Section #5 - Parts of an Essay: Body Paragraphs

Did you get it?

Test yourself on the concepts discussed in the video above by using the self-grading quiz questions below.

Analyze Some Examples

We want to give you examples of students’ writing processes, so you can see what they look like. Read the situation; then, read each example, and answer the questions that follow it.

The Situation

Dr. Downey asked students to write an essay on the following topic. Military recruiters have been setting up offices in local high schools for years now. A parent group has recently decided to challenge their presence in schools. Do you think military recruiters should be removed from high school campuses? Why or why not?

Han's Response to the Writing Situation from Dr. Downey

The first reason why military recruiters should not have offices on high school campuses is that students should make this choice on their own— without pressure from recruiters. At my high school, the Army recruiter was a very cool guy named Sgt. Tom. Many boys at my school liked to hang out with Sgt. Tom—mostly because he was such a great guy. He could play pick-up games like a champ, he could talk about cars all day, and he knew how to beat practically every video game on the planet. These are all nice qualities of Sgt. Tom, but I saw many boys sign up for the Army just because they liked him so much and wanted to be like him. They had no idea what they were in for, and they did not realize that being a cool guy had nothing to do with his military service. It was just who he was.

Questions about Han's Response to the Writing Situation from Dr. Downey

Abduls's Response to the Writing Situation from Dr. Downey

In addition to offering all students a great choice for their future, military recruiters also help catch student who might otherwise fall through the cracks. My friend Marty was kind of a loner when high school started. During our sophomore year, he got in touch with our school’s recruiter. He started going to morning PT, excelling in his courses, and planning his future. He began making friends and ended up graduating at the top of his class. He is now an officer in the Marines. A second friend Sam, got in touch with the school’s recruiter, but not until our senior year. Sam really had no idea what he was going to do after graduation and was pretty depressed about it. However, after making plans with the recruiter he had lots of hope for his future.

Questions about Abduls' Response to the Writing Situation from Dr. Downey