Part 1: Body Paragraph 1

If intros and conclusions are difficult for you, skip them for now, or just write something basic. We will take a closer look at how to construct intros and conclusions later this week.

Do not just "stick facts together”: Think of the story you are telling.

In my outline, I'm beginning to layout the story of the history of the bicycle My first section (first body paragraph) is about the first model (the push model):

Let’s look again at that part of the outline: I. First (Modern) Bikes A. Europe in 1800s B. push models 1. no chain or pedal

The first thing I need to do is expand my Roman numeral into a clear topic sentence. So… I. First (Modern) Bikes Becomes: The bike as we know it today originated in the 1800's in Europe.

Next (given the purpose of this particular paragraph) I need to tell the story of what these things were: The earliest models were "push models," which looked much the same as a contemporary bicycle, except there were no pedals or chain.

If I need more info: --I can see if I have more details in my note-card. (Maybe I did not outline everything on the card.) --I can go online, copy a URL, and paraphrase some notes. --I might also go to a book. --Maybe I will describe a picture that I see. WARNING: Do not cut and paste directly into draft.

What I came up with was: The rider would push his or her feet along the ground to get the wheels to move. --This is a paraphrased note, and I have a note-card and source information.

I should have sources and notes for everything, unless it is a reasoned judgment or something I already knew before I began researching.

I end the paragraph with some reasoned judgments: This must have been very cumbersome, unless the rider was going down a hill. Of course, that would be dangerous, since the simple machine appears to have had no brakes other than the rider’s feet. Notice the phrase "of course." As you know by now, all good paragraphs have transition words or phrases to help them flow.

Here is what it looks like all together: The bike as we know it today originated in the 1800's in Europe. The earliest models were "push models," which looked much the same as a contemporary bicycle, except there were no pedals or chain. The rider would push his or her feet along the ground to get the wheels to move. This must have been very cumbersome, unless the rider was going down a hill. Of course, that would be dangerous, since the simple machine appears to have had no brakes other than the rider ’ s feet.