OUTSIDERS PARAGRAPH

Page Numbers  Page numbers SHOULD NOT look like:  The black cat jumped off of the chair (page 34).  The black cat jumped off of the chair (pg 34).  The black cat jumped off of the chair. (page 34).  Page numbers SHOULD look like:  The black cat jumped off of the chair (34).  You SHOULD NOT include “page” or “pg”  The period should come AFTER the parenthesis and NOT BEFORE.  If you have more than one page, separate them with a dash.  EX: ( ).

Personal Pronouns  A topic sentence should NOT include:  I, my, or me.  Your topic sentence should NOT look like:  The character I found most interesting in The Black Cat was Simon the cat.  Your topic sentence SHOULD look like:  The most interesting character in The Black Cat was Simon the cat.

Spacing  Your paragraph should NOT be spaced out. Each sentence should be put together and look like a paragraph from a book.  Each sentence or detail should NOT be spaced out.

Title of a Book  A title of a book is NOT in quotations:  “The Black Cat”  Your title should look like:  The Black Cat  Don’t forget: THE TITLE SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN YOUR TOPIC SENTENCE!

Details  You will ALWAYS have 3 separate details to support your main idea.  If you are talking about an interesting character, you should have 3 reasons why that character is interesting.  Your detail MUST ALWAYS come first, followed by an explanation sentence.

Details Continued…  The explanation sentence should ALWAYS explain the detail.  For example, if you found one interesting thing about a character, your explanation sentence would be EXPLAINING why that makes the character interesting.  Your page number should ALWAYS be connected to your DETAIL SENTENCE.  Example: The black cat is interesting because he played the piano for a whole crowd of people in London (12). This proves the black cat is interesting because cats aren’t able to play pianos but Simon the cat was able to step up to the challenge and preform for a crowd.

Example Paragraph The most interesting character in The Black Cat was Simon the cat. The first reason why the black cat is interesting because he played the piano for a whole crowd of people in London (12). This proves the black cat is interesting because cats aren’t able to play pianos but Simon the cat was able to step up to the challenge and preform for a crowd. The second reason why the black cat is interesting is because he flew a jet across the country (4). This proves the black cat is interested because cats aren’t able to fly jets and Simon flew the jet with excellent confidence. The third reason why the black cat is interested is because he slayed a dragon in the castle (15-17). This proves he is interesting because not many cats can slay dragons and Simon was able to do so. These are the many reasons why Simon the cat from The Black Cat is an interesting character.

Making Changes  Today you will make some changes to your paragraph.  Look at the feedback I gave you and take a look at the notes from today.  Make ALL NECESSARY changes to your paragraph in a DIFFERENT COLOR.  I will be checking to see that you have made changes.  For those who had minimal to no changes needed, I want you to work on IMPROVING your paragraph after what we discussed today.