English

5.1.4 Lesson: Writing Body Paragraphs

Body Paragraph Structure Remember, your essay is about one specific learning experience based on the prompt option you selected, so you need to think about what Body 1 will explain and show early on in your learning and then what Body 2 will explain and show later on in your learning for the chosen prompt you selected in 5.1 (https://online.valenciacollege.edu/courses/222539/pages/5-dot-1-essay-1-prompt-and- specific-paragraph-requirements) .

Body 1 – Early On: Write your first body paragraph to explain the first way you worked hard to develop and improve your abilities in the chosen learning situation. To do this, start with a topic sentence that identifies what specifically you were learning to do/improve in the situation you selected as your focus and why it was important. Develop support by weaving in explanation, example, and a specific illustration to show how you developed your abilities through your hard work and determination. Connect to the assigned Dweck or Richard article by integrating one quote from either articles that explains an attribute of having a growth mindset (like how they see effort, how they develop their abilities, how they react to a setback, depending on what your paragraph shows. Integrate, cite, and explicate quote. Relate the idea in your quote and quote explication back to your experience. End on a summary statement. Use transitions as appropriate. Writing should be clear, organized, and authentic, helping your audience understand your unique experience when learning. (https://online.valenciacollege.edu/courses/222539/pages/5-dot-1-4-lesson-writing- body-paragraphs)

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Body 2 – Later On: Write your second body paragraph to explain the second way you worked hard and continued to develop and improve your abilities in the same chosen learning situation. To do this, s

Example Body 1 Paragraph Topic Sentence > Explanation and Example > Illustration > Integrated "quote" (cited). Quote Explication > Relate to you > Summary Statement

As a ballet dancer, I had to work hard to improve the fluidity of my movements to become more proficient as a dancer. While I understood all of the positions and could perform them, my choreography was too rigid, and my movements weren't smooth at all. For example, I was finding it difficult to land each time I had to spin or whirl. I realized that my concentration was off, which was contributing to the rigidity, so I came up with a new strategy: practicing meditation while dancing. Every dance practice over the course of a few weeks, I used the breathing techniques that I learned to become more attuned to the sensations I experienced while dancing. This helped me stay focused in the moment and trust my instincts. I performed smoother drops and had less tension on my face. In particular, when I was executing a difficult turn, the Fouette, that requires the leg to move in a fast whipping motion, I had a soft landing and my feet were positioned perfectly. The new strategy really worked, but it took a loy of

tart with a transition and new topic sentence that identifies what specifically you were learning to do/improve in the situation you selected as your focus and why it was important. Develop support by weaving in explanation, example, and a specific illustration to show how you further developed your abilities through your hard work and determination. Connect to the assigned Dweck or Richard article by integrating one quote from either articles that explains another attribute of having a growth mindset (like how they see effort, how they develop their abilities, how they react to a setback, challenge, use criticism to learn, etc. depending on what your paragraph shows. Integrate, cite, and explicate quote. Relate the idea in your quote and quote explication back to your experience. End on a summary statement. Use transitions as appropriate. Writing should be clear, organized, and authentic, helping your audience understand your unique experience when learning

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determination to stick with it, noticing the progress I was making. What I realize now is that dedication and persistence is how a growth mindset sees effort. Understanding the path to getting better at something requires "select a quote from the assigned article to explain what a growth mindset understands" (cite using author's last name, page # or par. #). Write 2-3 sentences of quote explication focusing on what the quote says and suggests before connecting back to you and your situation. Connect the idea from your explication back to you by writing 1-2 sentences that make the connection between the quote's idea and your situation learning. End the body paragraph on a summary statement to reinforce the significance of what you proved in the body paragraph, like this After weeks of incorporating meditation into my dance practices, I noticed improvement in my movements, which encouraged me to stick with the new strategy.

This example is for illustration only.

Elements of Each Body Paragraph: Step by Step Topic Sentence

Begin each body paragraph with a topic sentence that identifies what you were learning to do in your chosen

(that's your paragraph's main idea in the first sentence of EACH body paragraph).

Evidence Organize your supporting details so that it flows naturally and logically in your writing of the paragraph.

