Writing an essay is like building a house

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Writing an essay is like building a house
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Writing an essay is like building a house
A PowerPoint Presentation created by Judy Bailey
2008, Granada High School, Livermore, CA 94550
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You wouldnt start to build a house by
constructing the roof, would you?
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You wouldnt start to build a house by
constructing the roof, would you?

• How would you know what shape and size
• to make your roof ?

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You wouldnt start to build a house by
constructing the roof, would you?

• How would you know what shape and size
• to make your roof ?

How could you keep it from falling over?
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You wouldnt start to build a house by
constructing the roof, would you?

• How would you know what shape and size
• to make your roof ?

How could you keep it from falling over?
What function would it serve ?
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Its the same with an essay.
First you need a foundation.
built on solid, level ground, made of a durable
material, like cement capable of supporting all
the great plans you have for your dream
house.
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The name of the foundation for your essay is a
THESIS STATEMENT
THESIS STATEMENT
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Just like your house, you want it to be strong,
well-constructed, and able to support all of the
ideas you have for this project.
THESIS STATEMENT
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Just like your house, you want it to be strong,
well-constructed, and able to support all of the
ideas you have for this project essay
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But, just like the roof, without purpose or
support, the foundation is a long way from being
a house. You have some work to do
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A house isnt very useful until it is divided
into different rooms to fit the different
purposes you will demand of it-
a place to eat, a place to sleep, a place to
watch TV, etc.
Living room
bedroom
THESIS STATEMENT
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They are called BODY PARAGRAPHS

• An ESSAY needs divisions, too.

BODY PARAGRAPH
BODY PARAGRAPH ONE
BODY PARAGRAPH TWO
THESIS STATEMENT
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• Just as each room is slightly different, so is
  each body paragraph different.

BODY PARAGRAPH
BODY PARAGRAPH ONE
BODY PARAGRAPH TWO
THESIS STATEMENT
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• Each room is different and
• each body paragraph is different.

BODY PARAGRAPH
BODY PARAGRAPH ONE
BODY PARAGRAPH TWO
THESIS STATEMENT
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But, they do have similarities in the way they
are structured
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• Each room has a door

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• Each room has a door ..each body paragraph is
  indented to mark the way in

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• Each room has a door ..each body paragraph is
  indented to mark the way in
• Each room has a purpose

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• Each room has a door ..each body paragraph is
  indented to mark the way in
• Each room has a purpose..each body paragraph has
  a topic sentence that explains its purpose

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• Each room has a door ..each body paragraph is
  indented to mark the way in
• Each room has a purpose..each body paragraph has
  a topic sentence that explains its purpose
• Each room has a unique size and arrangement that
  fits its purpose

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• Each room has a door ..each body paragraph is
  indented to mark the way in
• Each room has a purpose..each body paragraph has
  a topic sentence that explains its purpose
• Each room has a unique size and arrangement that
  fits its purpose
• SO DOES EACH BODY PARAGRAPH

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The way that you define the rooms, the
arrangement of furniture, the tone, the finishing
touches
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These are the writing skills that you bring to
the construction of your body paragraph.

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your choice of evidence
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your choice of evidence your variety of
vocabulary
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your choice of evidence your variety of
vocabulary your writing STYLE!
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When each room BODY PARAGRAPH is completely
furnished
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You are ready for that roof !
MYHOUSE
STRONG THESIS
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Only two parts of your essay are missing
MYHOUSE
STRONG THESIS
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An INTRODUCTORY Paragraph
MYHOUSE
STRONG THESIS
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An INTRODUCTORY Paragraph and a CONCLUDING
Paragraph
MYHOUSE
STRONG THESIS
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The INTRODUCTORY Paragraph
MYHOUSE
STRONG THESIS
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The INTRODUCTORY Paragraph

• is the one that makes your house inviting,
  attractive,

MYHOUSE
STRONG THESIS
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The INTRODUCTORY Paragraph

• is the one that makes your house inviting,
  attractive,

and prepares your guests for what they will enjoy
once they are inside.
MYHOUSE
STRONG THESIS
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If your house looks cold and uninviting, you may
not have many visitors.
The same is true for your essay.
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Use the components of the INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH,
creative opening background, to
lure your reader into the body of your essay.
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Use the INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH to establish the
tone and style.
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Lead the reader STEP-BY-STEP into the content of
the essay itself. Dont forget to remind the
reader that your essay has a
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STRONG, WELL-BUILT FOUNDATION and
many more exciting surprises inside.
THESIS STATEMENT
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All thats left is the CONCLUDING
PARAGRAPH. Its like a HUGE housewarming party
to show your dream house to your friends. Peer
at the gardens. Tour all of the rooms, moving
easily from one to the next. AND THEN spend time
admiring the house, summarizing the process, and
celebrating the masterpiece that you have built.
Viola ! You have a concluding paragraph!
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Ooops, you might want to consider a brief termite
inspection PROOFREADING for errors !
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LETS REVIEW
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• LETS REVIEW
• We built a foundation

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• LETS REVIEW
• We built a foundation THESIS STATEMENT

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• LETS REVIEW
• We built a foundation THESIS STATEMENT
• We divided the house into rooms

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• LETS REVIEW
• We built a foundation THESIS STATEMENT
• We divided the house into rooms
• BODY PARAGRAPHS

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• LETS REVIEW
• We built a foundation THESIS STATEMENT
• We divided the house into rooms
• BODY PARAGRAPHS
• 3. We furnished the rooms

