrase or sentence) from the text

Anchor the Evidence Transition – Tells that a piece of evidence is coming – For example, – For instance, – In addition, – Furthermore, – Additionally,

Anchor the Evidence LEAD-IN • Provides the context of the quote • Answers the who, what, when, and where of the quote

Anchor the Evidence QUOTE -Copied exactly from the text, with quotation marks around it CITATION -For literature, use a page number (3) -For research, use the author’s last name (Jones)

What is the “A 1” in MEAL? • Analysis #1

What does the ANALYSIS #1 do in a paragraph? • Explains the meaning or significance of the evidence • Infers (reads between the lines) the deeper meaning of the evidence

What is the “A 2” in MEAL? • Analysis #2

What does the ANALYSIS #2 do in a paragraph? • Infers more about the meaning or significance of the evidence • Explains how the evidence proves or connects to the main idea

What is the “L” in MEAL? • Link (closing sentence)

What does the LINK do in a paragraph? • Wraps up the paragraph by re-stating what the paragraph is about • Re-states the main idea in DIFFERENT words • Links the ideas in the paragraph to the upcoming ideas in the next paragraph

How many parts (sentences) must your paragraphs have? M E A 1 A 2 L Main Idea Evidence Analysis #1 Analysis #2 Link

Mmmmmm, one YUMMY paragraph!