1. I am going to pick this prompt: -What is your favorite thing you have done in the past year? I want to write about buying my house.

2. Pick a topic (green dot).

3. Topic: buying a house

4. Fill out three reasons (yellow dots).

5. Topic: buying a house Got to move out of a tiny apartment We have a garage We have a lot of room to store things

6. Then add examples for each yellow dot- these are the red dots.

7. Topic: buying a house Got to move out of a tiny apartment Have a garage Lots of room to store things Our apartment was the size of a shoebox The kitchen was so tiny we could only use about half of our dishes We have a HUGE garage where my husband can keep all his tools No more parking outside all the time! We have tons of closets and a basement There is even more room in the garage and the shed for storage

8. Next, take your ideas and make them into complete sentences.

9. My favorite thing I did this year was buying a house. First, we got to move out of a tiny apartment. Second, we have a garage Finally, we have a lot of room to store things Our apartment where we lived before was the size of a shoebox. The kitchen was so tiny we could only use about half of our dishes, because there was not enough cupboard space to store them. We have a HUGE garage where my husband can keep all his tools. No more parking outside all the time! We have tons of closets and we have a basement. There is even more room in the garage and the shed for storage. That is why we love our new house.

10. To make a paragraph, write the sentences in this order, from the top down: green, yellow, red, red, yellow, red, red, yellow, red, red, green!

11. Here’s a paragraph! My favorite thing I did this year was buying a house. First, we got to move out of a tiny apartment. Our apartment where we lived before was the size of a shoebox. The kitchen was so tiny we could only use about half of our dishes, because there was not enough cupboard space to store them. Second, we have a garage. We have a HUGE garage where my husband can keep all his tools. No more parking outside all the time! Finally, we have a lot of room to store things. We have tons of closets and we have a basement. There is even more room in the garage and the shed for storage. That is why we love our new house.

12. The ESSAY needs to be 5 paragraphs. You can make 5 paragraphs out of this outline by doing the following: – Adding more examples to your topic and conclusion – Separating the topic, conclusion, and each reason (yellow dot) into a separate paragraph – The red dots go in the paragraph with the yellow dot they belong next to

13. Here’s an essay! My favorite thing I did this year was buying a house. This is because we got to move out of a tiny apartment, we have a garage, and we have a lot of room to store things. First, we got to move out of a tiny apartment. Our apartment where we lived before was the size of a shoebox. The kitchen was so tiny we could only use about half of our dishes, because there was not enough cupboard space to store them. I forgot we had so many dishes until we moved into the house. Second, we have a garage. We have a HUGE garage where my husband can keep all his tools. No more parking outside all the time! We didn’t like parking outside when it snowed. The garage has built-in shelves and even a woodstove and fan to heat and cool it. Finally, we have a lot of room to store things. We have tons of closets and we have a basement. There is even more room in the garage and the shed for storage. I have so many places to store my Halloween decorations inside, instead of the outside closet we had before! We love our garage, the storage space, and the size. That is why we love our new house.

14. Now begin writing your essay. Make your topic, reasons, and conclusion into separate paragraphs. Your topic paragraph should include a sentence that summarizes your three reasons.

15. This is what the final product will look like (doesn’t need colors at this point): My favorite thing I did this year was buying a house. This is because we got to move out of a tiny apartment, we have a garage, and we have a lot of room to store things. First, we got to move out of a tiny apartment. Our apartment where we lived before was the size of a shoebox. The kitchen was so tiny we could only use about half of our dishes, because there was not enough cupboard space to store them. Second, we have a garage. We have a HUGE garage where my husband can keep all his tools. No more parking outside all the time! Finally, we have a lot of room to store things. We have tons of closets and we have a basement. There is even more room in the garage and the shed for storage. We love our garage, the storage space, and the size. That is why we love our new house.