Explanation: Explain your reason in greater detail to ensure your reader understands your thinking. Example: Offer an example of what you did to develop the skills you needed in the chosen area. Illustration: Transition from something in the the general example of what you did to improve into a more specific illustration or anecdote that will take readers into a

learning situation and why this skill was important to develop

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specific moment or memory of your hard work, determination, or persistence in improving your abilities in the chosen area. Integrated Quote from the reading: Helps readers understand how your experience relates to the assigned reading. Integrate a quote that explains an attribute of having a growth mindset that fits with your paragraph's purpose.

Quote needs to come from Carol Dweck's "Transforming Students' Motivation to Learn" (https://online.valenciacollege.edu/courses/222539/files/58519826?wrap=1) (https://online.valenciacollege.edu/courses/222539/files/58519826/download? download_frd=1) or Michael Richard's "The Mindset Graphic." (https://online.valenciacollege.edu/courses/222539/files/58519828?wrap=1) (https://online.valenciacollege.edu/courses/222539/files/58519828/download? download_frd=1) Quote must be integrated, cited, and explicated showing use of the lesson below.

Integrating a quote

To integrate a quote from the assigned reading, you need to introduce the IDEA that the quote will then explain for to establish context for the quote and structure it to let the quote complete the sentence's thought, like these examples show:

Examples

Having a growth mindset means "understanding that intelligence can be developed through hard work" Having a growth mindset means "quote the reading to show what it means" To improve performance takes "quote the reading to show what it takes" Everyone can develop their intelligence as long as they are willing to "quote the reading to show whta they have to do"

AVOID using source attribution as the quote integration: Do NOT identify the name of the source, the author of the article, the location of the quote, or the type of source as your quote integration. That is source attribution, and that information is located either in the

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parenthetical citation or the Works Cited, so it has its place there already. Using source attribution creates an "empty integration" because it does not create the necessary context for the quote or or cohesion in the writing.

Parenthetically cite after the quote

Cite your quote using a parenthetical citation that identifies the source by last name and location of the quote by page or paragraph number. This allows your reader to check the accuracy of your quote and locate it in the article.

Examples

Integrated "Quote" (Author's Last Name, Location). Explicate quote. Having a growth mindset means "understanding that intelligence can be developed through hard work" (Dweck, par. 3). Explicate quote. Everyone can get smarter as long as they "understand that intelligence can be developed through hard work and persistence, and they are willing to try new strategies" (Dweck, par. 17).

Explicating the quote

After you quote and cite, you need to write quote explication, where you explain what the quote says and what it implies in your own words. To do this, write 2-3 sentences of focused quote explication after a quote, where you focus on an idea or ideas in the quote in order to explain and interpret the quote's meaning to your audience.

Example:

Everyone can get smarter as long as they "understand that intelligence can be developed through hard work and persistence, and they are willing to try new strategies" (Dweck, par. 17). It takes practice to get better at something, and people with a growth mindset understand that. It may include being open to trying a different approach in order to improve, but it works if a person sticks with it.

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Connect/Relate Explain how

Summary Statement End the paragraph with a summary statement sentence that reinforces the

significance of what was proven about the main idea.

Point of View, Style, and Editing Point of View: Write using 1st person (I, me, my) for your personal details/experience. Write using 3rd person when explaining mindset in general or directing something towards the audience (people, everyone, etc.). Do not write in 2nd person (you, your).

Style and Editing: Include a few transitional words or phrases within each body paragraph to create cohesion among the sentences, where needed, and to emphasize a specific point, but be careful to not overuse transitions because it can create formulaic writing. Writing should be natural and sound like you. Writing should be edited for grammar and punctuation and have varied sentence structures.

Here is a link to transition words. (https://writing.wisc.edu/handbook/style/transitions/) Here are some examples of how to combine sentences using coordination and subordination. (https://online.valenciacollege.edu/courses/222539/files/58519800/dow nload?wrap=1) (https://online.valenciacollege.edu/courses/222539/files/58519800/dow nload?download_frd=1) Here is the lesson on varying sentence structures (https://online.valenciacollege.edu/courses/222539/pages/5-dot-1-11-

the idea in your quote and quote explication relates back to your experience using 1-2 sentence. This creates cohesion between your personal details and the quoted evidence from the reading.

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