Body Paragraph

T.E.X.A.S. Format
Topic
Explain topic
eXample (quote)
Analysis
Summary

Topic Sentence
The topic sentence includes your CLAIM
plus your first piece of EVIDENCE
Refer back to your thesis

Explain (Topic)
This is where you explain your topic
sentence
This piece also connects your topic sentence
to your quotation

eXample (Quote)
The quotation you choose should support
your topic sentence.
Make sure you use quotation marks
Make sure you include page numbers

Analysis
This is where you EXPLAIN how your
quotation supports your CLAIM
Refer back to your thesis

Summary
This is the last sentence in your paragraph
It should be restatement of your topic
sentence.

Sample Body Paragraph

Ms. Maudie is the first character whose strengths fail to overcome the will of
society. From the onset, Ms. Maudie is unlike the rest of the town in that she is
not racist, as demonstrated by her refusal to attend the trial. Despite her nonracist attitude, she fails to prevent the inevitable reality that Tom Robinson would
be convicted. In the scene after the trial when Ms. Maudie bakes a cake for Jem
and Scout, Ms. Maudie says, "...I thought, Atticus Finch won't win, he can't win,
but he's the only man in these parts who can keep a jury out so long in a case like
that. And I thought to myself, well, we're making a step--it's a baby step, but it's a
step" (p. 289). Although Ms. Maudie is correct in that the jury''s lengthy
deliberation is a sign of progress, the reality is that an innocent man was
convicted of a crime he did not commit simply because of his skin color. Further,
the case of Tom Robinson was not unique. This scenario was all too common in the
1930s. As such, despite Ms. Maudie's positive character traits as being non racist,
society prevailed in convicting an innocent black man.