Teaching Jane Schaffers Multiparagraph Essay A StepbyStep Guide

Teaching Jane Schaffer’s Multiparagraph Essay A Step-by-Step Guide

Terminology for parts of an essay • • • Essay Introduction Thesis Body paragraph Topic sentence Concrete detail • Commentary • Chunk • Weaving • Concluding paragraph • Concluding sentence

Essay • A piece of writing that gives your thoughts (commentary) about a subject • All essays should have at least four paragraphs: introduction, body paragraphs (also called the body of an essay), conclusion

Essay Form • Paragraph #1: Introductory Paragraph (at least 4 good sentences) • Paragraph #2: First Body Paragraph (811 sent) • Paragraph #3: Second Body Paragraph (811 sent) • Paragraph #4: Concluding Paragraph (at least 4 good sentences)

Introduction • The first paragraph in an essay • It includes thesis at the end.

What is a thesis? • A sentence with a subject and an opinion (also called commentary), and two arguable prongs (ideas, topics, reasons why) • The thesis provides the focus for your essay. • Example: California is the best state of all for a vacation because of the fabulous beaches and the excellent variety of restaurants.

Introduction Paragraph • Sentence #1: all commentary. Starts with a theme or themes. Sentence #2: says more about sentence #1. Is all commentary. • Sentence #3: says more about sentence #2, narrowing the subject closer to thesis • Sentence #4: thesis. Has subject, opinion and at least 2 prongs (reasons why…) • There is no concrete detail in this paragraph.

Body paragraph • A middle paragraph in an essay • Develops a point you want to make in supporting your thesis

Body Paragraph Format • • • Sentence 1 Sentence 2 Sentence 3 Sentence 4 Sentence 5 • Sentence 6 • Sentence 7 • Sentence 8 TS Topic sentence CD First sentence of concrete detail CM Commentary on sentence two CM More commentary CD Second sentence of concrete detail CM Commentary on sentence five CM More commentary CS Concluding sentence

• The first sentence in a body paragraph • Focuses on main idea of paragraph and the first prong of thesis statement • Provides direction for the paragraph

Concrete Detail (CD) In an Essay about a book: CD is a quote or a paraphrase For an SAT-type prompt: CD is an example

Commentary • Commentary means your opinion, interpretation, insight, analysis, personal response, feeling, evaluation, explication, and reflections about a concrete detail in an essay.

Conclusion Paragraph • The conclusion is the last paragraph in the essay. • It is all commentary. • It does not repeat key words from anywhere in the essay. • It gives a finished feeling to the paper. • The last sentence should connect to theme of the work—the “so what? ” OR be a universal statement.

Terminology for writing the essay • • Pre-writing Shaping the essay First draft Word counts Peer response Revision Final draft

Pre-Writing • Bubble Clusters • Spider • Line Clustering Diagrams • Columns • Outlining

Why do a Prewrite? • • Organize your thoughts Make sure you’re not repeating Get your CDs clearly stated Help you write the entire essay faster because you will already have your CDs.