“Going from the general to the SPECIFIC.”

STEP ONE: the BIG IDEA Sentence one: Write a statement that express the BIG IDEA. The farm is a great place to be because my family is there.

STEP TWO: Get a little more specific You stated your BIG IDEA, right? NOW, you want to say something a little more specific about your first sentence/idea. During the summer days spent on the farm, you can see as many as eight aunts and uncles and twenty cousins. We don’t have enough places at the dinner table for them!

STEP THREE: Say just a bit more about your specifics. Keep your EXAMPLE hidden until the next sentence! With such a big family, there is always something fun going on.

STEP FOUR: Big Example!!! Show what you mean: This is your knockout punch! Last summer we decided to have our own family Olympics. I won the swim race, my aunt won the tennis tournament, and when all the events were over, we had a barbecue to celebrate.

FINAL STEP: Wrap It Up End your paragraph while focusing on the big idea: The relationships and fellowship that my family always shares on the farm always has me looking forward to our next visit.

Let’s try another one!!

STEP ONE: Big Idea  Once again – write a statement that expresses a BIG idea.  One of my passions while on the farm is spending time with horses.

STEP TWO: Say a bit more  In particular, I love Bandit, a beautiful chestnut.

STEP THREE: Say just a bit more  She is the horse I love to groom and feed.

POW! Step Four! Brief story! I usually give Bandit a quick brushing and a carrot or a sugar cube before we go for a ride. Sometimes we just stay in the corral, but other times we go for a long ride through the woods. I give Bandit a good grooming afterwards while we both cool down.

STEP FIVE: Wrap it Up  Though there’s so much warmth to be had among my family members and dear friend Bandit, it’s nothing like the campfires at night!

The sentence to the RIGHT should be your topic sentence... When the sun sets at the farm, the entire family gathers near the south end of the lake – it’s time for the camp fire!