Thread by @raulpacheco, One of the components of writing that my students struggle with the [...]

One of the components of writing that my students struggle with the most is CREATING PARAGRAPHS. This thread is intended to serve as a showcase of various frameworks and methods to craft good paragraphs.

As I always do, I& #39;m going to use examples of other scholars& #39; writing.

I had intended to write this thread a while ago but reading this article by Anindita Sarkar really cemented in me the importance of showing how to write good paragraphs.

The paragraph I highlighted has a central idea: to understand water access you need a gendered lens.

In this paragraph, Sarkar outlines the core idea of her paragraph, by sequentially and carefully making her argument:

1) everyday practices of women accessing water are defined by physical/economic access, but also mediated by the social spaces within which these women operate.

Note how Sarkar starts with her first idea and then carefully provides scaffolding for her argument - explaining the characteristics of social spaces, the gendered nature of water fetching, and thusly, the importance of understanding lived experiences of women in accessing water.

Personally I found Sarkar& #39;s writing beautiful and compelling. I also found this paragraph rich with ideas, concepts and analytical power. These types of articles are the kind of papers that I really need a long time not to understand, but to absorb the richness of ideas.

THESE types of articles that require very, very deep engagement and thought are the ones that I not only highlight, scribble on, and digitally capture in my Conceptual Synthesis Excel Dump (CSED) but I also write notes in my Everything Notebook http://www.raulpacheco.org/2020/01/what-kinds-of-things-do-we-i-write-in-the-everything-notebook/">https://www.raulpacheco.org/2020/01/w...

What kinds of things do we (I) write in the Everything Notebook?

I'm often asked to discuss one of my most popular techniques, the Everything Notebook. I

http://www.raulpacheco.org/2020/01/what-kinds-of-things-do-we-i-write-in-the-everything-notebook/

Personally, I find writing a paragraph a good "work packet". Instead of worrying about writing 2,000 words a day, or write for 3 hours in a row, my simple target is: FINISH ONE PARAGRAPH.

I try to design my paragraphs in a way that there is ONE IDEA. http://www.raulpacheco.org/2015/04/my-acwri-strategies-fill-up-paragraphs-one-idea-per-paragraph/">https://www.raulpacheco.org/2015/04/m...

My #AcWri strategies: Fill up paragraphs, one idea per paragraph

Sometimes I get random emails asking me "but, how do you do what you do?".

http://www.raulpacheco.org/2015/04/my-acwri-strategies-fill-up-paragraphs-one-idea-per-paragraph/

With my students, I tell them to create paper outlines by using either Triggering Questions (questions that trigger their memory/or make them want to answer them) or "Topic Sentences" http://www.raulpacheco.org/2018/03/two-methods-for-writing-a-paper-outline-answering-questions-and-listing-topic-sentences/">https://www.raulpacheco.org/2018/03/t...

Two methods for writing a paper outline: Answering questions and listing topic sentences

Since I usually write blog posts by request, unless there's a pressing thought that I

http://www.raulpacheco.org/2018/03/two-methods-for-writing-a-paper-outline-answering-questions-and-listing-topic-sentences/

Each paragraph usually starts with a Topic Sentence or a Triggering Question http://www.raulpacheco.org/2018/10/writing-topic-sentences-and-crafting-paragraphs/

Once">https://www.raulpacheco.org/2018/10/w... we have the outline with Topic Sentences and/or Triggering Questions, we can start filling up those paragraphs one by one, sentence by sentence.

Writing topic sentences and crafting paragraphs

Two of the questions I get asked most often not only by my own students

http://www.raulpacheco.org/2018/10/writing-topic-sentences-and-crafting-paragraphs/

I find that using small goals for my writing sessions (125 words, 15 minutes, 3 sentences, 2 paragraphs) helps me feel less stressed about the overall writing project. I am finishing up 4 book manuscripts, you can imagine how stressed I feel. http://www.raulpacheco.org/2018/04/125-250-words-15-minutes-setting-small-writing-goals-to-build-an-academic-writing-practice/">https://www.raulpacheco.org/2018/04/1...

125-250 words, 15 minutes: Setting small writing goals to build an academic writing practice

I have been travelling non-stop since January 2018 even though I had promised myself I

http://www.raulpacheco.org/2018/04/125-250-words-15-minutes-setting-small-writing-goals-to-build-an-academic-writing-practice/

I am going to now suggest blog posts by several scholars who also write about academic writing and whom I respect enormously.

1) @rachaelcayley suggests writing ideas in continuous flow, and THEN use Breaking Points to break up paragraphs https://explorationsofstyle.com/2014/02/21/breaking-points/">https://explorationsofstyle.com/2014/02/2...

