Course reading: Make the reader follow your thinking.
“A claim gives your answer.” (Course reading, Week 2)Read the course example
The aimHow do we write a good paragraph?
Foundations · Original course reading
Make the reader follow your thinking
Aim evidenceConnections
These are possible notes. A different detail can be useful if you can explain your choice.
A claim gives your answer. Evidence gives the reader something specific to examine. Explanation says what that evidence means. Analysis shows how it supports your claim.1 A connector such as because, but, or so makes the relationship between ideas clear. An appositive, a noun phrase that renames a noun, helps you introduce a person or an idea. These pieces matter most when they work together as one argument.2
Citation: (Course reading, Week 2). This is an original course explanation; it is not a quotation from the syllabus.
Words for this response
Use one word from each of 4 assigned groups. See the groups and sentence examples →
From a note to a sentence
Words from the course example
“Analysis shows how it supports your claim.”
My notebook
Quote means ___ → helps show ___ about my answer.
See the note become sentences
What it says: Analysis explains how evidence supports a claim.
What it helps explain: A reader needs the connection spelled out, even when the quote seems obvious to the writer.
Your turn
Use the second highlight to explain why a paragraph can include all its parts and still need revision.
Build a connection
Evidence
A specific detail from the source.
Meaning
My explanation in my own words.
Answer
Why this detail supports my claim.
Your notebook → your Aim Response
Build your response
Choose your evidence here. Write your sentences in your notebook.
What the paragraph needs
Explain the jobs of the main parts.
How it builds
Show why the parts must work together.
Answer the whole question
A good paragraph ___; its parts work together when ___.
A starting shape, not the only way to write your answer. Replace the spaces with your own thinking.
Evidence 1 + your explanation
The exact quotation, its context, and its citation will appear here.
What it saysIn my own words, this means …
What it showsThis helps answer the question because …
Evidence 2 + your explanation
The exact quotation, its context, and its citation will appear here.
What it saysIn my own words, this means …
What it showsThis helps answer the question because …
Choose two different quotations. Then check that your writing explains every part of the aim.
Connect the two details
The first detail shows … . But / So / Because … . Together, these details help explain … .
Choose the connector that matches your reasoning: but contrasts, so gives a result, because gives a reason.
See the shape in a complete model
This model answers a related question. Notice where the quotes, explanations, words, and appositives go.
Can help with: What the paragraph needs.
Course reading: Make the reader follow your thinking.
“Evidence gives the reader something specific to examine.” (Course reading, Week 2)Read the course example
Can help with: What the paragraph needs.
Course reading: Make the reader follow your thinking.
“Analysis shows how it supports your claim.” (Course reading, Week 2)Read the course example
Can help with: What the paragraph needs.
Course reading: Make the reader follow your thinking.
“These pieces matter most when they work together as one argument.” (Course reading, Week 2)Read the course example
Can help with: How it builds.
Words of the day 2 points
Use one word from each of these 4 groups. Complete all 4 groups for the vocabulary points. Words separated by “or” are alternatives.
Meaning + one sentence example
structure (noun) — The way the parts of something are arranged.
I can restructure a paragraph so that the explanation follows its evidence.
Original writing example · More word help
Meaning + one sentence example
rationale (noun) — The reason that explains a decision or plan.
My rationale explains why I chose a particular quotation.
Original writing example · More word help
Meaning + one sentence example
responsibility (noun) — A duty to take care of something or answer for your actions.
I take responsibility for explaining my evidence clearly.
Original writing example · More word help
Meaning + one sentence example
commitment (noun) — A promise or steady effort to stay with a goal or person.
My mission is to make each sentence help the reader understand my answer.
Original writing example · More word help
An alternative from a listed root family fills the same group. Review words in a practice model do not replace this list. Connect each word to your point; a made-up event is not evidence.
Introduce two people or ideas 2 appositives · 2 points
The words between the commas give another name for the noun.
An appositive, another name for this person or idea, …
See one that works
An appositive, a noun phrase that renames a noun, can identify a person clearly.
“a noun phrase that renames a noun” and “An appositive” name the same person or idea. Keep both commas; finish with your own point.
Analysis, another name for this person or idea, …
See one that works
Analysis, an explanation of how evidence supports a claim, connects a quotation to an answer.
“an explanation of how evidence supports a claim” and “Analysis” name the same person or idea. Keep both commas; finish with your own point.
Check the response in your notebook
Point to the evidence in your own paragraph before checking a box.
These boxes are a self-check, not a grade. Development reflects how your argument builds and your growth as a writer. Checks stay in this browser.
More evidence and practice
Evidence from the course reading
These are original course readings. Cite them as (Course reading, Week 2). Use a syllabus citation when quoting your syllabus instead.
Course reading: Make the reader follow your thinking.
“A claim gives your answer.” (Course reading, Week 2)
What it shows: The reader needs to know what answer the paragraph will support.
Read the course exampleCourse reading: Make the reader follow your thinking.
“Evidence gives the reader something specific to examine.” (Course reading, Week 2)
What it shows: Evidence gives the reader a detail to check.
Read the course exampleCourse reading: Make the reader follow your thinking.
“Analysis shows how it supports your claim.” (Course reading, Week 2)
What it shows: Analysis makes the connection between detail and answer explicit.
Read the course exampleCourse reading: Make the reader follow your thinking.
“These pieces matter most when they work together as one argument.” (Course reading, Week 2)
What it shows: Including separate parts is not enough if the reader cannot follow the connection.
Read the course examplePractice a smaller question
What is missing when a paragraph gives a quote and immediately moves to a new topic?
The reader still needs to know what the quote means and why it supports the claim. Adding those two steps makes the reasoning visible.
Reading practice helps you prepare. Your Aim Response is the paragraph you write in your notebook. Check that paragraph against the rubric →
Check yourself
Complete the explanation
Use each choice once. These are practice sentences, not quotations.
A paragraph begins to become an argument when its parts work together. My answers the question I am investigating. I choose that gives the reader a specific detail to examine. My explanation makes that detail clear, and my shows how it supports my answer. A such as because or but can make the relationship between two ideas precise. An can rename a person or idea so the reader knows who or what I mean. These tools give the paragraph a useful , but completing a list is not enough: each sentence should help the reader follow my reasoning.
- Blank 1: Your answer or position.
- Blank 2: A specific detail offered to support an answer.
- Blank 3: Reasoning that shows how a detail supports the claim.
- Blank 4: A word that signals a relationship, such as reason or contrast.
- Blank 5: A noun phrase that renames a nearby noun.
- Blank 6: The arrangement of a paragraph’s parts.
Follow this example: build an explanation from a detail
Drag the blocks or use the arrow buttons. Keyboard: focus a block and press Alt + ↑ / ↓.
- I analyze how returning to the task shows commitment through action.
- I draft a claim that the student shows commitment.
- I choose a detail: a student tries again after a first attempt fails.
- I reread the paragraph and revise a sentence that does not help that argument.
- I explain that the student returns to the task after a setback.
- I include the detail as evidence for that claim.
Take it into your writing
In your notebook, make two columns headed “What happened” and “What it shows.” Use an invented classroom example in the first column. In the second, explain what the action suggests about responsibility or commitment. Turn the pair into two connected sentences; underline the reasoning that goes beyond retelling.
Practice feedback is for you. These activities do not submit a grade.