15 Chapter 9.1: Paragraph Development contd.
We have looked at the basic parts of your essay, and now we have a sample formula to help you expand your ideas about your evidence. Between the Introduction (and thesis) and the Conclusion (and reflection on the thesis) comes the body of the essay. For your essay’s body to be solid and focused, it needs to have clear, well-developed paragraphs. Even paragraphs need to have a beginning, middle, and end. To help you think about paragraph organization, think about TEAR:
T = Topic Sentence
This is like a little thesis for your paragraph. It tells the reader what that paragraph is all about. If your reader were only to read the topic sentences in your essay, he/or she should have a general idea of what you’re talking about. Of course, he/she can’t get a complete picture unless you provide…
E = Evidence
This is the “how do you know?” part of your paragraph. Evidence comes from the real world. You may present your evidence in the form of statistics, direct quotes, summaries, or paraphrases from a source, or your own observations. Evidence is available to us all. What your reader needs is for you to make sense of that evidence so that s/he understands what all this has to do with your thesis or claim. That is why you provide…
A = Analysis
This is the ‘so what?’ part of your paragraph. You say what is important and why. This isn’t just personal taste or opinion. You have to provide good reasons to support your conclusions. And just to make sure you’re still on track, you…
R = Reflection
This sentence concludes the paragraph and relates to the topic sentence and the thesis. Ideally, it should also prepare us for the next paragraph.
Note
Transitions are like the mortar between the bricks. Transitions hold our ideas together and move us gracefully from point to point. Some common transition words or phrases may include although, therefore, because, in fact, for example, on the other hand, while, in addition, in contrast, then again, furthermore, but back to our main point…
To help you think about TEAR, imagine your snarky little brother looking over your shoulder as you compose, asking you:
T = “What’s all this about?”
E = “How do you know?”
A = “Why should I care?”
R = “What does this have to do with anything?”
You may be thinking, I’ve heard this before, but it wasn’t called TEAR. It was called….
PIE
What does PIE stand for?
P = Point. This is the point of the paragraph, or the topic sentence.
I = Illustration. This is where you illustrate your point with evidence
E = Explication. This is where you explain how that evidence supports your point. This is your analysis.
Why give you two ways to think of this? Because you may find that to fully develop your paragraph, you’ll need to add a little more evidence and analysis. And it looks a little funny to write TEAEAR. So, you can think of PIE-IE-IE will always love you.
Take a look at the picture above. Notice anything? No two slices are the same. So it should be in