Task 2: Body Paragraphs
Interactive Lesson
Tips & Examples
Body paragraphs are the “meat” of your essay. They are used to support your thesis and overall idea of your essay.
Every body paragraph has one main idea that supports the thesis and has the following structure.
1. Topic sentence
2. Supporting sentence
3. Supporting sentence
4. Concluding sentence
Topic Sentence: This is the first sentence in the paragraph. It lets the reader understand what the paragraph is about as well as its general idea.
Supporting Sentences: These sentences explain the detail and meaning behind the topic sentence. They give evidence and reasoning for the topic sentence and are much more detailed than the topic sentence. There are two parts to writing proper supporting sentences.
1. Explanation: Explain to the reader in more depth why you are taking the stance and writing the topic sentence.
2. Example or elaboration: After you have given more detail to the reader you will need to either provide them with an example backing up your point or elaboration giving even more detail into the subject.
Concluding Sentence: This sentence restates the topic sentence using different words
Look at the example below. Locate the different parts of a body paragraph and linking devices used.
Introducing the topic is the first part of your introduction. For this class, you will be given templates to follow. In these templates, you will insert the topic of the question. Look at the following:
Example:
Question: Should education be free?
Answer: Yes
A mind opening reason why the government should fund free education is because this act will reduce the level of crime in the country. Children who are provided the ability to enhance beneficial skills tend to have more affluent jobs and do not need to succumb to a life of crime. For example, Denmark and Germany have the lowest crime rates in the world and their education is paid for by the government. In contrast, countries like America that don’t have universal education, have higher crime rates. Therefore, it is evident that free education plays a vital role in preventing crime.