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College Composition I

Professor Kratz

Paragraphing

When dealing with more than one source, any paragraph must have the following:

1.Claim: what you are trying to show in the paragraph (i.e. your “topic sentence”)

The first (“topic”) sentence should not be:

  • a detached statement of fact.
  • a summary of the position taken by one of the authors of our readings.
  • a quotation.

2.Introduction to the first quotation (with proper punctuation: none, comma, colon)

This sentence should not be:

  • a detached statement of fact.
  • a summary of the quotation.

This sentence should include:

  • a brief “set-up” where you highlight for your reader what you want them to look at in the quotation.
  • a suggestion of how the quotation relates to your claim, either by supporting it, or offering a contrasting perspective.

3.The first quotation

This should take the form of a grammatical sentence. Make sure that you incorporate it seamlessly and sensibly into your own sentence. Use correct punctuation and [brackets], if necessary.

4.An explanation of the quotation, in your own words

This is where you explain what the important parts of the quotation are. In your explanation, you could emphasize a key word (explaining why it is a key word), or you could rephrase an important idea. Indicate to your reader what they need to pay attention to.

  • This sentence should not be a simple rewrite of the quotation (we’re refining our sense of what it means to paraphrase). Instead tell your reader what they should be taking away from the quotation.
  • If the quotation is an idea, explain what the idea means for your claim.
  • If the quotation is an example, you must explain what you are showing by the example. You should also be making a different point with the example to the one that the author of the quote made; if not, you need to engage with the idea that the example is evidence for.

5.A transition sentence

This is a sentence which helps you to move from the idea you were exploring using the first quotation, to the idea that you will be exploring using the second one. This is the sentence where you explain your connection, and thus the relationship between the two quotations with which you are working. Think of it as the hinge-point of your IDEA connection.

Your connection might be:

  • a comparison (...and...)
  • a contrast (...but...)
  • a development (if...then...) [Please note: “also” is not a form of development]
  • a complication (or/on the other hand/however)
  • Frame-case (the first quote gives a theory, the second an example which shows the theory at work, or how the example contradicts the theory)

We are striving for one of the latter—connections which are either complications of the idea you started off with in the first part of the paragraph, or developments of that idea (not simply additions). A comparison/contrast is a good place to begin, but you need to tell me why that similarity/difference matters.

6.Introductory sentence #2

This sentence sets up the next quotation. Tell your reader what to look for when they are reading. See also point 4 above.

7.Quotation

Idea or example?

8.Explanation of the quotation

This is where you explain what the important parts of the quotation are. In your explanation, you could emphasize a key word (explaining why it is a key word), or you could rephrase an important idea. Indicate to your reader what they need to pay attention to.

  • This sentence should not be a simple rewrite of the quotation. Instead tell your reader what they should be taking away from the quotation.
  • If the quotation is an idea, explain what the idea means for your claim.
  • If the quotation is an example, you must explain what you are showing by the example. You should also be making a different point with the example to the one that the author of the quote made; if not, you need to engage with the idea that the example is evidence for.

9.Concluding sentences: highlight the connection between your authors/quotes

Bring the first author/quote back into the discussion. This is the 2nd place in this paragraph where you should highlight your connection between the two authors. Explain how the two quotes have helped you to develop your claim in this paragraph. Then use your paragraph transition to move from the main idea of this paragraph to the claim you will make in the very first sentence of the next paragraph. Always be conscious of the IDEA that connects this paragraph to the next one.