Fitz's Paragraph Formulas
General Paragraph Writing
Here is my formula for writing a great paragraph. Granted, it is a "formula," and formulas taken to the extreme can make for insipid and predictable writing; however, as formulas go, it's a pretty good one. Feel free to "tweak" this to suit the needs of your writing pieces and your sensibilities as an artist.
1. BROAD THEME: Write a short declarative statement that touches on a broad theme that all of us can relate to in some way or other. This acts as a "hook" that will attract your reader's attention. Despite what you might wish, no one really cares about you when they read; a reader cares primarily about himself or herself. This broad theme is a theme that almost any person can relate to on some level, and hopefully it is intriguing enough to make your reader want to read on.
For example, if you want to write about the importance of family, here is an example of a broad theme:
- It is only our immediate family that gives us unconditional love.
2. NARROW THEME: Narrow down your theme by writing a phrase or sentence that captures how your chosen theme is used in a specific way in the piece of literature you are analyzing, the facts you are going to present, or the experience you are going to convey. Make sure it is "clear, concise and memorable" because it is what you want your readers to remember "as" they read your paragraph. (So, don't make it a long sentence--unless you are writing to very sophisticated readers!) This is the sentence that "steers" your reader in the direction you want your paragraph to go, and in that sense, it is what your paragraph is going to be about. This becomes the topic of your paragraph. If it works, try connecting these first two sentences with a semi-colon or a conjunction, or simply leave it as two sentences.
- It is our family that we turn to when there is no place left to go.
3. ONE/TWO PUNCH: Follow your topic sentence with one or two more sentences that add detail or explanation to your topic sentence. These sentences can (and maybe should) be longer sentences.
- When we are alone in the world; when nothing is going our way, we know that the door of family will always open for us and welcome us back into the arms of those people who are love us without reservations.
4. SMOKING GUN: If you are writing about a piece of literature, write a sentence that sets up and leads clearly into a specific quote or scene from the book that "shows" how the author uses the theme of your paragraph in the writing piece. This is the "smoking gun." It proves that you know--or at least have thought about--the book in a meaningful way. In the same way, if you are writing about a personal experience, chose a specific personal experience that explicates, illustrates, and amplifies the theme of your paragraph. Finally, if you are writing an expository piece, this is the place to add your facts that supports your argument.
- At no other time in my life was this more obvious than when I returned to my family home in Concord after a three-year's journey to the Himalayas to discover the essential truth about life. Broke, disheveled, and disenchanted, I stood on the doorstep and tentatively rapped on the door. No smile was wider than my moms; no arms were wider than my dads as they pulled me into their arms and into the living room I left so long ago.
5. HEAD & HEART: Show your reader your thoughts! Write as many more sentences as you "need" (but at least two more) to illustrate and elaborate upon whatever you introduced in your topic sentence. HINT: The more narrow and focused your topic sentence, the less you need to write to prove your point or describe your experience.
- It didn't matter that I left home without even telling them where I was going. It didn't matter that I had once criticized their lives as dull and meaningless, and it didn't matter that I never called and never wrote. It only mattered that I was home again.
6. GET OUT or GO ON! This sentence either wants to close out your thoughts or "transition" to a potential new paragraph.
- For me, it only matters that I will never turn my back on my family again because when times are tough, family is all that really matters.
Always go back and re-read what you have written. Find three areas or sentences that you can make better. Often you can find a better topic sentence somewhere else in the paragraph. You can almost always find a more clear and effective way to write a sentence than you wrote on your first try. If you have too many short sentences, try combining sentences using conjunctions or semi colons.
Here is the complete paragraph. At 220 words, this is what I would call a "full" paragraph. In any essay you write, the body paragraphs should be of similar length. Otherwise, to will "look" like some of your points are more important and meaningful than other points!
It is only our immediate family that gives us unconditional love. It is our family that we turn to when there is no place left to go. When we are alone in the world; when nothing is going our way, we know that the door of family will always open for us and welcome us back into the arms of those people who are love us without reservations. At no other time in my life was this more obvious than when I returned to my family home in Concord after a three-year's journey to the Himalayas to discover the essential truth about life. Broke, disheveled, and disenchanted, I stood on the doorstep and tentatively rapped on the door. No smile was wider than my moms; no arms were wider than my dads as they pulled me into their arms and into the living room I left so long ago. It didn't matter that I left home without even telling them where I was going. It didn't matter that I had once criticized their lives as dull and meaningless, and it didn't matter that I never called and never wrote. It only mattered that I was home again. For me, it only matters that I will never turn my back on my family again because family is all that really matters.
This paragraph might not win me a Pulitzer prize, but it does what it sets out to do, and that is the primary aim of all writing. Try it out and see if it works for you!
