Jane Schaffer Writing Strategy How to Write an

Jane Schaffer Writing Strategy How to Write an Effective Paragraph

Get Ready to Color Your World! How to Write an Effective Paragraph Using the Colors of a Traffic Signal GO! GREEN is for Topic Sentences (TS) and Concluding Sentences (CS). SLOW DOWN! YELLOW is for Concrete Details/Text Evidence (CD/TE). STOP! RED is for Commentary Sentences (CM).

The Prompt Before writing anything, know your assignment— READ THE PROMPT! What are you being asked to do? Response-to-Literature Writing - Writing that discusses what is of value in a work of literature. Literary Response requires a careful, critical look at the reading.

Literary Prompt Example • In the fairy tale “The Three Little Pigs” which pig is the wisest? .

Step 1: TOPIC SENTENCE • A Topic Sentence (TS) is like the top bun of a hamburger. • TS = first sentence of the paragraph. It shows the main idea. • Green means GO! Tell what your paragraph is about.

Example Topic Sentence (TS) 1) In the fairy tale “The Three Little Pigs, ” the third pig is very wise. GO! This tells the reader the rest of the paragraph will explain how the third pig is wisest.

Step 2: CONCRETE DETAILS/TEXT EVIDENCE • Concrete Details/Text Evidence (CD/TE) are like the meat of the hamburger. • CD/TE = Support for your TS. (FACTS, QUOTES, EXAMPLES, FROM TEXT) • CD’s cannot be argued with—a CD is evidence that supports your point! Yellow means SLOW DOWN! Provide support.

Example Concrete Detail/Text Evidence (CD/TE) 2) For example, remembering his mother’s warning about a wolf, he builds his house out of sturdy brick. SLOW DOWN! This supports the idea that the third pig is wise and tells why.

Example Commentary Sentence (1 CM) 3) The wolf is unable to blow down the brick house, which shows that the third pig is smarter than his brothers, who were both eaten by the wolf. STOP! This explains why building a brick house makes the third pig wise.

Step 3: COMMENTARY • Commentary Sentences (CM) are like the “extras” on the hamburger: the cheese, lettuce, etc. that make it better! • CMs = your analysis, interpretation, explanation, or insight into the text. Red means STOP! Provide back up to your CD/TE

Step 4: CONCLUDING SENTENCE • A concluding sentence (CS) is like the bottom bun of the hamburger. • A CS wraps up the paragraph. It rephrases the main idea. Green means GO BACK! Restate the TS in a different way.

Example Concluding Sentence (CS) 5) In conclusion, the third pig outsmarts not only his brothers but the “big bad” wolf as well. GO BACK! This reminds the reader that the third pig was wise. Smart is a synonym for wise.

TS, CD, CM, CS—Now What? • CHUNKING - A combination of CDs and CMs is called a chunk. For a literary response, in 6 th grade we will use a combination (or “ratio”) of 1: 1. That is, for every 1 CD, you will eventually have 1 CM.

One Chunk: 1 CD + 1 CM For example, remembering his mother’s warning about a wolf, he builds his house out of sturdy brick. The wolf is unable to blow down the brick house, which shows that the third pig is smarter than his brothers, who were both eaten by the wolf.

Transitions • A good paragraph will also use transition words. These are words or phrases that help readers connect your ideas. • Example transitions: For example, In conclusion Thus, For instance, Consequently, Because of this, Hence, As a result, Therefore, In summary,

Step 6: A Whole Paragraph In the fairy tale “The Three Little Pigs, ” the third pig is very wise. For example, remembering his mother’s warning about a wolf, he builds his house out of sturdy brick. The wolf is unable to blow down the brick house, which shows that the third pig is smarter than his brothers, who were both eaten by the wolf. In conclusion, the third pig outsmarts not only his brothers but the “big bad” wolf as well.