1. Hamburger Paragraphs How to structure a good paragraph

3. The Topic Sentence (Top Bun) Very first sentence of your paragraph*. Always needs to be indented. Tells what your paragraph is going to be about. Is the most general sentence in your paragraph. There are many reasons why I love living in Portland. First of all, I love Portland for its people-watching. Another reason I love living here is that there’s always something to do or see. A third reason Portland is a great place to live is its location: close to the mountains, and close to the ocean. Finally, I love Portland because it felt like home right away. People move to Portland for a lot of reasons, and I stayed because I love it.

4. The First Detail (Lettuce) Should not be the most important detail. Needs to follow directly after the topic sentence. Needs relevant details. Should answer the question that appears in a reader’s head after reading the topic sentence. There are many reasons why I love living in Portland. First of all, I love Portland for its people-watching. Another reason I love living here is that there’s always something to do or see. A third reason Portland is a great place to live is its location: close to the mountains, and close to the ocean. Finally, I love Portland because it felt like home right away. People move to Portland for a lot of reasons, and I stayed because I love it.

5. The Second Detail (Tomato) Still should not be the most important detail. Continues to answer the question a reader asks after reading topic sentence. Needs to be full of good “ juicy ” details! There are many reasons why I love living in Portland. First of all, I love Portland for its people-watching. Another reason I love living here is that there’s always something to do or see. A third reason Portland is a great place to live is its location: close to the mountains, and close to the ocean. Finally, I love Portland because it felt like home right away. People move to Portland for a lot of reasons, and I stayed because I love it.

6. The Third Detail (Cheese) Still not be the most important detail. Needs to be full of good “ cheesy ” details! There are many reasons why I love living in Portland. First of all, I love Portland for its people- watching. Another reason I love living here is that there’s always something to do or see. A third reason Portland is a great place to live is its location: close to the mountains, and close to the ocean. Finally, I love Portland because it felt like home right away. People move to Portland for a lot of reasons, and I stayed because I love it.

7. The Last Detail (Meat) Finally!! The most important detail. Needs to be full of good “ meaty ” details! There are many reasons why I love living in Portland. First of all, I love Portland for its people-watching. Another reason I love living here is that there’s always something to do or see. A third reason Portland is a great place to live is its location: close to the mountains, and close to the ocean. Finally, I love Portland because it felt like home right away. People move to Portland for a lot of reasons, and I stayed because I love it.

8. The Closing Sentence (Bottom Bun) Should look a lot like the topic sentence. Needs to summarize the paragraph’s main idea. Needs to be an obvious end to the sentence. There are many reasons why I love living in Portland. First of all, I love Portland for its people-watching. Another reason I love living here is that there’s always something to do or see. A third reason Portland is a great place to live is its location: close to the mountains, and close to the ocean. Finally, I love Portland because it felt like home right away. People move to Portland for a lot of reasons, and I stayed because I love it.

9. Examples: Which Are Better? My hometown is famous because it’s where the United States purchased Alaska, and also because it’s where Alexandr Baranov first landed. There are two reasons why people prefer college football, and two reasons why people prefer NFL football. Clouds are white. My hometown is famous for several interesting historical reasons. There are a few reasons why people prefer watching college football to the NFL. The shape of clouds are determined by several factors.