PARAGRAPH WRITING  Essays are made up of paragraphs!  A paragraph is a group of sentences that develop ONE topic.  A new paragraph is signaled by indenting the first line!  Paragraphs have a beginning, middle and end.

Thesis statement, Position statement, Topic sentence, Main Idea  Your purpose for writing  What you are going to prove  Use key words from the writing prompt in your claim  Include the title and author

TRANSITIONS MANY PARAGRAPHS USE TRANSITION WORD SETS THAT HELP THE PARAGRAPH FLOW MORE SMOOTHLY EXAMPLES:  First….Second….Third…  First….Another….Next  One….Another….Finally….  One….Then….Another  First…In addition….Equally important….  To start….Furthermore….Additionally….Lastly….  In the first place….After that….Later on….At last….

EVIDENCE  Information used to support your argument or claim  Facts, Reasons, Incidents, Examples, Statistics, (F.R.I.E.S.) and/or details from the text that support your claim  Can be a direct quote, paraphrase, or data  Use in-text citations to note the source of your information.

 The “Why”  Demonstration of your thinking  Way in which evidence proves your claim

CONCLUSION  Restate your claim in other words  Sum up your thoughts

 Third person POV  Text evidence in quotations with in-text citations  Transition words  Spelling  Capitalization  Grammar  Complete sentences  Punctuation

 Quality work and effort are apparent  The overall piece is neat and pleasant in appearance  Correct format is used for final product (Typed, proper margins, paragraph structure)

Van Hoosen Middle School has an outstanding staff. First of all, they work hard at preparing worthwhile activities for students to learn such as web quests and experiments. The teachers are dedicated professionals to their lessons. In addition, teachers also attend conferences, seminars, workshops, and graduate classes. They spend a great deal of time learning themselves because teachers value education. Furthermore, all of the Van Hoosen staff value their role in preparing young minds for the future. They work to provide students with a safe, respectful, and responsible environment. The Van Hoosen staff is exceptional.

Spring A computer A pencil Paper A dog A flashlight Fall Summer A book A cookie A bike A tree Winter Water After reading the Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown write a CERC paragraph about one of the objects below.

The Important Book CERC After reading The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown it is easy to see that simple objects have important characteristics such as __an apple__. First, the important thing about an apple is that it is round. ___show your thinking about why it’s important an apple is round_________________. Second, __another important characteristics of an apple________________________________________. ___ show your thinking about why it’s important an apple is the characteristic above________________________________________. Third, __another important characteristics of an apple___________________________________________. ___ show your thinking about why it’s important an apple is the characteristic above__________________________. In conclusion, the important thing about an apple is that it is ___________, ______________, and _______________________.

Claim (thesis statement, position statement) What you are writing about or trying to prove Hints: Use key words from the writing prompt to help you write your claim Use the title and author of the text in your claim_____________________________________________________________________________ Supporting Evidence / Text Evidence Hint: Facts, Reasons, Incidents, Examples, Statistics, (F.R.I.E.S.) and/or details from the text that support your claim Reasoning Hint: Use your words to demonstrate your thinking about how the evidence proves your claim