Writing paragraphs is probably the most important and useful skill we learn this year. The paragraph is the basic building block of all narrative and literary writing. Knowing how to "put together" an essay means nothing if you can't "craft" an understandable and effective paragraph. When you are writing your paragraphs about literature, follow these guidelines. USE THEM AS A CHECKLIST!
When writing "literary analysis" you are trying to prove a point, illustrate an idea, and/or enlighten your readers, There is no reason to use "I" in this type of writing. No "I think's." No "I feel's" No "What I find Interesting's." No "I" period.
Below is my step by step approach to writing a literary analysis paragraph. It is a revised version of the rubric we have been using for general paragraph writing, but it is adapted for writing literary criticism and analysis.
1. BROAD THEME: Choose a broad one word theme to write about (friendship, family, etc.) that you have noticed and "marked" in your book. Type that in bold as the title of your paragraph! For example: The Odyssey Human Condition Paragraph: Determination This serves to identify your specific assignment and to set the theme for what you are going to write about. Write a clear, conscise and compelling sentence that captures the spirit of your theme in a way that compels your readers to want to read on because they are able to make a personal connection with the broad theme. Be original.
For example: Only the determined few reach the highest peak.
2. NARROW THEME: Narrow
down your theme by writing a phrase or
sentence that captures how your chosen theme is used in the literature
you are analyzing in a specific way. This is your "clear, concise and
memorable" topic
sentence. (Don't make it a long sentence!) This is the sentence that
"steers" your reader in the direction you want to go and acts as a
reminder to your readers why "exactly" you are writing this paragraph
and where you are going.
Your narrow theme what your
paragraph is going to be about.
Everything that follows MUST be directly related to this sentence. As
Dan Karp says, "A paragraph is a one way road!" Always remember,the
more narrow and
focused your topic sentence, the less you need to write to prove your
point.
For example: Telemachus is determined to leave his boyhood behind and search for his father, Odysseus.
3. ONE/TWO PUNCH: Follow your topic sentence with one or two more sentences that add detail or explanation to your topic sentence and narrow the topic even further. These sentences can (and maybe should) be longer sentences.
For example: He is ready to stand up to the suitors that have plagued his house for ten years or more; he is ready to captain his own ship to learn the news of his father' life or death first-hand.
4. SMOKING GUN: When writing about literature the smoking gun is in the text itself. This is where you use text support. It proves you've read and analyzed the text. Write a "setup" sentence--one that includes who, what, when, where, why--that leads into a specific quote or scene from the book that "shows" how the author uses the theme in the book. This is the "smoking gun." It proves that you know--or at least have thought about--the book and how your theme is evident in a meaningful way.
- NOTE: Always include the quote reference after your quote in parentheses. For example: The Odyssey, (Book One, Lines 234-237) If your quote is less than two line, put quotation marks at the begining and end of the quote. Put the quote itself in italics. (This is a personal preference of mine and not a universal rule. I feel it helps to identify your text support and cues the reader more effectively. If the quote is three lines or more, put the quote in italics without quotation marks; put your quote reference under the quote; create a new paragraph for the quote, and finally, indent the whole quote. (On the blogs, use the block quote tab. It's to the right of the e-mail tab.
5. HEAD & HEART: Show your reader your thoughts! Write as many more sentences as you "need" (but at least three more) to illustrate and elaborate upon whatever you introduced in your topic sentence. This is where your passion and knowledge come into play. If you don't have much head and heart, then I immediately sense a lazy or ill-prepared student.
Note: Many writers, in their quest to sound smart and informed, fall into the trap of introducing new and/or irrelevant topics into a paragraph--usually at this point. Don't!!! It distracts and ticks off good readers, and it confuses weak readers. Either way, you lose your audience, which is not a good way to earn a living as a writer. If you have a new topic that you feel is awesome, then have the decency to give that topic its own paragraph.
6. GET ON OR GET OUT: This sentence either wants to close out your thoughts or "transition" to a potential new paragraph.Try to make it as concise and memorable as your opening sentence. If it is "transitioning" to a new paragraph, (as is usually the case in an essay) craft your words in a way that sets up the next paragraph. This creates what is called "logical flow." If the paragraph is simply ending, (as in a brief literature response) try and find a way of tying back into your opening theme in a new and refreshing way. This gives your readers a concise and confident visual and mental cue that you have said all you need to say.
7. RULE OF THREE: Literature is abandoned, not finished! Go back and re-read what you have written. Find three areas or sentences that you can make better. If you can't or won't do this, then you are light years away from being a writer. Often you can find a better topic sentence somewhere else in the paragraph. You can almost always find a more clear and effective way to write a sentence than you wrote on your first try. If the rule of three was too easy (meaning you easily found mistakes) do it again...and again if you have to.
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