Assertion: - The assertion (or topic sentence) states the specific arguable point you will make in
the paragraph.
- Moreover, the assertion connects the paragraph to your thesis (claim).
- Generally, assertions should go at the beginning of the paragraph (the first
sentence, or – if there's a transition sentence – the second).
- Assertions must be arguable – the point that YOU are making about something.
eXample: - The examples are the evidence that supports (or "proves") your assertion.
- These could be a direct quote from the text, a detailed description of a visual
object, data, etc.
- Examples should be introduced and briefly contextualized.
Explanation: - Examples NEVER speak for themselves: you must provide explanations, which
clarify how and why the evidence relates to your assertion and subsequently your
central claim.
- For instance, in a textual analysis, an explanation of a quote pulls out particular
words, images, references, etc., from the example and shows how these
support the assertion.
- Explanation of examples and data outline the reasoning that logically links the
evidence to the assertion.
Significance: -If you simply state, support and explain the assertions, your reader may respond
with indifference unless you also tell them why they should care by showing
the significance.
- Statements of significance anticipate and answer the question "So What?" In other
words, why is the point made in the paragraph important in light of your
thesis?
- Providing significance is crucial to making an argument that says something, has a
purpose, or is interesting.
Copernicus and Galileo believed that the earth and other planets orbited around the sun, a radical theory at the time, since the Catholic Church taught that the earth was the center of the universe. Answer: supported a theory of the universe that contradicted the teachings of the Catholic Church.
