WRITING FOR BEGINNERSThe Jane Schaffer Strategy for Writing Effective Paragraphs

THE PROMPT

Before writing anything , clearly read the PROMPT.

Typical prompts ask students to…• Respond to Literature • Discuss what was learned in relation

to a specific topic - expository• Persuade or Convince a reader to

believe or support a certain way of thinking

THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF WRITING

Writing effective paragraphs: Materials: When we write using the Schaffer

model we use blue, black, red and green pens.

GET READY TO COLOR YOUR WORLD!

Blue is for Topic Sentences (TS)Red is for Concrete Details (CD) Green is for Commentary Sentences (CM)Black is for Concluding Sentences (CS)

TOPIC SENTENCE (TS)

THE TOPIC SENTENCE (TS)

• The topic sentence is the first sentence of the paragraph.

• It proclaims the main idea and contains an opinion.

• Usually a mildly controversial statement- something that you have to prove.

Example Topic Sentence TS

In the fairy tale “The Three Little Pigs,” the third pig was very wise.

CONCRETEDETAILS(CD)

CONCRETE DETAILS (CD)

• CDs = Support for your TS. (facts, quotes, statistics, examples, paraphrases etc. from the text or research.

• CDs can’t be argued with - a CD is evidence that supports your point

• CDs can be direct quotes or paraphrased information

• CDs include the “stuff from the story, reading, article, etc.”

Example Concrete Detail (CD)

For example, he remembered his mother’s warning about a wolf, and built his house out

of sturdy brick.

COMMENTARYSENTENCES(CS)

COMMENTARY SENTENCES (CM)

CMs = your analysis, interpretation, inferences, opinion, explanation or insight.

CMs = the “so what?”

CMs = the stuff from your head

COMMENTARY SENTENCES (2 CMS)

The frustrated wolf gave up extremely easily after a half-hearted attempt to

blow down the sturdy and intimidating brick house. This shows

that the third pig was much more intelligent than his brothers, who

were devoured by the wolf.

CONCLUDINGSENTENCE(CS)

CONCLUDING SENTENCE (CS)

A CS wraps up the paragraph. It brings the reader back to the original topic without repeating the same words or

summarizing.

Example Concluding Sentence (CS)

The third pig of the legendary fable outsmarts not only his

brothers but the “big, bad” wolf as well.

In the fairy tale “The Three Little Pigs,” the third pig was very wise. For example, he remembered his mother’s warning about a wolf and built his house out of sturdy brick. The frustrated wolf gave up extremely easily after a half-hearted attempt to blow down the sturdy and intimidating brick house. This shows that the third pig was much more intelligent than his brothers, who were devoured by the wolf. The third pig of the legendary fable outsmarts not only his brothers but the “big bad” wolf as well.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER!

That was a one chunk paragraph!

What is a chunk?A combination of CDs and CMs is called a chunk. A chunk is made up of 3 sentences

A chunk can include different ratios of CD to CM depending on the mode of writing

The ratio is the amount of CD:CM in a body paragraph.

• The typical English class ratio is 1:2 for response to literature and 2:1 for persuasive or expository writing.

• A typical history ratio might be 2:1• A typical Math/Science ratio is 3:0 or

2:1

AS STUDENT WRITING BECOMES MORE SOPHISTICATED WHAT HAPPENS?

Students move from a one chunk to a two chunk paragraph

Students begin weaving

WHAT IS A TWO CHUNK PARAGRAPH?

A two chunk paragraph is an extension of the one chunk paragraph. It looks like this…

TSCDCMCMCDCMCMCS

Chunk #1

Chunk #2

BUT ISN’T THIS ALL A LITTLE FORMULAIC?

• Yes, it is very formulaic. It provides students the framework for communicating their thoughts through writing. For many students this is a necessity.

• The reason we selected Jane Schaffer is that the ultimate goal of the writing program is to move students who have mastered the formula toward a more sophisticated style called weaving.

WHAT IS WEAVING?

Weaving is the goal of all writers. It describes the ability to weave together

CDs and CMs while effectively communicating ideas through writing.

Writers that effectively weave are aware of expected ratios/balance AND can

seamlessly put them together in their writing. As a teacher it is important that you recognize students who effectively

weave and allow them to do so.