A look at how to and what to include
 An essay is a piece of writing
about one specific subject.
 An essay will often include the
author’s point of view about
the subject.

Before you begin an essay, you will need to
do some research.
 For the past few days, you have been researching
biomes, animals and their habitats.

Good writers keep their research organized.
 You have kept your research organized by using
the Animal Research Template on our wiki.

After gathering and organizing their research,
good writers make a plan to make their writing
easier.

You will use inspiration to plan your essay.

You will turn your facts into detail sentences and
arrange them under the appropriate topic
bubble.

Later, you will use those detail sentences to
compose a rough draft.
Your essay will include:
 Table of Contents
 Introduction paragraph
 Detail Paragraphs about your focus questions
 Conclusion paragraph
 Headings
 Subheadings
 Bibliography
 A table of contents lets the reader
know what topics they will find in
a text.
 Your table of contents will show
the major headings contained in
your essay.

The titles in your table of contents will be:
 Introduction
 What is a (animal name)?
 Where do (animal name) live?
 What’s eating you?
 How are (animal name) adapted to their
environment?
 Conclusion

Your introduction paragraph should be short,
but include your own thoughts about the
animal to get the reader interested.

Introductions may also include interesting
facts about your animal that aren’t contained
in the rest of the essay.
Home, Home on the range!!! If you’re ever on
the range, you may see one of the most
interesting animals in North America, the
American Bison. The American Bison played
an important role in our country’s history and
in the lives of the early Plains Indians. Read
on to find out more information about this
fascinating animal.



The detail paragraphs in your essay are where
you will report all the information you found
about each of your focus questions.
Your detail paragraphs will include headings
to tell the reader what they will learn from
the paragraph.
Some detail paragraphs will be placed under
the same heading but be labeled with
separate subheadings.

Each detail paragraph must:
 be labeled with a heading and/or subheading
 begin with a topic sentence.
▪ Topic sentences should explain what the paragraph will
be about in an interesting way.
 contain at least three detail sentences that follow
the topic sentence.

What is a (animal name)? (Heading)
 In the paragraph that follows this heading, you will include
facts about the physical description of your animal.

Where do (animal name) live? (Heading)
 Under this heading you will have two paragraphs about
where your animal can be found labeled with subheadings.
 The first paragraph will tell about the region/biome of the
world where your animal is found. (Subheading-Biome
Where (animal name) is Found)
 The second paragraph will tell about your animal’s
habitat/home. (Subheading- (Animal name)’s
Habitat/Home)

What’s Eating You?(Heading)
 Under this heading you will have two paragraphs
labeled with subheadings.
 The first paragraph will tell about what your
animal eats, its prey or food source.(SubheadingWhat Do (animal name)’s Eat?)
 The second paragraph will tell about other
animals that eat your animal, its predators.
(Subheading- What Eats (animal name)?)

How Are (animal name) Adapted For Their
Environment?(Heading)
 The paragraph under this heading will explain the
different ways your animal is adapted to live in its
special environment.
What is an American Bison? (Heading)
The American Bison has a very distinct look! You
can tell a bison from their very unique coat. The
have a heavy, shaggy, chocolate brown coat that
keeps them warm in the winter. The also have a
large hump on their back and small curved horns
on each side of their head. Adult bison can reach
six feet tall and ten feet long. They can weight
anywhere from 900 to 2,000 pounds.
Where Do American Bison Live? (Heading)
Biome Where American Bison are Found (Subheading)
American Bison live in the vast prairies of North America. Prairies are
large areas with few trees and shrubs. They are hot in the summer and
warm in the winter and receive little rain. The prairie region where bison
are found stretches from the Great Bear Lake in Canada to parts of
northern Mexico. The prairie states of our country include the Dakotas,
Kansas, Nebraska and even parts of Texas. In this biome, you can also
find prairie dogs and antelope.
American Bison Homes /Habitats (Subheading)
Bison homes are effected by their food. They do not stay in one place for
a long time because they eat the grass in the area too quickly. The herds
continue to migrate across the plains to find food. However, some
American Bison are now been kept by ranchers. These animals live their
entire lives on one ranch.
What’s Eating You?(Heading)
What Do American Bison Eat? (Subheading)
Would you like to eat the same thing every day? Well, American
Bison do. They are herbivores which means they only eat plants.
They happily eat grass every morning, afternoon and evening.
When they aren’t eating they are resting.
What Eats American Bison? (Subheading)
Even though they are very large, bison still have a few predators.
Grizzly bears have been known to attack bison and their calves.
Wolves also hunt bison herds. However, man has been their
greatest predator. Human hunting of bison for their coats nearly
pushed them to extinction.
How Are American Bison Adapted For Their
Environment? (Heading)
In order to survive the many challenges of their environment,
American Bison have developed a few adaptations. To keep them
warm in the freezing prairie snows, Bison grow a heavy, bushy
coat in the winter. Stampeding protects most of the animals in the
herd if they are attacked by a predator. Even bison don’t like bug
bites. They roll in the dust and dirt to help soothe itchy skin
caused by the many nibbling bugs found on the plains.

Your conclusion paragraph should:
 begin with a connecting word or phrase. Examples of
these include:
▪
▪
▪
▪
In conclusion…
So you can see…
As you have seen…
To summarize…
 restate the big ideas found in your essay in a new way.
 never introduce a new topic.
 finish with a “clincher” which tell your audience your
feelings about your topic.

As you have seen, the American Bison is a
remarkable animal found right here in the
U.S.A. They roam our prairies with their
enormous size and peacefully graze on the
soft grasses. Their herds and adaptations
keep them safe, and I hope they will always
be free to roam where the, “skies are not
cloudy all day!”
 You have two choices for the
final presentation of your essay.
 You may make a book using
Microsoft word or a slide show
using power point.

If you choose the book option:
 Your book will be typed in a word document in
landscape format
 Your book will need:
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
A title page
Table of Contents
Introduction page
Page for each Heading
Conclusion page
Photographs/Images page
Bibliography

If you choose the power point option:
 Your slide show will need:
▪ A title page slide
▪ Table of Contents slide
▪ Introduction slide
▪ Slide for each Heading
▪ Conclusion slide
▪ Photographs/Images slide
▪ Bibliography slide