TEEEES out your Body Paragraphs
Topic Sentence: Topic sentences are the first sentence of a paragraph and must
perform two tasks:
1. show the main idea of your paragraph
2. show how the paragraph’s main idea connects with (or supports) the thesis
statement
Tip: Write the rest of your paragraph, before writing your topic sentence. After writing your
paragraph, ask yourself: What is the main idea of this paragraph? How does it connect with my
thesis? Write down your answers and—voila!—you have a topic sentence.
Explain the Topic Sentence: Spend a few sentences expanding on the details of your
topic sentence, explaining what the claim means, your reasoning behind the claim, or
showing why the claim is happening.
Evidence: Use evidence in every body paragraph to support and add credibility to your
claims. Evidence can take the shape of quotes, paraphrases, or examples. Just be sure to
show where the evidence is coming from with signal phrases and in-text citations!
Explain Evidence: Explain all evidence by showing how the evidence’s information
connects with your topic sentence. Rephrase complicated evidence, but focus more on
showing how the evidence relates to your topic sentence.
Evaluate: Spend some time evaluating your topic and evidence to show more of your
own thinking. Answer these questions for your audience: How does your evidence impact
your topic sentence/overall thesis? What are the consequences or benefits of your
evidence to your claim? How does the evidence encourage your audience to think in a
new way?
Show Significance: The last sentence or few sentences of your paragraph should
connect back to your thesis statement, showing how your paragraph relates to the thesis
and helps prove your overall essay’s claim.