Develop Solid Body Paragraphs
The Heart of the Essay
Body paragraphs support your topic with necessary information, details, or examples in order to complete the topic introduced in the introductory paragraph. Without strong body paragraphs, your essay is like a skeleton without any muscle, blood, or skin. You can have a fantastic introduction and a rousing conclusion, but if there no support in between, the essay is apt to fall flat.
The trick to developing solid body paragraphs is to know how to arrange the inside details in the best possible way to serve the topic. Good body paragraphs should also flow together with effective transitions and lead the reader toward a conclusion.
Details are important
Specific details give your paragraphs energy and power. Develop details in the following ways, depending on the type of writing you are doing:
Use sensory details. These details pertain to the senses (smell, touch, taste, hearing, and sight) and describe something you are observing.
Use memory details. These are experiences you recall from the past that can be explained through vivid, colorful descriptions.
Use reflective details. These are imaginative details that suggest how you think and imagine about the past, present, or future.
Use facts and statistics. These are usually provable or factual evidence that supports your topic.
Use anecdotes or stories. These are vivid examples that illustrate your point and topic.
Use reasons or opinions. These support the topic in a persuasive and convincing way.
Arrangement is important
Knowing different ways to arrange details is key to writing solid body paragraphs. This arrangement gives cohesiveness to the entire essay. Arrange details in the following ways:
By chronological order. These details are arranged in the order in which they happen.
By order of location. This is also known as spatial order. These details are unified showing direction and location.These details would specify left to right, right to left, top to bottom, and any other signal for direction.
By illustration. State a general idea as your topic sentence and give specific reasons, examples, facts, and details to support it.
By climax.State specific details first and then develop the paragraph toward the more general statement. This arrangement has a building effect toward a climax of some kind.
By cause and effect. A general statement (a result or cause) is supported in the paragraph by events (effects).
By comparison or contrast. Comparison shows similarities between two subjects whereas contrast shows the differences between two subjects.
By definition and classification. This method defines a subject by providing important details or classifies a subject by showing how it is different from other similar subjects.