ELA 7 · Paragraphs
A paragraph that proves its point
A paragraph that explains or persuades makes one point and backs it up. The shape does not change: say the point, give the details, explain each one, and close. Get the shape right and it works for an explanation, an opinion or a research assignment.
- 1. The words, first
- 2. Building a paragraph
- 3. Persuasive writing
- 4. Research and giving credit
- 5. What costs marks
The words, first
The idea: Explanation is the part students most often leave out.
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Topic sentence | The sentence that states the paragraph's one point, usually first. |
| Supporting detail | A fact, example or reason that backs up the topic sentence. |
| Explanation | The sentence or two after a detail that says how it proves the point. |
| Closing sentence | The last sentence. It brings the point home without repeating the topic sentence word for word. |
| Opinion (claim) | In persuasive writing, the position you want the reader to accept. |
| Evidence | Facts, numbers or examples that support a reason. |
| Counter-argument | The other side's best point. A strong persuasive paragraph answers it. |
| Paraphrase | Someone else's idea, put into your own words and your own sentence. |
| Plagiarism | Passing off someone else's words or ideas as your own, even by accident. |
Building a paragraph
The idea: Point, detail, explanation, close. The explanation is what turns a list of facts into proof.
Dressing in layers keeps you warm on a cold day because each layer does a different job. A thin first layer of wool or a synthetic fabric pulls sweat away from your skin. That matters because damp skin loses heat fast, so even a short walk can leave you shivering. A fleece goes next, and it traps warm air around your body. On top, a jacket that blocks the wind stops that warm air from being blown away. And because you can take a layer off when you warm up, you stay comfortable instead of sweating and then freezing.
- Topic sentence: the point, and a preview of why.
- Details with explanations: each layer, and the job it does. That matters because is an explanation announcing itself.
- Closing sentence: back to the point, with one new idea — layers can come off.
Layers are good for winter. You wear a shirt. Then you wear a fleece. Then you wear a jacket. That is why layers are good for winter.
Same clothes, but nothing is explained, so nothing is proved — and the closing sentence only repeats the first. After every detail, ask “so what?” The answer is your explanation.
Persuasive writing
The idea: A persuasive paragraph is the same shape with a side: a clear opinion, reasons with evidence, an answer to the other side, and a close that says what should happen.
Our school should let students sign out sports equipment at lunch. Right now only students who bring their own ball can play, and on the three days I counted last week, fewer than twenty of us were outside. A cart of basketballs, skipping ropes and soccer balls would give everyone else something to do besides sit in the hallway. Some teachers worry the equipment would go missing, but a sign-out sheet run by Grade 7 volunteers would solve that — the library already lends out books this way. For the cost of a few balls, the whole school could spend lunch moving instead of waiting for the bell.
- Opinion: specific, and aimed at people who can act. “Lunch is boring” is a complaint; this is a proposal.
- Evidence: a count the writer made, which persuades more than “hardly anyone goes outside.”
- Counter-argument, answered: naming the teachers' worry shows the writer has thought it through, and answering it removes a reason to say no.
- Close: what the school gets, and how little it costs.
Tone. Firm, not bossy. “You obviously don't care about students” gives the reader a reason to stop listening.
Research and giving credit
The idea: Research means finding facts in reliable sources, putting them in your own words, and saying where each one came from. Using someone's words without credit is plagiarism, even by accident.
Say a nature centre's website tells you:
Beavers build dams to create ponds deep enough that the water does not freeze to the bottom. The entrances to their lodges stay underwater all winter, where predators cannot easily follow.
- Copied: the first sentence dropped into your paragraph without quotation marks. That is plagiarism, even with the source listed — the words are not yours.
- Word-swapped: Beavers construct barriers to make ponds profound enough that the liquid does not solidify. Still the source's sentence with new words dropped in, and nobody calls a pond profound.
- Paraphrased and credited: According to the nature centre's website, a beaver's dam keeps its pond from freezing solid, so the doors to its lodge stay underwater, out of reach of most predators. Your own sentence, with the source named.
Quote instead when the exact words matter. Keep the quotation short, put it in quotation marks, and say who said it.
Take notes the safe way: point form, your own words, the source beside each note — dam → pond doesn't freeze to bottom → lodge doors underwater (nature centre). You cannot copy a sentence by accident if you never wrote one down. At the end, list your sources the way your teacher asks.
What costs marks
The idea: Most are one missing piece: no point, no explanation, or no credit.
- A topic sentence that announces instead of states: “This paragraph is about layers.”
- Details with no explanation — a list, not proof.
- A closing sentence that repeats the topic sentence.
- An opinion with no evidence, or one that ignores the other side.
- Swapping words in someone else's sentence and calling it a paraphrase.