the opinion, "My Tabby kittens are fun to watch." Next, you need to come up with
a minimum of three supports for your opinion:
Ask yourself the question, "What do Tabby kittens do that
makes them so funny?"
Pick three funny things from the list of ideas you brainstormed.
1. play fighting
2. chasing a catnip mouse
3. climbing the curtains
For each support, include some specific details.
1. play fighting...rolling and somersaults...falling off things
2. playing with a catnip mouse...jumping and twisting
3. climbing Mom's best curtains...can't figure out how to get down
...whimpering meow
Now you have created a plan for your one-paragraph essay, just by making a list of
the ideas you will use to support your opinion.
Hint: To make sure that you stay on topic as you write, many people create a
working title somewhere during these early stages. A working title should include
the topic and one or two words that remind you of the opinion. As you plan and
write, you should look back at the working title frequently. In the case of the Tabby
cat paragraph something like Kittens are funny will work to keep you on the right
track.
EXERCISE 7
Use any three opinions from the exercises above and create a rough plan for three
separate paragraphs..
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D. Creating a Satisfying Ending
The only thing missing from the picture now is the conclusion. Look at the
introduction and try to say the same thing in different words. In other words, create
a concluding sentence by rewording the introduction. Perhaps you might write,
No matter what they do, I am always entertained when I
watch my two Tabby kittens.
The paragraph has all but written itself at this point. All you have do is string your
ideas together by creating grammatically correct sentences that present each of three
supports and examples recorded above. Don't forget to include transitions between
each of the supports.
EXERCISE 8
Write a concluding sentence for each of the 3 topics you developed in Exercise 6.
Your instructor should check your work.
V. WRITING THE ONE PARAGRAPH ESSAY
With the plan complete, you are, at last, ready to write the first draft, or
rough copy of your one-paragraph essay. Pick a time and place where you can
work undisturbed. Then, just start writing. (HINT: It's a good idea to write on
every other line, so that you have room to go back and make corrections and
changes after you have finished.) The best way to write a first draft is to write
quickly so that you get all the ideas down at once before you forget them. Do not
worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar, or sentence structure at this point in the
writing process. Just write. There will be time to make changes and improvements
later.
EXERCISE 9
Write the paragraph on Tabby kittens for yourself. You should have a minimum of
five sentences, but if you want to put in more description of their antics, go ahead.
Remember to write on every other line.
The first draft of the Tabby kitten paragraph might look like this. Compare the first
draft below with yours.
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My Tabby kittens are really funny to watch. When they roll over
and over, they really look funny. Sometimes they don't feel like
playing together so one will play with his catnip mouse. He hits
it and chases it around the room like it was a ferocious enemy.
The funniest thing I have ever seen them do is climb Mom's
curtains. When ever I want some entertainment, I just watch my
two cats.
This is a very basic paragraph, but it has the essentials: unity, coherence, transitions,
and good structure. It is a little dull, but adding a few more details to each support
would make it a lot more interesting. As well, the introduction needs to be changed
to grab the reader's attention. Look at the paragraph below to see how the writer
has rewritten it and added more details (content).
Pay special attention to the changes in the introductory sentence and the
addition of a second sentence immediately after the first which provides a summary
of the main points to be expanded (i.e. fighting, playing, getting into trouble). This
writing "trick" is called a "blueprint sentence" or a "road map sentence" because it
provides the reader with guidelines on what he/she is about to read. Sentences like
this make it easier for the reader to understand your paragraph.
Are you looking for a pet that will put some entertainment into
your life? A pair of Tabby kittens will amuse you as they play
fight, chase toys and get into mischief. Maximus and Trilby spend
all their waking hours jumping on each other and wrestling. The
play fighting begins when Max leaps on Trilby, clutching her
tightly with all four feet. Then, she grasps him and bites his lilaccoloured
ear, and kicks him with her hind feet. The rules of this
wrestling ring obviously include one that says that the first one to
break away loses the fight. They roll and somersault off chairs
and down the stairs never once letting go. In fact, they look like
a multi-coloured baseball as they roll and fight around my feet.
