Four components work together to produce a coherent, unified product
Think of each paragraph (Body paragraphs) as a mini-essay endeavoring to prove one aspect of your thesis statement. That is, each paragraph should
 Make a debatable claim (the topic sentence)
 Provide proof for that claim (the textual evidence or support)
 Show how the evidence supports the claim (the analysis) which also uses effective transitions so that the reader can follow the logic of the argument
 An effective concluding sentence that focuses attention on the argument as a whole and reinforces the author’s position

The topic sentence is to the paragraph what the thesis is to the entire paper. That is, a paragraph’s topic sentence states the claim, position, or argument of that paragraph. The topic sentence usually asserts a claim that will support one part of the paper’s larger thesis.
The example paragraph could support this overall thesis: “By the end of “Sonny’s
Blues,” the narrator is liberated from his warped personality; he finally begins to fee, which means he will be freed from his fear and sadness.”
This paper has a lot to prove! It must begin by proving that the narrator does indeed have a “warped” personality. Thus, the topic sentence of that paragraph might be:
“Though many readers may sympathize with the narrator because his brother is addicted to heroin, the narrator actually begins as a hardened, unfeeling man.
Two scenes illuminate his lack of compassion.”
Notice that, like a thesis, a topic sentence can be more than one sentence if necessary.

Support or evidence usually refers to a quotation from the text.
Without support, your topic sentence will go unproven, and your paragraph will fall flat. (If your topic sentence does not seem to require support, it probably is not an effective topic sentence to begin with).
In order to support the topic sentence in the previous slide, the author should find specific examples in the text that illustrate the cold, unfeeling nature of the narrator in “Sonny’s Blues.”
Do not simply insert an entire sentence from the text. Integrate or embed it in some fashion.

Mrs. Heckman’s website has a document with a variety of examples of how to integrate quotes seamlessly into your writing.
Additional examples of how to embed or integrate textual evidence include the following:
For example,
When the author states, “
An example of this ______ occurs when the main character says, “
As stated in the text, “
The author illustrates this point when…, “
For instance, “
As ___________ points out, “
Toward the end of the story Ken says, “
In the words of …

Here is a list of common verbs used to introduce textual evidence:
Argues Explains
Writes
Concludes
Counters
States
Reveals
Observes
Comments
Claims
Demonstrates
Notes
Maintains
Suggests
Insists
Implies
Illustrates
See Mrs. Heckman’s list of synonyms for SHOW

Well-organized paragraphs use transitions between the topic sentence, support, analysis, and concluding sentence which let the reader know where the argument is going.
Simple transitions such as “for example,” “for instance,”
“therefore,” “however,” and “also” are useful to show relationships between ideas. More complex transitions can be whole phrases or even sentences that signify that how the writer is moving from one idea to another.
See this document on Mrs. Heckman’s website for more transitions!

 An effective concluding sentence will reinforce the claim of the topic sentence WITHOUT providing any new examples or evidence.
 An effective concluding statement is a restatement and reinforcement of the writer’s position and the point being made is done in a unifying and summarizing way.
 An effective concluding sentence focuses attention on the topic as a whole.
 Effective concluding sentences can also transition into the next paragraph.

The narrator reveals how cruel and unfeeling he is when he meets Sonny's friend on the street. Adopting a sarcastic tone, the narrator questions the friend's motives: "You come all the way down here to just tell me about Sonny" (Baldwin, 1965/2002 , p. 65)? The suspicious tone that the narrator uses demonstrates his doubt that the friend truly cares for
Sonny. This single question illustrates the narrator’s own feelings toward his brother as he wonders if anyone could truly feel solicitude toward his brother. The narrator also swears at the friend, saying, "you're pretty ******* smart, I bet," and offers him no sympathy for his
"sad story," declaring that he wishes the friend had a pistol so he could kill himself (Baldwin,
1965/2002, p. 49). These reactions to the friend illustrate the narrator's anger at the situation Sonny is in, but also convey a stark lack of compassion for those less fortunate than himself. In fact, the narrator's anger seems to fuel his lack of compassion. In the flashback scene, it is evident that the narrator has been angry with Sonny before, for when the narrator visits Sonny in his Greenwich Village apartment, he tells Sonny that he "might just as well be dead as live the way he was living" (Baldwin, 1965/2002, p. 62) .
Regardless of one’s lifestyle, death is a permanent ending. Society judges one’s choices and while not all people may agree with one’s lifestyle, the narrator’s belief that death is preferable to the life his brother is living is bitter and cruel. While the narrator may look down on his brother’s choices and lifestyle, these scenes depict the narrator's warped personality; ironically, his anger and fear have made him cruel, almost sadistic, and ultimately a worse human being than his brother.

After completing the graphic organizer and the rough draft of your paragraph, revise your final paragraph and be sure that it contains the following:
 Topic Sentence that answers the prompt
 At least 3 pieces of direct textual evidence that support your topic sentence (quotes)
 Embed your quotes into your paragraph (Integrate them!)
 Analysis at a ratio of 2:1 (2 sentences of commentary for every 1 textual evidence)
 Concluding Sentence
 Paragraph is a minimum of 11 sentences in length
 APA format is used. (Times New Roman, 12 pt., internal citations)
 Attention is paid to style, grammar, and mechanics. ( See rubric )

Fleischmann, A. & Jones, A. (2012, December 21). Hints for writing effective paragraphs of literary analysis. University of California
Davis. Retrieved from http://cai.ucdavis.edu/uccp/ paragraphing.html