Preparation for the MultiParagraph Portion of the Exam
What Does MultiParagraph Mean?
• Multi means MORE
THAN ONE!
• For your purposes on
the exam, you should
write at least THREE
paragraphs.
• Be sure to INDENT
and start each
paragraph on a new
line.
The Essay Bug
The Essay Bug Explained
• Paragraph 1= the Introductory Paragraph
• Start “broad” and end “specific.”
• An example of an essay prompt is:
“Self sacrifice leads to great
rewards.”
How can we start off in a “broad” way?
Ways to start off “broad.”
• Life is full of competition, and we are constantly
battling against others to get what we want, but
defeating the opposition is not the only way to feel
good about yourself.
• Our society’s values can be summed up with
phrases like “it’s a dog eat dog world,” and
“only the strong survive.” But is living with
this attitude the best way to feel satisfied
as a member of a community?
Getting Specific: The THESIS STATEMENT
• Your final sentence of the intro paragraph
should tell the reader exactly what you
plan to discuss in the essay.
• After reading your thesis statement, your
reader will not only know the topic of the
essay, but also the main point(s) you will
present.
Example #1: A 5 paragraph essay Thesis Statement.
• “In the movie Shrek, the title character
goes through a heroic journey complete
with a separation, a transformation, and a
return.”
• General Topic= A Heroic Journey
• Separation= Body paragraph #1
• Transformation= Body paragraph #2
• Return= Body paragraph #3
Example #2: A 4 paragraph essay Thesis Statement.
• “The Olympic Games are an opportunity
for dedicated competitors to display their
athletic prowess, and their respect for fair
play.”
• The Olympic Games= General Topic
• Athletic prowess= Body paragraph #1
• Fair play= Body paragraph #2
Example #3: A 3 paragraph essay Thesis Statement.
• Looking out for yourself is important, but
helping others by sacrificing your time is a
great way to feel like a contributing
member of society.
• Helping others= General Topic
• Sacrificing your time= The Body
Paragraph.
“Self sacrifice leads to
great rewards.”
• What could we talk about in an essay
on this topic?
• Some ideas:
– Giving time to help a cause
– Giving money to help a cause
– Talk about occupations that help others
– Talk about volunteer organizations that help
others
Creating a thesis statement.
• Using the ideas we came up with, create a
thesis statement for a 3 or 4 paragraph
essay on the topic:
“Self sacrifice leads to
great rewards.”
Ex. “Helping others by sacrificing your time and
money is a great way to feel like a contributing
member of society.” (This would be a 4 paragraph
essay.)
The body of the Essay Bug.
• A 4 paragraph Essay Bug’s body will look
like this:
• A 5 paragraph Essay Bug’s body will look
like this:
• Here’s a 3 paragraph essay bug’s body.
• What a Cute little guy!
Body Paragraphs
• For each body paragraph be sure to
include:
– A topic sentence.
– Your main points that relate to the topic
sentence…INCLUDING QUOTES from the
text!
– A concluding sentence (this may be a
transition to the next paragraph).
Example of a body paragraph:
My thesis statement said that “Helping others by sacrificing your time
and money is a great way to feel like a contributing member of
society.”
• THEREFORE MY FIRST BODY PARAGRAPH WILL TALK ABOUT
SACRIFICING TIME.
• Sacrificing your time is a great way to help others and feel good
about yourself. (intro) There are many worthwhile projects that
require people to help out by showing up and lending a hand.
At Reynolds school this last weekend there was a car wash and
a recycle depot that would not have been possible without the
help of all the amazing students who decided to give time from
their weekend to help out. After taking part in these events,
the volunteers felt like they made a difference and this was a
rewarding feeling. (main points) But volunteering your time is
not the only way to make yourself feel helpful.
(conclusion/transition)
Concluding paragraph
• The last paragraph= The Concluding
Paragraph
• Start “specific” and end “broad.”
• The “specific” part is a restatement of the thesis
statement.
• Then go “broad” again. Talk about the topic in a
general way.
Example of a concluding paragraph.
• “There are many ways to make a difference in
your community, and when you sacrifice your
time and money to help out, it is very rewarding.
(Restatement of thesis statement) Looking out
for yourself in life is important because you
cannot help out others unless you have what
you need to survive. But once you have the
necessities, give what you can to help out others
because that is the most rewarding feeling of
all.” (broad statement relating to main topic)
Here’s my 3 paragraph essay:
•
•
•
Our society’s values can be summed up with phrases like “it’s a dog
eat dog world,” and “only the strong survive.” But is living with this attitude
the best way to feel satisfied as a member of a community? No. Looking
out for yourself is important, but helping others by sacrificing your time is a
great way to feel like a contributing member of society.
Sacrificing your time is the best way to help others and feel good
about yourself. There are many worthwhile projects that require people to
help out by showing up and lending a hand. At Reynolds school this last
weekend there was a car wash and a recycle depot that would not have
been possible without the help of all the amazing staff and students who
decided to give time from their weekend to help out. After taking part in
these events the volunteers felt like they made a difference, and this was a
rewarding feeling.
There are many ways to make a difference in your community, and
when you sacrifice your time to help out, it is a gratifying experience.
Making sure you take care of yourself is important because you cannot help
out others unless you have what you need to survive. But once you have
the necessities, give what you can to help out others because that is the
most rewarding feeling of all.
Your task to review for the final:
• Create a 4 or 5 paragraph essay outline
on ONE of the following topics:
– You never know what life will throw at you.
– Growth as a person can only happen if you
get out of your comfort zone.
– One person can make a difference.
*Your outline must include a thesis statement, a topic sentence for
each body paragraph, and your main points for each paragraph
in point form.