Sometimes when one of them doesn't want to play, the other is
forced to find a single entertainment. Trilby's favourite is chasing
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a catnip mouse. She slowly sneaks around corners and under
chairs until she is close enough to jump on the poor unsuspecting
stuffed mouse. Then swishing her tail and wiggling her hips, she
launches herself through the air. Once her prey is close enough,
she bats it around, makes giant twisting leaps straight up in the
air, and then rolls over and over with the pretend mouse in her
grasp. When she realizes I've been watching her she usually
drops the mouse and looks embarrassed to have been caught
doing such a foolish thing as spending all her energy on that
phony mouse. Max and trilby have one trick that is really funny.
Every once in a while they decide to climb Mom's best curtains.
With a wild jump they sink their claws into the delicate material
and climb to the top in search of something. Once they get to the
top, they stop and suddenly realize that they are very high above
the ground. Now they are terrified, and they have no idea how to
get down. Right away, they start to cry and meow in a pitiful way.
I can't help but laugh at how silly they look clinging to the top of
the curtain. No matter what they do, I am always entertained
when I watch my two Tabby kittens.
The second rough draft is now finished. You have mentioned each one of the
supports from your list and you have described each one in great detail. The next
step is perhaps the easiest of all. Put the rough draft away for a few hours, even a
day or more. When you come back to it, you will be able to read it almost as
though it had been written by someone else. You will see mistakes. You will find
details that don't contribute to the unity of the paragraph or you may decide that
some areas need more detail. These should be removed or included, according to
what's needed. You may also realize that the paragraph lacks coherence because
you did not put in enough transitions. These can be added. Finally, you may decide
that the paragraph would be more effective if you presented the supports in a
different order. Making all these changes to a rough draft is called revising.
Look carefully at the changes, the writer made below when revising the
Tabby kitten paragraph, and try to decide why the writer made it. Then decide
whether you would have made the same change or done something else. Notice
also that the introductory sentence is now a little fancier than the original and that
the writer has added a “blueprint” sentence right after the topic sentence. The
writer has, in fact presented his/her ideas three times.
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Introduction.....tells the reader what you are about to tell
Body.............tells the reader what you have to say
Conclusion.......tells them what you have just told them
Are you looking for a pet that will put some entertainment into
your life? A pair of Tabby kittens will solve your problem and
provide you with hours of amusement as they play fight, chase
toys and get into mischief. Maximus and Trilby spend most of
their waking hours wrestling. The play fighting begins when Max
leaps on trilby, clutching her tightly with all four feet. She
responds by grasping him about the shoulders, biting his lilaccoloured
ear, and kicking him in the stomach with her hind feet.
They roll and somersault off chairs and down the stairs never
once letting go. In fact, they look like a multi-coloured basketball
as they roll and fight around my feet. Sometimes when one of
them doesn't want to play, the other is forced to play alone.
Trilby's favourite “singles game” is chasing a catnip mouse. She
slowly sneaks around corners and under chairs until the poor
unsuspecting stuffed mouse is close enough to be jumped on.
Then after many minutes of tail swishing and hip wiggling, she
launches herself through the air. Once her prey is close enough,
she bats it around, makes giant twisting vertical leaps, and then
rolls over and over with the pretend mouse in her grasp. When
she realizes I've been watching her, she usually drops the mouse
and looks embarrassed to have been caught doing such a foolish
thing as spending all her energy on that phony mouse. Max and
Trilby have one trick that is really funny. Every once in a while
they decide to climb Mom's best curtains. With a wild jump they
sink their claws into the delicate material and climb to the top in
search of something. Once they get to the top, they stop and
suddenly realize that they are very high above the ground. Now
they are terrified and they have no idea how to get down. Right
away, they start to cry and meow in a pitiful way. I can't help but
laugh at how silly they look clinging to the top of the curtain. No
matter what they do, I am always entertained when I watch my two
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Tabby kittens.
Once again, let it sit for a while before you revise it again. Here's the final draft of
the paragraph. Compare each sentence below with the version above.
Are y