- [Instructor] How to write an essay, step by step.
Today, I'll teach you how to write body paragraphs,
including the topic sentence, detail sentences,
and conclusion sentence of essay body paragraphs.
Note that this is the extended,
more detailed version of this video.
Also on my channel,
for people who already know about essay body paragraphs
but just want to review the main parts,
there is a shorter version of this video available.
Let's get started.
In this video, we'll specifically study the parts
of body paragraphs one through three.
If you need to see an example of an introduction paragraph
or a conclusion paragraph,
you can find examples of those parts of an essay
in other videos on my channel.
So we're gonna write body paragraphs
that answer this prompt:
"What is the best type of exercise?
Write an essay to explain your answer."
As we said in video one, the most important sentence
in your essay is your thesis statement.
The thesis statement is the last sentence
in your introduction paragraph,
and it tells the main idea of your essay,
plus three reasons.
In this example essay,
our main idea is that the best type of exercise is walking.
One reason that walking is the best type of exercise is
because it is easy.
Reason two is because it's convenient.
And reason three is because it's usually done outside.
These three reasons control
what we will write in each body paragraph.
So look at reason one, it is easy.
Which body paragraph explains this reason?
Body paragraph one.
The topic sentence of body paragraph one is reason one,
"Walking is easy."
What about reason two, convenient?
Which body paragraph explains this reason?
Body paragraph two explains this reason,
"Walking is convenient."
The topic sentence of body paragraph two tells reason two.
And reason three, walking is usually done outside,
we explain in body paragraph three.
So "Walking is often done outside,"
is the topic sentence of body paragraph three.
Now let's talk about body paragraph one.
As you write your paragraphs, remember,
the goal for your essay is to prove
that our thesis statement main idea is true,
that the best type of exercise is walking.
We're going to use body paragraph one to help us do this.
Remember that the goal for body paragraph one is
to explain reason one, that walking is easy.
We're going to explain it with facts and examples.
Also, we're going to tell why this reason
makes walking better than other exercises.
Now let's talk about the parts of body paragraph one.
First, we have the topic sentence that tells reason one,
"Walking is easy."
Next, we have detail sentences.
Our detail sentences explain the topic sentence
with facts and examples.
They also tell how reason one proves
that the main idea is true,
that the best type of exercise is walking.
Let's read our detail sentence and notice how they explain
what we mean in the topic sentence
when we say, "Walking is easy."
"When exercise is too difficult, people stop doing it.
However, when exercise is simple,
people often enjoy it and continue to do it.
Also, easy activities cause fewer injuries and less pain
than strenuous activities."
Do you see how these sentences explain what we mean
when we say, "Walking is easy"?
And they also help us understand
why walking is the best type of exercise
and better than more difficult types of exercises.
Finally, we have the conclusion sentence.
This sentence reminds us
of the topic sentence of this paragraph.
Our conclusion sentence is, "Walking is great exercise
because it is simple and pleasant to do."
Do you see how this conclusion sentence is very similar
to our topic sentence, "Walking is easy"?
Often your conclusion sentences will be
just a little longer than the topic sentence.
Now let's talk about body paragraph two.
Remember, the goal for our essay is to prove
that our thesis statement main idea is true,
that the best type of exercise is walking.
We're going to use body paragraph two to help us do that.
The goal for body paragraph two is
to explain reason number two, that walking is convenient.
We're going to explain that with facts and examples.
Also, we're going to tell
why this reason makes walking better
than other types of exercises.
Now let's talk about the parts of body paragraph two.
First, we have the topic sentence.
This sentence tells reason two from our thesis statement,
"Walking is convenient."
Next, we have the detail sentences.
These sentences explain our topic sentence
using facts and examples that tell what we mean
when we say, "Walking is convenient."
Also, the detail sentences tell how reason two proves
that our thesis statement main idea is true,
that the best type of exercise is walking.
Let's read our detail sentences.
"A person can walk anywhere,
in the city, country, or mountains.
Many other forms of exercise require special equipment
or locations.
For example, swimming requires a pool.
Lifting weights requires barbells and benches."
Do you see how these sentences explain what we mean
when we say, "Walking is convenient"?
It gives examples like swimming and barbells
of sports that are not as convenient as walking.
Also, these sentences prove
that our thesis statement main idea is true,
that the best type of exercise is walking.
Why?
Because waking is more convenient
than other types of exercises,
like swimming or lifting weights.
Finally, we have our conclusion sentence.
This sentence reminds us
of the topic sentence of this paragraph.
Our conclusion sentence reads,
"Walking can be done anytime and anywhere
without special preparation."
Do you see how the ideas
in this sentence are very similar to the topic sentence
that "Walking is convenient"?
Often, the conclusion sentence can be a little longer
than the topic sentence,
but the ideas in it will be similar.
Now let's talk about body paragraph three.
As you begin to write body paragraph three,
it's very important to remember the goal for your essay.
What's the goal?
To prove that our thesis statement main idea is true,
that the best type of exercise is walking.
I've repeated this before each body paragraph
because each body paragraph
should help you prove this main idea.
If your body paragraph
doesn't help you prove this main idea,
that means you've gotten off topic.
Also remember that the goal for body paragraph three is
to explain reason number three,
that walking is done outside, using facts and examples.
Also, you need to tell why this reason makes walking better
than other types of exercises.
Now let's talk about the parts of body paragraph three.
First, we have the topic sentence
that tells reason three from the thesis statement,
"Walking is often done outside."
Next, we have the detail sentences.
These sentences explain our topic sentence
using facts and examples about walking
and how it's done outside and why that's good for us.
Also, our detail sentences use reason three
to prove that our thesis statement main idea is true.
So they use walking being done outside as a reason
that makes walking the best type of exercise.
Let's read our detail sentences.
"During exercise, the body produces chemicals
called endorphins and serotonin,
which calm stress and make people feel happy.
Scientists found that people who spend time outdoors
in nature feel happier than people who do not."
Do you see how these sentences explain
why we mentioned that walking is done outside?
And you also see how these detail sentences help prove
that walking is the best type of exercise.
It's better than other types of exercises
that cannot be done outside.
Finally, we have our conclusion sentence,
which reminds us of our topic sentence.
The conclusion sentence says,
"Walking outside helps mental and physical health."
That's similar to our topic sentence
that "Walking is often done outside,"
but we add a few details from our detail sentences
to round out this paragraph.
Often the conclusion sentence
will be just a little bit longer
and a tiny bit more detailed than your topic sentence.
Now we've been over each part of each body paragraph,
and I've explained how they work together
to prove the main idea or message about your topic.
On this screen, I've put notes about each part
and their functions
so that you could see everything together at once.
Thank you for watching this video.
If you have questions, you can post them in the comments,
and I'll try my best to answer them.
Also, I would recommend that you watch the next video
about the conclusion paragraph.
Thank you for watching.