Day 8: Body Paragraph Structure

Objectives: At the end of today's class, you will be able to...
*identify four essential parts to every body paragraph (P-I-E + C).
*examine sample paragraphs to identify any missing parts.
*assess your own essays for their use of P-I-E+ C structure and identify/revise weaknesses.

The Four Parts of a Paragraph

Follow along on the PIE HANDOUT throughout the PIE ppt. You will see that in order to have strong paragraph structure, each body paragraph should have 4 parts: a Point, an Illustration, an Explanation, and a Closing Sentence. Look at the example provided to learn more about them.

1. The Point (Topic Sentence)

2. The Illustrations (Supporting Sentences)

3. Explanations of the illustrations (Supporting Sentences)

4. The Conclusion (Concluding Sentence)

The PIEC Structure (PPP)

Practice PIEC structure. Examine the two sample paragraphs and highlight each of the different parts in a different color. Use the Microsoft feature for coloring. Do the paragraphs have all 4 parts? Do they have good paragraph structure?

Handout

Revise the structure of the paragraphs in your diagnostic essay. Identify the four parts in your paragraphs. You may find that you are lacking Explanation, or you don’t have any Closing Sentences! Afterwards, be sure to ask about any problems you are having before you begin revising.

Homework

Now that you have a first draft for your introduction, you need to start working in the body of the essay. Revise each paragraph carefully, see if it has the four parts and complete it if it doesn't. Maybe you would like to open a Word file where you start saving all these different parts of your Diagnostic Essay to make it more simple to put together once you conclude your revising.

Sources

Rosado, C. (2012). Body Paragraph Structure: PIE. UIUC ESLTA Resource Website. http://esl115ta.blogspot.com/2012/01/body-paragraph-structure-p-i-e.html

Kalb, C. (2010). Fighting against smoking in the movies. Newsweek, Health. Retrieved from http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/08/20/fighting-against-smoking-in-the-movies.html

Sample Paragraphs from Staci Defibaugh, Fall 2011