Write the Body of Your Essay

In this video, you will draft the body paragraphs of your essay.

Body paragraphs are the paragraphs between the introduction and conclusion of an essay.

They are used to explain, describe, or argue points about your topic and support the thesis statement from your introductory paragraph.

Each main idea that you wrote down in your outline will become a body paragraph.

Body paragraphs begin with a topic sentence, or main idea, followed by several sentences with details that support the main idea.

To begin, start a new paragraph after your introduction.

Begin your paragraph by writing one of your main ideas in sentence form.

This is your paragraph’s topic sentence.

It’s important that your topic sentence is the first sentence of your paragraph so that your readers will understand what the passage is about.

Next, write your supporting sentences.

Your supporting sentences should include details, quotes, facts, and examples to help develop and support your paragraph’s main idea.

Try to write at least three supporting detail sentences for each body paragraph, or however many it may take to express your ideas about your topic sentence.

Remember that you are writing a draft, so don’t worry about making it polished right now.

You will have the opportunity to edit and revise as many times as you need later.

When you’ve finished writing your supporting sentences, write your next body paragraph.

Repeat the process until you have written the same number of body paragraphs as the number of main ideas listed in your brainstorm document.

Now, it’s your turn: Write body paragraphs that include a topic sentence and supporting idea sentences.