How to Write a Power Paragraph

Stepping Stone The color-coded paragraphs will be our starting point for writing this year. It is an organizational system for writing that will help you any time you are required to find evidence and analyze it.

First things first! Focus on the key verb(s) in the prompt. Before writing anything, know your assignment— READ THE PROMPT! What are you being asked to do? Focus on the key verb(s) in the prompt. Describe, compare, persuade, discuss Effective writing requires careful reading.

Careful reading…don’t miss the obvious!

Sample prompt The story of the “Three Little Pigs” is a familiar folk tale with an important moral lesson: To succeed in life, one must make wise choices. In a one-chunk* power paragraph describe the personality of the third little pig. *A chunk is a combination of facts from the story (CD) and your opinion (CM).

Color Coding Your Paragraph Use the following when writing BLACK is for Topic Sentences (TS) and Concluding Sentences (CS). RED is for Concrete Details (CD). GREEN is for Commentary Sentences (CM).

Step 1: TOPIC SENTENCE A Topic Sentence (TS) is the first sentence of the paragraph. It shows the general or main idea of the paragraph. It includes the subject and the your opinion about the topic. (Hook, thesis, claim….)

Example Topic Sentence (TS) In the fairy tale “The Three Little Pigs,” the third little pig is very wise.

Step 2: CONCRETE DETAILS Concrete Details (CD) provide support for your TS. Concrete Details are specific details that come directly from the text. They include: facts, quotes (in quotation marks, of course), examples, and sensory details. Give a lead-in (contextual info/brief summary) so that your Concrete Detail makes sense.  Let’s consider it part of the CD info. Be sure to include the page number in the text when applicable.

Example Concrete Detail (CD) In the story, the pig and his brothers are trying to outsmart the wolf, and it’s becoming a matter of life and death. On page 17, remembering his mother’s warning about a wolf, he builds his house out of sturdy brick, and the wolf is unable to blow the house down.

Step 3: COMMENTARY Commentary Sentences (CM) = your analysis, interpretation, explanation, or insight into the text. Include 2 CMs per CD. CMs are not found directly on the page; they come from your thinking about the text. Start your CMs with “This shows that…”

Example Commentary Sentences (2 CMs) This shows that the third pig is wiser than his brothers, who were both eaten by the wolf. The pig benefits from listening to his mother and making good choices.

Step 4: CONCLUDING SENTENCE A concluding sentence (CS) wraps up the paragraph. It offers a final sentence of commentary about the topic and provides a finished feeling.

Example Concluding Sentence (CS) The story suggests that wisdom and patience are keys to victory and a long life.

TS, CD, CM, CS—Now What? CHUNKING A combination of CDs and CMs is called a chunk.

One Chunk: CD info + 2 CM On page 17, remembering his mother’s warning about a wolf, he builds his house out of sturdy brick, and the wolf is unable to blow the house down. This shows that the third pig is wiser than his brothers, who were both eaten by the wolf. The pig benefits from listening to his mother and making good choices.

Step 6: A Whole Paragraph In the fairy tale “The Three Little Pigs,” the third pig is very wise. In the story, the pig and his brothers are trying to outsmart the wolf, and it’s becoming a matter of life and death. On page 17, remembering his mother’s warning about a wolf, he builds his house out of sturdy brick, and the wolf is unable to blow the house down. The third pig is wiser than his brothers, who were both eaten by the wolf. The pig benefits from his good choices. The story suggests that wisdom is key to both victory and a long life.

Steps in writing your power paragraph Read the text carefully. Annotate! Read the prompt carefully. Gather your CD info from the text. Think about your CMs & how they could connect your CD and your topic sentence. T-Chart (a rough draft of sorts). Final draft of paragraph.

Do this…. In power paragraph format answer the following question Discuss the development of the theme in The Epic of Gilgamaesh.