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• LETS REVIEW
• We built a foundation THESIS STATEMENT
• We divided the house into rooms
• BODY PARAGRAPHS
• 3. We furnished the rooms TOPIC SENTENCES

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• LETS REVIEW
• We built a foundation THESIS STATEMENT
• We divided the house into rooms
• BODY PARAGRAPHS
• 3. We furnished the rooms TOPIC SENTENCES,
• SUPPORTING
  EVIDENCE

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• LETS REVIEW
• We built a foundation THESIS STATEMENT
• We divided the house into rooms
• BODY PARAGRAPHS
• 3. We furnished the rooms TOPIC SENTENCES,
• SUPPORTING
  EVIDENCE
• COMMENTARY
  

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• LETS REVIEW
• We built a foundation THESIS STATEMENT
• We divided the house into rooms
• BODY PARAGRAPHS
• 3. We furnished the rooms TOPIC SENTENCES,
  SUPPORTING EVIDENCE, COMMENTARY
• 4. We created an inviting entrance

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• LETS REVIEW
• We built a foundation THESIS STATEMENT
• We divided the house into rooms
• BODY PARAGRAPHS
• 3. We furnished the rooms TOPIC SENTENCES,
  SUPPORTING EVIDENCE, COMMENTARY
• 4. We created an inviting walkway
• INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH

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• LETS REVIEW
• We built a foundation THESIS STATEMENT
• We divided the house into rooms
• BODY PARAGRAPHS
• 3. We furnished the rooms TOPIC SENTENCES,
  SUPPORTING EVIDENCE, COMMENTARY
• 4. We created an inviting walkway INTRODUCTORY
  PARAGRAPH
• 5. We celebrated our accomplishment

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• LETS REVIEW
• We built a foundation THESIS STATEMENT
• We divided the house into rooms
• BODY PARAGRAPHS
• 3. We furnished the rooms TOPIC SENTENCES,
  SUPPORTING EVIDENCE, COMMENTARY
• 4. We created an inviting walkway INTRODUCTORY
  PARAGRAPH
• 5. We celebrated our accomplishment
• with a CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH

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• LETS REVIEW
• We built a foundation THESIS STATEMENT
• We divided the house into rooms
• BODY PARAGRAPHS
• 3. We furnished the rooms TOPIC SENTENCES,
  SUPPORTING EVIDENCE, COMMENTARY
• 4. We created an inviting walkway
• INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH
• 5. We celebrated our accomplishment
• CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH

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NOW, lets see how those steps look when
BUILDING an essay.
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NOW, lets see how those steps look when
BUILDING an essay.
THESIS STATEMENT
TOPIC SENTENCE
SUPPORTING EVIDENCE
COMMENTARY
INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH
CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH
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NOW, lets see how those steps look when you are
BUILDING an essay.
THESIS STATEMENT
TOPIC SENTENCE
SUPPORTING EVIDENCE
COMMENTARY
INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH
CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH
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NOW, lets see how those steps look when you are
BUILDING an essay.
THESIS STATEMENT
TOPIC SENTENCE
SUPPORTING EVIDENCE
COMMENTARY
INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH
CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH
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NOW, lets see how those steps look when you are
BUILDING an essay.
THESIS STATEMENT
TOPIC SENTENCE
SUPPORTING EVIDENCE
TOPIC SENTENCE
COMMENTARY
INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH
CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH
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NOW, lets see how those steps look when you are
BUILDING an essay.
THESIS STATEMENT
TOPIC SENTENCE
SUPPORTING EVIDENCE
TOPIC SENTENCE
COMMENTARY
INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH
TOPIC SENTENCE
CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH
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NOW, lets see how those steps look when you are
BUILDING an essay.
THESIS STATEMENT
TOPIC SENTENCE
SUPPORTING EVIDENCE
TOPIC SENTENCE
COMMENTARY
SUPPORTING EVIDENCE
INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH
TOPIC SENTENCE
SUPPORTING EVIDENCE
CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH
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NOW, lets see how those steps look when you are
BUILDING an essay.
THESIS STATEMENT
TOPIC SENTENCE
SUPPORTING EVIDENCE
COMMENTARY
TOPIC SENTENCE
SUPPORTING EVIDENCE
COMMENTARY
INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH
TOPIC SENTENCE
SUPPORTING EVIDENCE
COMMENTARY
CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH
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NOW, lets see how those steps look when you are
BUILDING an essay.
INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH
THESIS STATEMENT
TOPIC SENTENCE
SUPPORTING EVIDENCE
COMMENTARY
TOPIC SENTENCE
SUPPORTING EVIDENCE
COMMENTARY
TOPIC SENTENCE
SUPPORTING EVIDENCE
COMMENTARY
CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH
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NOW, lets see how those steps look when you are
BUILDING an essay.
INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH
THESIS STATEMENT
TOPIC SENTENCE
SUPPORTING EVIDENCE
COMMENTARY
TOPIC SENTENCE
SUPPORTING EVIDENCE
COMMENTARY
TOPIC SENTENCE
SUPPORTING EVIDENCE
COMMENTARY
CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH
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DID YOU NOTICE
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DID YOU NOTICE
That just like the house
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DID YOU NOTICE
That just like the house
the essay is not constructed from the roof down.
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JUST LIKE THE FINISHED HOUSE
You dont see the order of the steps that went
into the building,
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Just the beautiful house, sturdy on its
strong foundation.
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Party, anyone??
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Writing an Essay is like Building a House Judy
Bailey, Granada High School, LVJUSD