Chapter 3 Writing the Body of the General Paper Essay

Overview This chapter explains how to write the Body of a General Paper Essay. It covers the following areas: The Topic sentence Evidence / examples Transitionary words The final slide of Chapter will allow you to link to Activity 2 where you will be trying your hand at writing Thesis Statements and Opening Statements.

The Body of the Essay The Body of the essay fully develops the argument outlined in the Thesis Statement of the Introduction. The Body of the essay usually comprises 3-4 paragraphs where you provide support for your thesis statement in the form of reasons, arguments, evidence, and so on. Each paragraph within the body of the essay elaborates on one major point of the overall argument. The most important point, or the strongest argument, comes in the first paragraph, and the rest of the points follow in order of importance.

The Body of the Essay Paragraph 1 Most important point Paragraph 2 2 nd most important point Third paragraph 3 rd most important point

Paragraphs Like an essay, a paragraph too has a beginning, a middle and an end. The beginning should include the topic sentence with only one main idea. The middle develops the idea in detail by giving specific support for it and discussing the controlling idea by providing relevant supporting details and examples. The end shows the connection between the information discussed in the paragraph to the question.

The beginning of the paragraph: The Topic Sentence Each paragraph should begin with a topic sentence. The topic sentence shows clearly the main point / argument you are trying to make in the paragraph. It’s like a mini-thesis statement and is usually the first sentence of the paragraph. This topic is then developed and supported with evidence. All information in the paragraph must be related to the Topic Sentence.

Why a Topic Sentence? A reader should be able to get a good idea of the essay’s argument just by scanning the topic sentence(s) of the paragraphs. Reading the topic sentences is one way of checking that all paragraphs relate to the Thesis Statement and ensuring that the essay is not out of point

The Middle Part of a paragraph: The Supporting sentences The supporting sentences make up the middle part / body of the paragraph. Supporting sentences consist of more specific information that shows, explains, or proves the main idea in the topic sentence. This may be in the form of examples, facts, opinions and evidence. The information in the supporting sentences must be linked to the main point or the topic sentence.

The Paragraphs in the Body of the Essay Paragraph 1 Topic sentence Supporting sentences with examples, evidence Link to main idea in topic sentence Paragraph 2 Topic sentence Supporting sentences with examples, evidence Link to main idea in topic sentence Paragraph 3 Topic sentence Supporting sentences with examples, evidence Link to main idea in topic sentence

Example 1 Title: ‘Meaningful social interaction can only be achieved face- to-face.’ How far do you agree? The Introduction Thesis statement: Meaningful social interaction can only be achieved face-to-face amongst the deaf community and when the parties involved in a conversation or negotiation are doubtful about the sincerity of the other party; however, under normal circumstances, when companies place orders for goods and when friends pass on news to one another, face-to-face communication is not a necessity.

Example 1 Title: ‘Meaningful social interaction can only be achieved face- to-face.’ How far do you agree? The Body Topic sentences: The deaf community use either hand signs or they lip read and meaningful social interaction can only occur when they look at one another When leaders of countries meet to discuss an issue, only face-to- face negotiation is meaningful : there is always a need to read into the facial expressions and the body language of the other parties… However, a simple to order goods is suffice: It would be a complete waste of time to meet the customer face-to-face for simple transactions which can be done by a click of the mouse …. Keeping in touch with friends via facebook or twitter makes life so much easier and more convenient and allows us to update one another or unload our problems: Can log on when free and keep in touch with friends without the inconvenience of travelling miles to meet.

Example 2: Tittle: Assess the advantages and disadvantages of hydroelectric power generation Introduction Opening Statement Hydropower is the most important and widely-used renewable source of energy. It represents 20% of total electricity production, so there is no doubt that it has more advantages than disadvantages. Thesis Statement Hydroelectric power is renewable, reliable, environment friendly, cheap and easily available; however, it cannot be denied that it involves a high initial investment and that its construction may adversely affect nature and humans.

Example 2: Assess the advantages & disadvantages of hydroelectric power generation The Body Advantages Topic Sentence + Supporting ideas Hydroelectric power is a renewable form of energy with relatively low operations and maintenance costs: Does not rely upon resources like natural gas or coal to generate power; rainfall renews the water in the reservoir, so the fuel is almost always there; doesn't require much man-power once station is running. It is a permanent and reliable source of energy: Fossil fuel prices can go up or down. Electricity cost here not related to oil price; water to run the power plant is provided free by nature. Three Gorges Dam provides for about 10% of local needs. It is environment friendly and causes minimal pollution: Plays a major role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This technology is reliable and proven over time. Hydroelectric stations can operate for many years after they are built. Some hydro stations were constructed fifty to one-hundred years ago; in contrast to this, the "design life" of nuclear power plants is generally thirty to forty years. Hoover Dam, Colarado River, USA was built in 1936.

Example 2: Assess the advantages & disadvantages of hydroelectric power generation The Body Disadvantages A high initial investment is needed – Three Gorges cost USD26 billion (2008) Construction may involve inundation of land and wildlife habitat and loss or modification of fish habitat.- Itaipu Dam required rerouting of the Parana River in Brazil. In some cases, local populations are displaced– Three Gorges Dam in China, Bakun Dam in Malaysia.

Number of paragraphs in the Body The number of paragraphs in the Body of a essay will vary. We normally write an essay with 3-4 paragraphs in the Body. However, when the question requires a short discussion of several points, or where your thesis statement shows you will be covering several points, you may need to write several shorter paragraphs in the essay. Example 2 is obviously an example of an essay which comprises more than 3 paragraphs.

Transitional words and phrases Transitional words and phrases can create powerful links between ideas in your essay and can help your reader understand the logic of your essay. However, these words have different meanings and connotations. Before using a particular transitional word, be sure you understand its meaning and usage completely and be sure that it's the right match for the logic in your paper.

Transitionary Words Throughout the entire essay, it is essential to make sure that there is smooth transition in the following 2 cases: Smooth transition from one sentence to another and Smooth transition from one paragraph to another. Look at the youtube video on transitionary words after you finish these slides.

Transitionary Words The following are some useful transitionary words. Make sure you understand them fully before using them. Time related: to begin with, next, first, then, after…. Comparison and contrast: in the same way, similarly, likewise, nevertheless, however, on the contrary, on the other hand. Cause and effect: therefore, accordingly, thus, hence, as a result. Order related: for one thing, in addition, most importantly

The End of a Paragraph The end of a paragraph in the Body of the essay shows the connection between the information discussed in the paragraph to the question. It is always important to link what you have included in the paragraph to the topic sentence or to the essay question. In some paragraphs, your examples and supporting ideas are automatically linked to the Topic Sentence. The next slide takes one paragraph from an essay to illustrate this point.

Example Title: Assess the advantages & disadvantages of hydroelectric power generation Topic Sentence: A hydroelectric power generation plant requires a high initial investment. Supporting ideas: Building a dam for hydro electric power generation is costly enough but as it also involves relocation of people living in the area. Therefore, the initial sum required is massive. The link back: The Three Gorges cost USD26 billion and that was because it was built in It would cost much more if built today!

Activity for Chapter 3 Please go to Activity 5 where you can try your hand at preparing Topic Sentences and supporting evidence.