Formal Literary Paragraph
How to write one – structure, format,
language
What does it mean by formal?
 Language – word choice and mechanics are
important
 No personal pronouns – I, we, us you are not used
 No contractions – can’t becomes can not, it’s becomes
it is
 Avoid slang and cliches – kids is slang, therefore use
children
 You take the attitude you are talking with someone
important and not your friends
Word Choice
 Verb tense (the action of doing something) is
something that is happening now – every time the
book is opened, it is alive now
 Keep verb tense in the present tense – i.e. He says,
NOT he said
Structure
 Topic sentence
 Point
 Context and proof
 Explanation
 Concluding sentence
Closer look at structure - topic
 Topic sentence
 When writing only one paragraph introduce author,
title of play (in italics), points to be examined
 in a complete essay, the topic sentence will introduce
the ideas/points to be discussed in the paragraph
 A topic is the material that is under examination in
the written work
Structure - point
 Point – explains the what
 A finer look at where in the work studied that the
topic is examined
 Consider using a variety of areas in the text from
beginning to end to support the particular topic
 Following the point, it is supported and linked further
to a specific example
 Marked under a knowledge category
Structure – context/proof
 Context – giving the reader an idea what is going on in the text
when the proof is provided
 Proof – a direct example quoted from the text to provide evidence
for your point
 Citation of quote in brackets behind quotation mark but before
period
 author’s name the first time you refer to the work and number of page


in a book (Golding 55)
In Shakespeare act, scene, line (Shakespeare 1.3.13-15)
 Context/proof is one sentence linked together with appropriate
punctuation – a comma in instances where “he says,” or a semi
colon when the pause is longer
 Marked as both knowledge (understands what is going on), and
thinking (chooses the most appropriate quote to support point)
 Explains the where and when
Structure - explanation
 Explanation – also known as link or analysis
 Explain how and why the proof supports the point
 Links material that happened earlier in the play or
what will happen
 Offers insight to character or plot development
 1 -2 sentences in length
 Be concise and succinct and thoughtful
 Marked under a thinking category
Concluding sentence
 Examining the many units of
point/proof/explanation, wrap up what you have
written in these 9-12 sentences and link it back to
the topic sentence in one sentence
 Vary word choice (use thesaurus) and sentence
structure
Typical paragraph
 Topic sentence
 Point #1
 Context/proof #1
 Explanation #1
 Transition word + Point #2
 Context/proof #2
 Explanation#2
 Transition word + Point #3
 Context/proof #3
 Explanation #3
 Concluding sentence
Length
 More than the amount of words, the proper structure
will determine length
 Topic sentence – 1 sentence
 Point – 1 sentence
 Context and proof – “1 sentence” – proof will vary in
length, so technically your proof can be more than one
sentence from the text, but it is considered as a unit of one
sentence
 Explanation – 1-2 sentences
 Concluding sentence – 1 sentence
 A paragraph of three p.p.e. will have 11-14 sentences
 Approximately ¾ - 1 page typed, double-spaced, 12 font
is the norm
Order of p.p.e.
 Within a body, 90% of the time the proof will be put
in order of appearance in the text
 Act 1 comes before act 3 then act 5, so the proof will
shown accordingly as point/proof 1, then point/proof
2, etc.
 Though not typical, you can have
point/proof/proof/explanation – two proofs can be
used to explain one point, and explained together –
these are linked together by transition words like
similarly, as well as, later
Format quoting one person dialogue
 When only one person is quoted use the following
format
 When Viola discovers a love triangle has formed, she
says, “time, thou must untangle this, not I:/it is too
hard a knot for me t’untie” (Shakespeare 2.2.39-40).
 Note that the comma comes before the opening
quotation marks, there is a back slash to indicate a
line break in Shakespeare, and the period to end the
sentence comes after the citation
Format quoting multi dialogue pieces
Transitions
 Using transitional words and phrases
helps papers read more smoothly, and at the same time
allows the reader to flow more smoothly from one point
to the next.
 Transitions enhance logical organization and
understandability
and improve the connections between thoughts. They
indicate relations,
whether within a sentence, paragraph, or paper.
 This list illustrates categories of "relationships"
between ideas,
followed by words and phrases that can make the
connections.
Examples of transitional words
 furthermore
 Finally
 therefore
 Otherwise
 subsequently
 consequently
 Similarly
 Conversely
 Likewise
 As a result of
 Moreover
 For instance