Writing the Beginning Paragraph

Start your analysis with a lead that gets readers' attention and introduces them to the piece of literature you will analyze. After your lead sentence, you will develop a paragraph that ends with your thesis statement.

1. Name the work and author and summarize the main conflict.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor tells the story of a young girl who learns how to fight discrimination and injustice.

2. Quote something interesting a character said.

Cassie Logan will never forget something her dad once told her about the land they own and live on. “All that belongs to you. You ain’t never had to live on nobody’s place but your own and long as I live and the family survives, you’ll never have to. That’s important. You may not understand that now, but one day you will.”

3. Provide a historical fact about the work.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry was one of the first young adult books to not shy away from life's harsh realities.

4. Ask an interesting question.

How can you stand up for yourself in an unjust society?

Writing the Beginning Paragraph

Start your essay with a lead that gets readers' attention and orients them to the piece of literature you will analyze. Then provide background information that leads to your thesis statement.

1. Name the work and author and summarize its importance.

   Ghost by Jason Reynolds tells the story of a middle-schooler running toward a better future.

2. Ask a compelling question about the character or theme.

   Have you ever tried running away from a problem?

Revising from General to Specific

Your writing will sound more knowledgeable and interesting if you replace general ideas with specific facts that your readers might not already know.

• General idea: Whales are really long.

• Specific fact: Whales can grow up to 115 feet long.

• General idea: Dolphins and whales use sounds.

• Specific fact: Dolphins and whales use echolocation sounds to communicate and warn of danger.

1. Penguins use their black and white color as camouflage. Penguins use their black and white color as camouflage.
2. Penguins are great swimmers and can move quickly in the water. Penguins are great swimmers and can move quickly in the water.
3. The Gentoo Penguin can swim at speeds of 22 miles per hour. The Gentoo Penguin can swim at speeds of 22 miles per hour.
4. All penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere. All penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere.

Prewriting to Select a Topic

Revising for Paragraph Unity

Focusing on one idea in a paragraph is called unity. For example, the sentences in each paragraph in your essay should focus on the category mentioned in the paragraph’s topic sentence. A paragraph lacks unity when it includes ideas that do not relate to its topic sentence. In the example paragraph below, the topic sentence is in bold type, and an unrelated idea is deleted.

1. Poison ivy is an enemy of campers and other nature lovers. It contains an oil that irritates the skin. The oil gets onto the skin when the plant’s leaf is crushed. Walking through or on top of poison ivy can release the oil. You can easily recognize poison ivy because it usually grows as a vine and has compound leaves made up of three leaflets each. Poison sumac is also a problem for campers. Poison ivy is an enemy of campers and other nature lovers. It contains an oil that irritates the skin. The oil gets onto the skin when the plant’s leaf is crushed. Walking through or on top of poison ivy can release the oil. You can easily recognize poison ivy because it usually grows as a vine and has compound leaves made up of three leaflets each. Poison sumac is also a problem for campers.

Writing the Beginning Paragraph

The beginning of your classification essay should introduce your topic with some interesting background information and then give your focus statement.

Lead Sentence

We humans have created devices, such as camouflage-patterned military fatigues and pepper spray, to protect ourselves in dangerous situations.

Detail Sentences

Have you ever wondered where we got the ideas for these tools? They may have come from examples set by other members of the animal kingdom. Animals face many dangers in their environments, and they have some unusual and inspired methods of defense.

Focus Statement

Three ways in which animals protect themselves are by changing colors, releasing chemicals, and giving up a body part.

Writing the Middle Paragraphs

Prewriting to Focus Your Ideas

What Interests Me

Prewriting to Select a Topic

You should be able to break down the subject of your essay into three or four parts or categories that can be explained in separate paragraphs. A subject that is too broad may include too many categories or categories that are difficult to explain. A subject that is too narrow will not have enough categories.