Body Paragraphs and Evidence

Your thesis statement at the end of the introduction states your position on an issue and summarizes your supporting reasons. Each of those reasons is then developed in its own body paragraph. As students get older, essays get longer but the principle remains the same. You’ll still probably have three supporting reasons for your position, but each one might take several pages or even chapters to develop.

Each body paragraph in your essay focuses on a single idea or argument. Don’t try to tackle multiple issues in one section. Keep the structure clear and logical by keeping each body paragraph focused on a single point. If you have many points, use more (shorter) paragraphs.

In a five-paragraph essay, each body paragraph should contain these elements:

Topic sentence: State the main idea of the paragraph. This is one of the reasons from your thesis statement in the introduction.
The first reason why… is because…
Reasoning: Explain the reasoning behind your claim in the topic sentence; expand on the reason in general.
Evidence: Support your reasoning with facts, data, or logic.
Examples: Specific examples that can be visualized make the argument clearer; anecdotes add emotional power.
Summary or significance statement: Conclude the paragraph by summarizing its main idea or emphasizing its significance.

Body paragraphs proceed from general to specific. The example is the most specific part. The summary/significance statement connects the paragraph back to the thesis (every paragraph is evidence for the thesis).

Why do we write 5-paragraph essays? The rule of three

Having one reason for your argument isn’t compelling. Having two reasons is better. Having three reasons is convincing.

This is like court cases: The prosecution must prove that the accused had the 1) means, 2) motive, and 3) opportunity to commit the crime. The prosecution is unlikely to get a conviction without proving all three.

Each body paragraph presents one reason for your main argument. In a longer essay, several paragraphs or pages will be devoted to each reason.

Within paragraphs, we have the same situation: One piece of evidence to support a reason is not always convincing. It’s better to have two or three pieces of evidence.

Comparing Data Using Percentages

When presenting numerical data, percentages are often more effective than absolute numbers because they help readers understand the scale of change or difference. Include both percentage change and the absolute numbers.

Example: Instead of saying, “Corn yields increased from two tons to six tons per hectare between 1961 and 2021,” say, “Corn yields increased 200% between 1961 and 2021, from two tons to six tons per hectare.”

“Dimensionalizing” Data

When using numbers and data in an essay, it’s important to “dimensionalize” the information — meaning, make the data relatable and easier to visualize by connecting it to familiar concepts.

Example: Instead of stating, “Flippy the French fry robot costs $20,000,” explain its financial advantage: “Although Flippy costs $20,000, it can replace a full-time human worker earning $30,000 annually, making it a cost-saving investment in under a year.”

Make abstract numbers more relatable by converting them into practical, tangible comparisons. This helps readers visualize the significance of the data.

Example: “Today, you would need to eat eight oranges to get the same amount of vitamin A that your grandparents would have gotten from one orange.”

Transitions for Clarity and Cohesion

Ensure that each part of your essay connects logically to the next. Use transitions between sentences and sections to make connections between ideas obvious.

Beware the expert’s curse: Because you are familiar with the material you’re writing about, connections between ideas are obvious to you, but they are not obvious to the reader. Readers are easily confused: make sure connections between ideas are stupid obvious.

The first reason why... is because...
This happens because...
For that reason,...
This leads to...
As a result,...
Next,...
Finally,...
However,...
On the other hand,...
In conclusion,...

Advanced: Start the body paragraphs with the opposite point of view

Argument essays are about controversial topics. If the topic isn’t controversial, it’s not worth writing about. But this means you can’t ignore the opposite point of view – you shouldn’t just present arguments on your side of the issue.

Your audience will be at least somewhat familiar with arguments on the opposite side from your position. If you don’t bring them up, the audience will assume

you’re ignorant (unaware of the other side’s strongest points) or
biased (you’re hiding obvious counter-arguments from your reader).

For that reason, your first body paragraph should describe the strongest argument on the opposite side and then refute it (explain what’s wrong with it). This is your first argument.

Example: If we’re debating whether to order burgers or pizza, because those are the only two places open, you might say, “I agree that Tony’s Burger House has pretty tasty burgers, but when I was there a couple weeks ago, I saw a rat in the washroom.” This is your first argument in favour of pizza. Your two other arguments might be that Gino’s Pizzeria makes a decent pizza and they have a great special this evening.