Does/Says Analysis All writing both does something and says something. –What it does is its purpose or function. –What it says is its semantic content. EXAMPLE: “Dad, can I borrow the car tonight?” –What is this person saying? Obvious enough. –What is this person doing? She is “asking for permission.”

Does/Says at the Paragraph Level Every paragraph –must serve a purpose/function in your paper (what it does). That purpose… –must be linked directly to your thesis. –is usually to establish part or all of a single claim. –also expresses that purpose/function in its semantic content (what it says). Topic sentence: the sentence that expresses the paragraph’s purpose.

Functional Outlines An outline should reflect what each paragraph does and what it says. –The “functional outline” contains the purpose of each paragraph (does), the topic sentence of that paragraph (says) and a summary of the content of the paragraph (says).

An example from a simpler paper... Thesis: Cyberbullying is a growing problem in the United States, sometimes leading to teen suicide.

An example from a simpler paper... Paragraph Two: –Does/Purpose: Introduces subject leads in to thesis. –Topic sentence:Ryan was an outwardly happy-go- lucky kid with two loving and supportive parents.

An example from a simpler paper... Paragraph Two: –Says/Content: Describes Ryan so the readers feel they know him

Some writing purpose words Describe Provide ??

An example from a research paper... Working Thesis: Although each side of the controversy around sealed adoption records has good arguments, the evidence seems to suggest that it is time to open the records.

An example from a research paper... SAYS  Many adoptive parents understand that that this search for information is a personal need (Behne, 1996), and many adoptive parents support their children’s searches for information (Hilderbrand, 2000). In one study, 83% of adoptive mothers and 73% of adoptive fathers felt that adult adoptees should be able to obtain a copy of their original birth certificate. (Avery, 1997) Most adoptive parents know deep within themselves that they adopted because they wanted the chance to parents, not because they were promised a lifetime of secrecy.(Behne) Many adoptive parents find that their relationship with their adoptees improve after a reunion with the biological parents, after the adoptee has put aside their curiosity and fantasies about their biological parents, a greater sense of appreciation for adoptive parents is finally possible (Kuhns, 1997).

An example from a research paper... Paragraph 3 DOES  Supports assertion that parties are in favor of opening records with findings from studies of adoptive parents T.S.  Research studies also show that some adoptive parents lean towards accepting open records and support their adoptive children in looking for their biological parents.