PARAGRAPH TERMINOLOGY
1. MINI-THESIS (MT)
Also known as a Topic Sentence
2. EVIDENCE (EV)
3. SPECIFIC EVIDENCE (SPEV)
4. ANALYSIS (AN)
5. CONCLUDING SENTENCE (CS)
This is the first sentence in a paragraph. It must
answer the question or prompt and be the main
idea of the paragraph. A mini-thesis should
have a subject and an argument. It does for a
paragraph what a thesis does for an essay.
These are the details that form the backbone or
core of your body paragraphs. These are the
FACTS, EXAMPLES or SUPPORT.​ They
provide the proof for the mini-thesis. They can
be generalizations.
Your specific evidence builds upon the evidence
sentence by providing greater detail or concrete
examples. These are often ​NUMBERS,
STATISTICS, QUOTATIONS, or DETAILS.
These are needed to support your
generalizations and really prove your
mini-thesis.
Analysis should accompany each chunk of
evidence and specific evidence. This is your
chance to offer your reader ​EXPLANATION,
INTERPRETATION, EVALUATION, or
INSIGHT.​ This answers the question: “So
what?” or “Why is this significant?” This vital
piece ensures that specific evidence, especially
quotations, will be analyzed, not just dropped
into the paragraph. Your analysis sentence
should forge the link between your evidence and
your mini-thesis.
This is the last sentence in the body paragraph.
It often restates the mini-thesis without using key
words. It also reviews what has been proven in
the paragraph and reconnects it to the thesis. It
gives a completed or finished feeling to the
paragraph.