Developing the

Paragraph

5 types of Elaboration

The topic sentence is like…

the top bun of a hamburger because it starts out the paragraph & holds the paragraph together.

ELABORATION

is the middle of the hamburger, where all of the great details are!

ELABORATION:Specific details that come AFTER the topic sentence

FIVE TYPES OF

ELABORATION

1. FACT/STATISTIC

Something that can be proven

Lettuce, a member of the sunflower family, is one of the oldest known vegetables and is believed to be native to the Mediterranean area. In the United States lettuce ranks second only to potatoes as the most popular vegetable. Average U.S. consumption in the 1990s was 30 pounds of lettuce per person per year.

2. DESCRIPTIVE SENSORY SEGMENT

words that appeal to smell, sight, touch, sound, taste

Slurp! Teeth sink into the buttery soft skin. Slobbery juice rolls down my cheek. Seeds the size of a pencil point plant themselves on my lip. Fresh tomatoes make a great addition to a burger!

3.I –ANECDOTE

Events that happened to YOU

When I got stuck in the house when the blizzard came, I felt like my head was going to explode. Luckily, my grandmother suggested sniffing a strong onion to clear my sinuses. For 30 minutes, I sniffed and sniffed the strong odor from the white onion. Amazingly, I began to feel less congested and was able to breathe out of my nose again!

4. E-ANECDOTE Specific examples that happen to

EVERYONE ELSE (not you)

My Uncle is an artist and it turns out that artists don’t only use clay to sculpt. My Uncle worked on a project for the American Dairy Association where they used more than 3,500 pounds of yellow cheddar cheese at the NASCAR race to carve a 5 feet high, 12 feet long and 6 feet wide “car”.

5. QUOTES According to an EXPERT

OR AUTHORITY on the subject you are writing

According to world-famous chef, Emeril Lagasse, “Peter Piper, the famous picker of pickled peppers, could find happiness in West Virginia. In the Mountain State, home-canned pickles are an important part of country cuisine. Green tomato pickles, mustard pickles, chow-chow pickles, carrot pickles and candied pickles are a few of the varieties that Peter Piper could pick. The best pickles I’ve ever eaten have been from West Virginia!”