1-2-3-1 Body Paragraph Writing

1. Opening Claim

2. Spec

3. Quote

1. End Claim

Each of these 3 types can be more than one sentence

1. Opening Claim: Your opinions, analysis, or ideas about your topic.

Example: Scout matures from a naïve child

into someone with a more sophisticated view of the world. She begins as someone who sees the world as black and white, but she develops a more nuanced view of people.

1-2-3-1 Paragraph Writing

2. Spec: summarize in your own words the Specific Scene that you will use as evidence to support your Opening Claim. Give enough description of this scene so a reader will understand the scene and the quote that will follow, but don’t include unnecessary details.

Example: After the trial, Scout’s view that there is only one type of

person is changed during a conversation with Aunt Alexandra. Scout is asking Atticus if she can have Walter Cunningham over to her house, and Aunt Alexandra tells her that she cannot have anything to do with Walter Cunningham. This upsets Scout and teaches her a lesson about the world,

1-2-3-1 Paragraph Writing

3. Quote: the quote is taken from the Spec. It provides strong evidence to back up the Opening Claim and is not longer than necessary. Quotes must be exact wording and can be any part of the text, not just what is in quotations. Take note of MLA format.

Example:

This upsets Scout and teaches her a lesson about the world, “I don’t know what I would have done, but Jem stopped me. He [. . .] led me sobbing in fury to his bedroom” (282).

• If quoting dialogue, use single quotation marks inside regular quotations marks.

1-2-3-1 Paragraph Writing

1. End Claim: This claim is an explanation of your quote. You are explaining exactly what it is your quote shows, and how it connects to your Opening Claim.

Example: Scout is learning from Aunt Alexandra that

society is made up of people from different social classes. Aunt Alexandra reinforces the prevailing notion that people from different classes should not mix, and that it is beneath the Finch family to associate with the lower-class Cunninghams. Scout is not happy that society is like this and is angered by Alexandra’s prejudice.

Finished ParagraphScout matured from a naïve child, to someone with a

sophisticated view of the world. She begins as someone who sees the world as black and white, but she develops a more nuanced view of people. After the trial, Scout’s view that there is only one type of folks is changed during a conversation with Aunt Alexandra. Scout is asking Atticus if she can have Walter Cunningham over to her house, and Aunt Alexandra tells her that she cannot have anything to do with Walter Cunningham. This upsets Scout, and teaches her a lesson about the world, “I don’t know what I would have done, but Jem stopped me. He [. . .] led me sobbing in fury to his bedroom” (282). Scout is learning from Aunt Alexandra that society is made up of people from different social classes. Aunt Alexandra reinforces the prevailing notion that people from different classes should not mix, and that it is beneath the Finch family to associate with the lower-class Cunninghams. Scout is not happy that society is like this and is angered by Alexandra’s prejudice.

1-2-3-1 Paragraph Writing

• Switch to block quotes when:– Your quotation is 5 lines or more in YOUR paper– You are quoting more than one paragraph

• For Block Quotes:– Indented 2 tabs or 10 spaces– A third indent is necessary to show paragraphs, if

quoting more than one paragraph.– You don’t need quotations marks, unless you are

quoting dialogue. Use regular quotations marks for dialogue.

– Block quotes are double-spaced, just like the rest of your paper.

Example of a Block QuoteJust copy the red text into your notes

Scout matured from a naïve child, to someone with a sophisticated view of the world. She begins as someone who sees the world as black and white, but develops a more nuanced view of people. After the trial, Scout’s view that there is only one type of folks is changed during a conversation with Aunt Alexandra. Scout is asking Atticus if she can have Walter Cunningham over to her house, and Aunt Alexandra tells her that she cannot have anything to do with Walter Cunningham. This upsets Scout, and teaches her a lesson about the world:

Perhaps this was why she had come to live with us—to help us choose our friends. I would hold her off as long as I could: “If they’re good folks, then why can’t I be nice to Walter?”

“I didn’t say not to be nice to him. You should be friendly and polite to him, you should be gracious to everybody, dear. But you don’t have to invite him home.” (281)

Scout is learning from Aunt Alexandra that society is made up of people from different social classes. Aunt Alexandra reinforces the prevailing notion that people from different classes should not mix, and that it is beneath the Finch family to associate with the lower-class Cunninghams. Scout is not happy that society is like this and is angered by Alexandra’s prejudice.

Work Cited Page

• When you are using quotes in an essay, your essay must have a Work Cited page.

• This page is the last page of your essay. It is double-space, just like the rest of your essay.

• The format varies, but for novels it is this:Author Last Name, First Name. Title of

Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Print.

Work Cited

Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000. Print.