Introduction and Topic Sentence
Team Teaching with Dr. Louis: Introducing JSWP®
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13m
It is recommended to provide your students with a printout of the Expository Terminology page and the Expository Paragraph Form. As Dr. Louis works through the next several videos, students will copy the model body paragraph onto the Expository Paragraph Form and take notes on the Expository Terminology page.
In this video, Dr. Louis begins with the importance of associating different colors with different functions of sentences in a body paragraph. Then, Dr. Louis discusses the importance of indenting. The main skill to learn in this video, however, is that an academic body paragraph begins with a topic sentence, the first sentence in a body paragraph. For literary analysis and personal narrative, the TS includes the subject of the paragraph and the writer’s opinion (commentary). For argumentation and expository/informational, the TS includes the subject of the paragraph, but, depending on the assignment, what follows might include something other than commentary. The TS does the same thing for a body paragraph that the thesis does for the whole essay.
Up Next in Team Teaching with Dr. Louis: Introducing JSWP®
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Relevant Concrete Detail
Also known as CD, specific details that form the backbone or core of your body paragraphs. Synonyms for concrete details include facts, specifics, examples, descriptions, illustrations, support, proof, evidence, quotations, paraphrasing, or plot references. A concrete detail is one complete sente...
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Insightful Commentary
Also known as a CM, one commentary equals one sentence. It is your opinion or comment about something; not concrete detail. Synonyms include opinion, insight, analysis, interpretation, inference, personal response, feelings, evaluation, explication, and reflection. Commentary comes from three pla...
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Impactful Concluding Sentences
The last sentence in a body paragraph. For literary responses, the CS is all commentary; for expository and summary paragraphs, it depends on the assignment or purpose of the piece and may include concrete detail, such as: predictions, connections, inferences, clarifications, and evaluations. For...
