Body Paragraphs and Topic Sentences
What a body paragraph is for
- The body paragraphs of a written argument develop the reasoning and justify claims using evidence and providing commentary that links the evidence to the overall thesis.
- Three jobs in one sentence: develop, justify, link.
- A paragraph doing only the second is a pile of quotations with a heading.
Select all the jobs the CED gives body paragraphs.
Summary is not one of the three.
Cohesion and the topic sentence
- Effective paragraphs are cohesive and often use topic sentences to state a claim and explain the reasoning that connects the various claims and evidence.
- Note what the CED asks a topic sentence to do: state a claim and explain the connecting reasoning.
- A topic sentence that only announces a topic — another device is imagery — does neither.
Select all the things the CED asks a topic sentence to do.
One sentence, two jobs — and announcing a device does neither.
Two links per paragraph, still
- The line of reasoning is still communicated through commentary.
- Inside each paragraph, commentary links evidence to claim and claim to thesis.
- A paragraph with neither link may be entirely true and still contribute nothing.
Topic sentence, announcement, or commentary?
Sort each sentence by its job in a body paragraph.
A topic sentence must state a claim, not announce a topic. Another technique the poet uses is imagery names a subject and commits to nothing. The CED asks a topic sentence to state a claim and explain the reasoning that connects it — one sentence doing two jobs.
Cohesive means the paragraph reads smoothly.
It means the paragraph is about one thing — every sentence belongs to the same claim.
A sentence that would fit equally well in another paragraph means the claim is too ____.
Cohesion is a property you can test sentence by sentence.
Cohesion is a property you can test
- Read a paragraph and ask: does every sentence belong to the same claim?
- A sentence that would fit equally well in a different paragraph is a sign the claim is too broad.
- Cohesive does not mean smooth — it means about one thing.
Put the paragraph pass in order.
The last check is the cohesion test.
A paragraph pass
- Does the topic sentence state a claim and explain how it connects?
- Is there a sentence linking evidence to claim, and another linking claim to thesis?
- Would any sentence here fit just as well in another paragraph?
Announcement: The poet also uses imagery. Claim with connection: Because the speaker can only picture the house in weather she did not live through, the poem's imagery works against the affection it seems to express. The second commits to something and tells the reader where the paragraph sits in the argument.
Body paragraphs develop the reasoning, justify claims with evidence, and provide commentary linking evidence to the thesis. Effective paragraphs are cohesive and use topic sentences that state a claim and explain the connecting reasoning — not sentences that announce a topic.