1. S for Statement of main idea
SEEAS Paragraph Notes
S for Statement of main idea
Begin with a topic sentence that gives the reader a sense of what the single main idea of the paragraph will be.
Clearly state your answer
Restate the question

2. E for extension of main idea
SEEAS Paragraph
E for extension of main idea
Explain your main idea
Impress your reader by using literary terms

3. E for Evidence SEEAS Paragraph Provide evidence from the text
Make sure it is appropriate and relevant

4. A for analysis of evidence
SEEAS Paragraph
A for analysis of evidence
How does your evidence support your main idea?

5. S for summary statement
SEEAS Paragraph
S for summary statement
Wrap it all up

6. S E A
States a main idea that can be extended and supported with textual evidence.
The question has been “flipped”: answer includes vocabulary from the question itself.
The extension clearly connects to and expands on the original statement.
More specific information has been provided that displays a deep analysis and understanding of the text.
Literary terms not included in the question have been appropriately included.
Multiple pieces of evidence in the form of properly cited quotes have been provided.
Evidence clearly, strongly, and thoroughly supports the Statement and Extension.
Quotes are integrated into the writer’s own sentences that connect to the Statement and Extension.
The response includes an in-depth analysis of all pieces of evidence, clearly explaining to the reader how the evidence supports the Statement and Extension.
Analysis uses strong, precise academic vocabulary.
The response concludes with a strong closing statement that properly and clearly summarizes the argument.
The Summary uses the vocabulary of the question as well as other relevant literary terms.
0-not evident
1-Partially Evident
2-Meets requirements
SEEAS RUBRIC

7. What is the most rewarding profession?
(1) Teaching is one of the most highly rewarding professions. (2) Each day provides a new opportunity to help young people reach their potentials. (3) Just this morning, Elizabeth improved her writing by incorporating quotations from the text to demonstrate her inferences, and Ted enhanced the readability of his essay by adding transitions. (4) These are skills that are critical to success in college. (5) Teachers may not make much money, but they do make a difference in the lives of young people.

8. What is the best class in high school?

9. SEEAS Practice What is the best class in high school?

10. SEEAS Paragraph Example
The mood of Kumin’s poem “The Sound of Night” is mysterious and tense. Kumin uses vague yet sinister imagery and diction to convey the suspenseful and uncertain mood. For example, Kumin describes the night as full of “the never seen” (20) and her characters must “defend [them]selves from the dark” (10). Kumin allows the reader to fill in their own horrors of the night by not naming specific dangers of the dark, instead using the more vague phrase “the never seen” (20). This allows all readers to make a personal connection to her poem. By using the verb “defend” (10), Kumin implies that night is an evil force her characters must protect themselves from. Through her word choice, Kumin keeps the reader as unaware and fearful of what may be hiding in the dark as the characters, thus creating a mysterious and tense mood.

11. Integrating Quotations into Writing
Never have a quotation standing alone as a complete sentence, or, worse yet, as an incomplete sentence, in your writing.
Think of a quotation as a helium balloon.
We all know what happens when you let go of a helium balloon: it flies away.
A quotation that is not "held down" by one of your own sentences will seem disconnected from your own thoughts and from the flow of your sentences.

12. Rule 1 Complete sentence: "quotation."
Example: Thoreau ends his essay with a metaphor: "Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in” (20).
If you use a complete sentence to introduce a quotation, you need a colon after the sentence. Be careful not to confuse a colon (:) with a semicolon (;). Using a comma in this situation will most likely create a comma splice, one of the serious sentence-boundary errors.

13. Rule 2 Someone says, "quotation."
Example: According to Thoreau, "We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us” (20).
You should use a comma to separate your own words from the quotation when your introductory or explanatory phrase ends with a verb such as "says," "said," "thinks," "believes," "pondered," "recalls," "questions," and "asks" (and many more). You should also use a comma when you introduce a quotation with a phrase such as "According to Thoreau."

14. Rule 3 Make the quotation a part of your own sentence without any punctuation between your own words and the words you are quoting.
Example: Thoreau argues that "shams and delusions are esteemed for soundest truths, while reality is fabulous” (20).
Notice that the word "that" is used in three of the examples above, and when it is used as it is in the examples, "that" replaces the comma which would be necessary without "that" in the sentence. You usually have a choice, then, when you begin a sentence with a phrase such as "Thoreau says." You either can add a comma after "says" (Thoreau says, "quotation") or you can add the word "that" with no comma (Thoreau says that "quotation.")

15. Rule 4 Use short quotations--only a few words--as part of your own sentence.
Example: Thoreau argues that people blindly accept "shams and delusions” as the "soundest truths," while regarding reality as "fabulous” (22).
When you integrate quotations in this way, you do not use any special punctuation. Instead, you should punctuate the sentence just as you would if all of the words were your own. No punctuation is needed in the sentences above in part because the sentences do not follow the pattern explained under number 1 and 2 above: there is not a complete sentence in front of the quotations, and a word such as "says," "said," or "asks" does not appear directly in front of the quoted words.

16. Handling Quotes in Your Text
Author’s last name and page number(s) of quote must appear in the text.
Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” (263).
Romantic poetry is characterized by the “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” (Wordsworth 263).

17. NEVER LEAVE A QUOTATION HANGING!
NEVER start a sentence with a quotation OR allow a quotation to stand as its own sentence.
Quotations should be used as tools to prove the writer’s point.
Before inserting a quotation into your writing, you must write something that tells the reader your purpose for the quotation.

18. SEEAS Paragraph
How does Golding use character, setting, 0r symbols to develop the idea of civilization vs. savagery in Lord of the Flies?