Research Paper Body Paragraph
Criteria and Examples
Paraphrasing, Incorporating Quotes,
Using In-text Citations, etc.
Body Paragraphs Must Include:
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A topic sentence
Paraphrased information
In-text citations
A lead in for a quote, including the author or
publication name
• Direct quote from a source
• More paraphrased or original information
after the quote
Topic Sentence
• This is the first sentence of your body
paragraph. Be sure to make it very clear what
your topic for the paragraph is in this
sentence.
• Example:
• Adolf Hitler: The great matchstick that lit the
fire of WWII.
Paraphrased Information
Original:
Adolf Hitler was the most infamous
political ruler of the twentieth
century. Hitler rose from obscurity to
become the leader of Germany in
the 1930s and 1940s, triggering
World War II because of his
expansionist foreign policy.
Moreover, as the philosophical and
political leader of the National
Socialist (Nazi) Party, Hitler
implemented government policies
based on anti-Semitism and racism.
These policies became more severe
over time and led to the mass
extermination of Jews, racial
minorities, and other groups.
Paraphrased:
Adolf Hitler: The great
matchstick that lit the
fire of WWII. The Nazi
rose to power in Germany
in the 1930s. As his antiJewish policies extended
to include genocide -- not
just within Germany -- but
in other sovereign nations
as well, other countries
began to fight back.
In-text Citations
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Citations need to go after every
chunk of paraphrased text that
comes from the same source.
If you are paraphrasing from multiple
sources in the same paragraph, you
must add a new in-text citation for
each paraphrase from each source.
In order to get your in text citation,
look at your full MLA citation and pull
either the first word listed OR the
first word that differentiates your
article title from the others.
When citing a book, use the author’s
last name and the page number the
quotation or paraphrased
information was found on.
• Examples:
Database articles:
“…even into Germany itself, meant Hitler
had lost the great war he himself began”
(World).
"Adolf Hitler." World of Criminal Justice.
Gale, 2002. Biography in Context. Web. 3
Feb. 2015.
Books:
“Frederick and his followers had already
come through the five-barred gate…
there were fifteen men, with half a
dozen guns between them, and they
opened fire…” (Orwell 101).
Orwell, George. Animal Farm. New York:
Harcourt, Brace, 1954. Print.
Lead Ins for Quotations
• Use either the author or publication name to set up a
quote:
• EXAMPLE:
• World of Criminal Justice notes that Hitler’s biggest mistake
during WWII was his attempt to scheme behind the back of
fellow dictator Joseph Stalin. “Hitler's great blunder came
in June of 1941, when he ordered the invasion of the
Soviet Union. The two countries had been allies to that
point and had divided Polish territory. Though the German
army drove deep into Russia, a harsh winter stopped it in
its tracks. Within a year, the army was in full retreat”
(World).
Direct Quote
• Each body paragraph must have at least ONE
direct quotation from one of your sources.
Example:
“Hitler's great blunder came in June of 1941,
when he ordered the invasion of the Soviet
Union. The two countries had been allies to that
point and had divided Polish territory. Though the
German army drove deep into Russia, a harsh
winter stopped it in its tracks. Within a year, the
army was in full retreat” (World).
First Body Paragraph Example:
Background on your topic
Adolf Hitler: The great matchstick that lit the fire of WWII. The Nazi
rose to power in Germany in the 1930s. As his anti-Jewish policies
extended to include genocide -- not just within Germany -- but in other
sovereign nations as well, other countries began to fight back (World).
World of Criminal Justice notes that Hitler’s biggest mistake during WWII
was his attempt to scheme behind the back of fellow dictator Joseph Stalin.
“Hitler's great blunder came in June of 1941, when he ordered the
invasion of the Soviet Union. The two countries had been allies to that
point and had divided Polish territory. Though the German army drove
deep into Russia, a harsh winter stopped it in its tracks. Within a year, the
army was in full retreat” (World). After driving back the German army,
Soviet forces followed the Germans west, continuing the fight. The
combination of Russia’s attacks from the east and forces from the United
States and Britain penetrating further west, even into Germany itself, meant
Hitler had lost the great war he himself began (World).
• "Adolf Hitler." World of Criminal Justice. Gale, 2002. Biography in Context.
Web. 3 Feb. 2015.
Second Body Paragraph Example:
Allegorical Connection to Animal Farm
• George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm is an allegory for the Russian Revolution and
the events that transpire soon after, including the battles from WWII when
Hitler’s German armies invaded Russia. The real life events of Hitler betraying
former ally, Stalin, also take place in the novel. In Animal Farm, Napoleon is taken
aback by the dramatic betrayal of his former ally, the human farmer Frederick, who
clearly represents Hitler. “…Napoleon had really been in secret agreement with
Frederick… The very next morning the attack came… Frederick and his followers
had already come through the five-barred gate… there were fifteen men, with
half a dozen guns between them, and they opened fire…” (Orwell 101). The
correlation between the “Battle of the Windmill” in Animal Farm and the real life
Battle of Stalingrad is clearly laid out. Hitler signed a non-agression pact with Stalin
during World War II and soon after invaded Russia (World). In Animal Farm,
Frederick made a business deal with Napoleon, tricking him by paying with forged
money. The next morning, the farm was attacked by Frederick and his men.
• "Adolf Hitler." World of Criminal Justice. Gale, 2002. Biography in Context. Web. 3
Feb. 2015.
• Orwell, George. Animal Farm. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1954. Print.
Third Body Paragraph Example:
How well did Orwell represent your topic?
• Orwell did an excellent job portraying Hitler as Frederick. “Hitler believed
Germans were to be the masters of the world, and he would do whatever it took
to make it so” (People). It’s clear in Orwell’s novel through Frederick’s dealings with
Animal Farm that he considers all animals to be greatly inferior to humans. This is
shown several ways, including the way he swindles Napoleon out of money from
the timber sale, to the sneak attack Battle of the Windmill, to the abusive and evil
treatment Frederick was rumored to dole out to his own animals. “…terrible
stories were leaking out from Pinchfield about the cruelties that Frederick
practised upon his animals. He had flogged an old horse to death, starved his
cows, he had killed a dog by throwing it into the furnace, he amused himself in
the evenings by making cocks fight with splinters of razor-blade tied to their
spurs” (Orwell 96). Rumors of Hitler’s atrocities on his own German Jews leaked
into Russia during Stalin’s reign, and despite that, the two dictators still signed the
non-agression pact. After Hitler broke the pact, Stalin cozied up to the allied
leaders of Britian and United States. Likewise, after being betrayed by Frederick in
Animal Farm, Napoleon then partnered up with Pilkington.
• “Adolf Hitler." People of the Holocaust. Gale, 1998. Biography in Context. Web. 3
Feb. 2015.
• Orwell, George. Animal Farm. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1954. Print.