Paragraph Transitions in your Research Paper
and
Claim>Evidence>Commentary
I asked you to write 5-paragraph essays at the beginning of this quarter to remind you of the importance of a strong thesis and strong topic sentences in your body paragraphs. Even though your research paper will contain much more than 5 paragraphs, you still need a strong thesis and strong topic sentences.
In an 8-12 page research paper, your thesis should still be located at the end of the introductory paragraph. If you have a long introduction that spans more than one paragraph, place the thesis at the end of the introduction. Your thesis may be one sentence or several sentences.
Your body paragraphs need topic sentences that state the main point of the paragraph and that tie back to the main points in your thesis. In a research paper, you will often need more than one body paragraph to analyze a single point in your thesis. Let’s say you are writing a research paper on the proper method of choosing a breed of dog as a pet. Let’s say you write 4 body paragraphs to discuss the significance of just one point in your thesis, for example, matching the personality of the dog breed to your lifestyle. You would have a topic sentence in the first body paragraph that states this point. Then you would need transitions between the body paragraphs that indicate to the reader that you’re still discussing the same topic over several paragraphs. Once you’re finished with this discussion, at the end of the 4th paragraph, then you’d need a wrap-up sentence indicating to the reader that you’re wrapping up this discussion and moving on to a new point.
If you’re not sure how to effectively transition between body paragraphs, I highly recommend visiting the following website for a more detailed explanation:
http://www.uhv.edu/ac/research/write/paragraphtransitioning.asp
I had another reason for asking you to write 5-paragraph essays. I wanted you to practice the essay format of claim>evidence>commentary in your body paragraphs. No matter how long of an essay you’re writing, you can rely on this format. Remember: 1. Make a claim in your topic sentence that ties back to your thesis> 2. Give evidence to support this claim through quotations from outside sources> 3. Provide your commentary/analysis of the quotation—answer the question “so what?” about the quotation.
If you have any general questions about how to format the body of your research paper, please let me know.
