Day 8: Writing Body Paragraphs (P.I.E.)

OBJECTIVES
Students will be able to...

•      identify four essential parts to every body paragraph (P-I-E-C)
•      examine sample paragraphs to identify any missing parts
•      assess their own essays for their use of P-I-E structure and identify/revise weaknesses

Housekeeping:  about Reflective Essay 1
                        addressing problems with Dropbox

I. Review
   Parallel Structure
   Introductions

II. Using P.I.E. (Point, Illustration, Explanation)
PPP

How do I get better paragraph structure? P-I-E!

Follow along on the PIE HANDOUT throughout the PIE PPT. You will see that in order to have strong paragraph structure, each body paragraph should have 4 parts: a Point, an Illustration, an Explanation, and a Closing Sentence. Look at the example provided to learn more about them.

Sample Paragraphs

Look closely at the 2 sample paragraphs provided in the PIE HANDOUT and highlight each of the 4 parts in a different color. Do the paragraphs have all 4 parts? Do they have good paragraph structure?

Self-Assessment and Revision

Assess your own writing in your most recent essay (the Diagnostic Essay). Do the same highlighting activity, by identifying each of the 4 parts in your own writing. You may find that you are lacking Explanation, or you don’t have any Closing Sentences! Afterwards, be sure to ask about any problems you are having before you begin revising.

Sources:

Kalb, C. (2010). Fighting against smoking in the movies. Newsweek, Health. Retrieved from http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/08/20/fighting-against-smoking-in-the-movies.html

Sample Paragraphs from Staci Defibaugh, Fall 2011