Breaking Points

When I teach paragraphs, I always talk about how paragraph breaks should be dictated by textual demands rather than length. Sometimes that approach works out perfectly for a writer: each particular…

https://explorationsofstyle.com/2014/02/21/breaking-points/

2) @ThomsonPat offers the MEAL approach to writing paragraphs

- Main Idea
- Evidence
- Analysis
- Link back - link forward https://patthomson.net/2018/11/05/getting-to-grips-with-the-paragraph/">https://patthomson.net/2018/11/0...

getting to grips with ‘the paragraph’

I was recently asked how I felt about paragraphs. “Well you know, all the feels” I might have replied. But I didn’t, largely because I don’t usually think about the paragraph. The question made me …

https://patthomson.net/2018/11/05/getting-to-grips-with-the-paragraph/

3) @PJDunleavy on his @write4research website offers another structured method to write paragraphs

- Topic sentence
- Argument/body
- Token sentences (evidence)
- Wrap sentence ("end of paragraph" marker) https://medium.com/advice-and-help-in-authoring-a-phd-or-non-fiction/how-to-write-paragraphs-80781e2f3054">https://medium.com/advice-an...

How to write paragraphs

in research texts (articles, books and PhDs)

https://medium.com/advice-and-help-in-authoring-a-phd-or-non-fiction/how-to-write-paragraphs-80781e2f3054

I find some of the rules of paragraph writing that you get in classes somewhat idiosyncratic. For example, I do apply some of these to my writing and that of my students:

- say no to 2-sentences& #39; paragraphs (3-7 is readable, >9 becomes almost impossible to clearly comprehend )

4) @thesiswhisperer likes Hayot& #39;s strategy to analyse and write paragraphs https://thesiswhisperer.com/2019/05/22/how-to-harness-the-power-of-semantic-gravity-in-your-writing/

If">https://thesiswhisperer.com/2019/05/2... I have to be 100% honest with you all y& #39;all, I really DO NOT LIKE Hayot& #39;s paragraph inverted U structure.

How to harness the power of semantic gravity in your writing

A month or two ago, I wrote a post called ‘The Uneven U’ which outlined ideas about paragraph structure from Eric Hayot’s book “The elements of academic style: writing for the hum…

https://thesiswhisperer.com/2019/05/22/how-to-harness-the-power-of-semantic-gravity-in-your-writing/

I have, in fact, read Hayot& #39;s Elements of Academic Style http://www.raulpacheco.org/2019/09/the-elements-of-academic-style-eric-hayot-my-reading-notes/">https://www.raulpacheco.org/2019/09/t...

But I found different insights, and to be quite frank, I am not sold on the inverted U.

The Elements of Academic Style (Eric Hayot) - my reading notes

I have read A TON of books on writing over the past few years, and

http://www.raulpacheco.org/2019/09/the-elements-of-academic-style-eric-hayot-my-reading-notes/

Now, which other models do we have to help us craft paragraphs? I think this is where the whole "rhetorical moves" elements of academic writing is useful.

We need to consider two components:

1) the STRUCTURE of the paragraph

and

2) the CONTENT of the paragraph.

You can use any of the models I have mentioned before (Cayley, Pacheco-Vega, Hayot, Dunleavy) to structure your paragraph. And THEN to fill up the paragraph you need to provide content organized in a sequence that provides evidence, argument, etc. That is, "argumentative".

For example, you can use the CREW model to write your paragraph.

Booth, Coulomb and Williams& #39; original CREW model (claim, reasoning, evidence, warrant) has evolved, but it is very helpful. http://www.raulpacheco.org/2019/07/the-craft-of-research-booth-colomb-williams-3rd-edition-my-reading-notes/">https://www.raulpacheco.org/2019/07/t...

The Craft of Research (Booth, Colomb, Williams) - 3rd Edition - my reading notes

Every few weeks, somebody asks me for recommendations of books on academic writing, "how to

http://www.raulpacheco.org/2019/07/the-craft-of-research-booth-colomb-williams-3rd-edition-my-reading-notes/

Or you can use the Toulmin style of argumentation https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/historical_perspectives_on_argumentation/toulmin_argument.html#:~:text=Developed%20by%20philosopher%20Stephen%20E,the%20grounds%2C%20and%20the%20warrant.

Or">https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/gener... you can use the Graf & Birkenstein "They Say/I Say" set of templates to develop your argument http://www.raulpacheco.org/2017/05/they-sayi-say-the-moves-that-matter-in-academic-writing-my-reading-notes/">https://www.raulpacheco.org/2017/05/t...

They Say/I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing (my reading notes)

When I wrote my blog post on how to properly teach our students how to

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/historical_perspectives_on_argumentation/toulmin_argument.html#:~:text=Developed%20by%20philosopher%20Stephen%20E,the%20grounds%2C%20and%20the%20warrant

In the end, my writing target goal is A PARAGRAPH.

In this thread, I& #39;ve provided a few different strategies to STRUCTURE and develop the argument that will form the CONTENT of your paragraph.

Hopefully this approach will be useful.

END OF THREAD.

NEW BLOG POST: A few structured strategies that we can use to craft paragraphs http://www.raulpacheco.org/2020/08/a-few-structured-strategies-that-we-can-use-to-craft-paragraphs/">https://www.raulpacheco.org/2020/08/a...

This thread in handy blog post format.

Remember: you can use the social buttons at the end of each post to reshare on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

A few structured strategies that we can use to craft paragraphs

Reviewing my students' theses, and talking with them about their writing processes, they always tell

http://www.raulpacheco.org/2020/08/a-few-structured-strategies-that-we-can-use-to-craft-paragraphs/

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