1. Support and Elaboration
The M.E.A.L. Plan

2. Make sure you have a thesis first!
Remember: A thesis is a one sentence answer to the prompt.
In this case the prompt is--- What does art mean today?
My Thesis
Today’s art is more than statues and paintings, art can be anything that provides an opportunity for people to express their opinions and emotions.

3. The M.E.A.L Plan L- Link back to thesis M- Main Idea
Use the following formula when writing your body paragraphs:
M- Main Idea
Say what the paragraph is about
E- Evidence of main idea
Provide an example, quote, story about main idea
A- Analysis of evidence
Explain why your evidence is important
L- Link back to thesis
State how your main idea and evidence are connected to your thesis (hint: use words or phrases from thesis)

4. Example of M.E.A.L Plan Remember my thesis? What is it?
Today’s art is more than statues and paintings, art can be anything that provides an opportunity for people to express their opinions and emotions.
M- Music is a form of art that expresses opinions
E- In high school I wrote a song about homelessness and sang it for my class.
A- The song gave me the opportunity to share how I felt about the homelessness.
L- I used my writing ability to express my opinion and create art.

5. Putting it All Together
Music is a form of art that allows a person to express his or her opinions. When I was a sophomore in high school, as part of an assignment in my English class, I wrote a song about homelessness. I then performed the song for my entire class. The song, entitled “No Shelter”, gave me the opportunity to share how I felt about the problems facing people who do not have a place to live. Since I am not a painter or a sculptor, I chose to use my songwriting ability to express my opinion and create art.

6. Before and After M- Music is a form of art that expresses opinions.
E- In high school I wrote a song about homelessness and sang it for my class.
A- The song gave me the opportunity to share how I felt about homelessness.
L- I used my writing ability to express my opinion and create art.
Music is a form of art that allows a person to express his or her opinions. When I was a sophomore in high school, as part of an assignment in my English class, I wrote a song about homelessness. I then performed the song for my entire class. The song, entitled “No Shelter”, gave me the opportunity to share how I felt about the problems facing people who do not have a place to live. Since I am not a painter or a sculptor, I chose to use my songwriting ability to express my opinion and create art.

7. Repeat! Use the M.E.A.L Plan for each body paragraph M is for…
E is for…
A is for…
L is for…

8. Let’s Try Another Body Paragraph
M- Dancing is art because it is an expression of emotion. E- A- L-