Process Paragraph
Pre-writing
Happiest Moments
of Your Life
Proudest Moments
of Your Life
Embarrassing Moments
in Your Life
Saddest Moments
in Your Life
Angriest Moments
in Your Life
Scariest Moments
of Your Life
Process Paragraph Notes
A process paragraph is the steps you take to achieve something or complete something.
Parts to THIS Paragraph
1. Topic Sentence – this is the first sentence of the paragraph. It
explains what the paragraph will be about.
2. Time Words – first, next, then, lastly, finally, today,
yesterday, tomorrow, long ago, before, after, a couple of days
ago, afterwards, in the past, in the olden days, in the end
3. Support Sentences – each step with a time word
4. Details – more information about the support sentence. Ask
yourself who, what, when, where, why, how to add another
sentence.
5. Ending Sentence – last sentence to end the process
Organization (Sample)
1. First Sentence – Topic Sentence
2. Second Sentence – Support sentence with time word (Step 1)
3. Third Sentence – Detail about support sentence
4. Forth Sentence – Support sentence with time word (Step 2)
5. Fifth Sentence – Detail about support sentence
6. Sixth Sentence – Support sentence with time word (Step 3)
7. Seventh Sentence – Detail about support sentence
8. Eighth Sentence – Support sentence with time word (Step 4)
9. Ninth Sentence – Detail about support sentence
10. Tenth Sentence – Ending sentence.
*Make sure the steps are in chronological order (first, next, then,
after, finally)
Topic Sentence Starter
• The happiest moment of my life was when….
• The day when …. was the proudest moment of my life.
• …. was the scariest moment of my life.
Rule of Three
*You must have ATLEAST three support sentences. Each support
should have a detail.
Synonyms: Use synonyms for words that you use more than two or
three times. Synonyms are words that are different but mean the same
thing.
 Nice – kind, pleasant, lovely
 Beautiful – pretty, gorgeous, attractive
 Because – for, as, since
 Big – large, enormous, huge
 Good – wonderful, great, spectacular
Saddest Day of a Student’s Life
One of my saddest moments was when I failed my Writing I
course because I didn’t attend class. To begin, I missed my first class
since I overslept. Next, I didn’t make it to the second class because of
my best friend’s birthday. After class, Katherine took me aside and
reminded me I could only miss two classes without having my grade
lowered. Then, I left class an hour early on the third day for I wanted
to go to the bar. After that, I missed the first fifteen minutes of the
fourth, fifth and sixth classes because I didn’t catch the earlier bus.
During that time, Katherine reminded me that three latenesses are
equal to one absence. Later, I got sick over Spring Break, so I missed
the eighth class. A few weeks later, I forgot it was Monday, so I
didn’t go then either. In the end, I did well in the class as I’m a good
writer, but Katherine couldn’t pass me since I missed three classes,
left early one day, and was late three times.
The Writing Process
PREWRITING
WRITING
RESPONDING
REVISING
EDITING
PUBLISHING
When Turning In A Paragraph
Heading Your Paper
1. Heading Your Paper. Write your name, date, and draft
number/paragraph type in the top corner of your paper.
Title
2. Titling. If you title your work, center the title in the middle of
the line. The title should be at the top of the paper.
Katherine Howard
September 9, 2013
Draft 1 – Personal Response
Indenting
3. Double Spacing. Skip a line between writing. This helps for
correcting and it makes it easier for others to read it. This is
called double spacing. On a computer you can do this
automatically by going to FORMAT and picking
PARAGRAPH. Under LINE SPACING select DOUBLE.
About Me
My name is Katherine Howard and I’m your writing
professor for the Fall 2013 semester. I am excited to meet you
4. Indenting. Indent your first word of every paragraph.
and spend Monday nights with you! I would like to tell you a
5. Font. Use a font that is not too small but not big. A 12 point
font is the best. Use Times New Roman, Courier or Arial as
they are most common.
little about myself. This is my fourth year at Bergen Community
College. I have taught for eight semesters teaching reading,
writing and grammar in the evenings and weekends. During the
On the right is an example of indenting, double spacing, font
type, title, and heading your paper
day, I spend my time in Wyckoff as an elementary school
teacher. I have taught at many other colleges including: Camden
.
Community College, New York University, Baruch College, and
University of Delaware. I am a native English speaker and have
Double spacing.
been teaching English as a Second Language for six years. My
Fonts:
Times New Roman 12pt
Times New Roman 14pt
Arial 12pt
Arial 14pt
Courier 12pt
Courier 14pt
mother’s family lives in Belgium so I come from a multi-cultural
home. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask. I
hope you enjoy coming on Monday evenings. I believe writing is
challenging yet fun and I hope we have a lot of fun together!
Writing Words That You NEED To Know!
Topic Sentence – This is the first sentence in your paragraph and
the sentence that lets the reader know what you will be writing
about. If you ask me what a topic sentence is half way through
this class, I have every right to get mad!
Thesis Statement – this is the most important sentence in the
paragraph. We learn about this during the second paragraph type.
Next semester during Writing II if you can’t write a thesis
statement, you can’t pass the course!
Drafts – Drafts are your writing. You will write THE SAME
paragraph at least twice. Each time you write it, it is a different
draft. You will have Draft 1 and Draft 2 and perhaps Draft 3. It
no longer is a draft once you publish the writing piece.
Pre-Writing – This is the writing you do before you begin
writing. PRE means BEFORE.
Writing Process – the steps you take to publish a piece of writing.
There are six steps: prewriting, writing (drafting), responding,
revising, editing and publishing.
Self Evaluation - when you check your own writing.
Peer Evaluating - when a friend or classmate checks your writing
Revising / Editing – making corrections to your writing
Support – These are the three sentences that make up your
paragraph.
Details – additional information for the support
Examples – personal experiences
Ending / Closing Sentence – the last sentence in your paragraph
Writers Checklist
Format
___Is the first sentence indents?
___ Is the paragraph double spaced?
___ Does the paper have a name, date and paragraph type on it?
___ Is there a title?
___ If typed, is the font a good size?
Beginning
___ I have a topic sentence.
___ I have a thesis statement
Support Sentence 1
____ I have a support sentence.
____ I used a transition to begin my support sentence.
____I have details and/or examples.
Support Sentence 2
____I have a support sentence that is stated in my thesis.
____I used a transition to begin my support sentence.
____ I have details and/or examples.
Support Sentence 3
____I have a support sentence that is stated in my thesis.
____I used a transition to begin my support sentence.
____ I have details and/or examples.
Ending
____I have an ending sentence.
Mechanics
____All my sentences begin with a capital letter.
____All my sentences end with the correct punctuation.
____I used interesting words in my sentences.
____I do not have words that repeat continuously. (I used
synonyms.)
____Not all my sentences start in the same way.
____I checked my spelling to the best of my ability.