Resources for Teaching
Expository Writing
Anita Mattos
March, 2005
Organizational Structures and
Color-coding
Do you remember . . .
Visual Guide
for the FiveParagraph
Essay
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
First -- A
lesson on the
“basic”
paragraph
The Colorcoded
Paragraph
Wheel
Conclusion
(blue)
Topic (red)
Topic
Sentence
(yellow)
Details
(Green)
Paris
The most exciting place I’ve ever visited is
Paris, France. Hundreds of years old, Paris is a city
full of culture and romance. While I was there I
visited many museums and national monuments
including the Louvre and the Cathedral of Notre
Dame. I rode an elevator to the top of the Eiffel
Tower, which was built in 1887, and looked out onto
the city from the top. My favorite excursion was the
moonlit boat ride along the Seine River where I
viewed Paris’s historical buildings all lit up. Because
of the fun and interesting ventures I took part in, my
vacation in Paris is a trip I will never forget.
Basic Five-Paragraph
Essay Outline with
Color Scheme
Outlining Guide
for a Basic FiveParagraph Essay
The Detailed Paragraph and the
Detailed Five-Paragraph Essay
(Literary Analysis Essay Format)
Detailed
Paragraph
Structure
Added
levels of
support
Added
levels of
support
(and new
colors of
orange
and
purple)
Expanded Color Scheme:
yellow = topic sentence
green = support (reasons)
orange = facts (quotes; examples)
New
purple = opinion (commentary;
interpretation
blue = conclusion or transition
sentence
Response to
Literature Essay
Outlining Guide
(page one shown)
Note-taking
Guide for
Students
Body
paragraph
outline
(page 1
only)
Writing Guides and Handouts
for Students
Worksheet for
an
Introductory
Paragraph
Ten sample Leads
(or Hooks) for
Students
(page one of two)
Ten sample
Leads (or Hooks)
for Students
(page two of two)
Suggestions for
Writing a
Concluding
Paragraph
Developing “Ideas” for Literary
Analysis
The Double-Entry
(or Dialectical)
Journal
Develops students’
“commentary” skills
Prewriting Guides
like these provide
“scaffolding” for
students.
(Page 1 only shown)
The Troublesome
“Thesis Statement”
Excellent resources from Sandra Effinger at the
Oklahoma Writing Project
Thesis
sentence
introduction
Many model
thesis
statements to
analyze
Thesis
Exam
Questions??