Examples

Body paragraphs are usually the most important part in short-essay writing. This is the place where the writer can fully demonstrate his or her argument by employing various methods. One of the most commonly used techniques among them is exemplification, a highly effective way to back up a point if used properly. In the following section, we will look at how this technique can be applied in a  paragraph.

A body paragraph normally consists of two or three parts: the first is the topic sentence. Oftentimes, it contains one of the supporting points of the essay; the other is the development of the supporting point. The development then can be further divided into two parts: one is called “example sentence”, and the other “extended example sentence(s)”. The specific structure is listed in the table below.

In the topic sentence, the writer introduces a point or an idea to the readers. In order to justify the argument, the writer then presents an example in one sentence, briefly supporting the topic sentence. For some very short essays, this step is probably enough. Yet very often, it requires further elaboration on the example to fully support the argument. The extended example sentence(s) thus functions as a way to provide more specific details to make the example sound more persuasive.