The Structure and Content of an Academic, Argument Body Paragraph

What is the official structure of a body paragraph?  

For an argument paper, the main thing to keep in mind is that most of the body-paragraph will be your words, assertions, and beliefs.  This content must remain in 3rd person voice, but it is still your opinion, your argument.  Do not use personal stories to argue your viewpoint unless you can stay professional and in 3rd person voice.

Understanding that your view dominates an argument body paragraph is the first step in knowing how to structure your body paragraphs.  The second comes in the form of logical order.  See the chart and the attached handout posted below to help you more in this area.  Consider this organizational pattern a typical body-paragraph structure though.

The basics for a body-paragraph structure:

TOPIC SENTENCE (one sentence) PERSONAL ARGUMENT DEVELOPMENT (multiple sentences) SOURCE MATERIAL TO DEFEND THE POINT OF THE PARAGRAPH (one sentence, maybe two) EXPLAIN & ELABORATE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SOURCE (multiple sentences) WRAP-UP THE PARAGRAPH ARGUMENT (one sentence)

A full body-paragraph structure:

TOPIC SENTENCE (one sentence) PERSONAL ARGUMENT DEVELOPMENT (multiple sentences) SOURCE MATERIAL TO DEFEND THE POINT OF THE PARAGRAPH (one sentence, maybe two) EXPLAIN & ELABORATE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SOURCE (multiple sentences) SOURCE MATERIAL TO DEFEND THE POINT OF THE PARAGRAPH (one sentence, maybe two) EXPLAIN & ELABORATE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SOURCE (multiple sentences) WRAP-UP THE PARAGRAPH ARGUMENT (one sentence)

Purpose Structure and Content.pdf