Paragraph Organization and Development

Point (or topic sentence)

What is the point of this paragraph?

What claim is being made?

Evidence

How is the point supported with specific data, experiences, or other factual material?

Evidence is used to support/develop the topic sentence.

Explanation and Analysis

What does the provided evidence mean?

The explanation is the writer’s analysis, elaboration, evaluation of the evidence given, connecting the evidence with the point (and the thesis).

POINT (topic sentence)

 INFORMATION (paragraph body)

 EXPLANATION (relevance portion)

      Many children’s television commercials do not present images of girls in active or winning situations.  Often, the boy wins the game being advertised while the girls, pretty little objects, serve as his mindless cheerleaders.  In “What are TV Ads Selling to Children” John J. O’Connor claims that in many ads girls are portrayed as inferior to boys. According to O’Connor, the message these ads send to girls is that “They live in a society in which they can never be considered the best.”  Some commercials that portray women this way include those for Giggle Wiggle, Shark Attack, and Frog Soccer.  For instance, in the Giggle Wiggle commercial, four people play the game—two boys and two girls.  During the game, only the boys move the game pieces, shouting enthusiastically when they’ve made the right moves, while the girls, basically motionless, smile vacantly and watch the boys.  At the end of the game, one of the boys wins and gleefully shouts, “I win! I win!” while clapping his hands.  Only then does a girl jump up and speak her one line, “Oh wow!” In this commercial, as in others, the girls were not the central characters, but part of the support network for the winners, the boys.  In fact, none of the commercials I viewed showed a girl win a game.  It is commercials like these that illustrate O’Connor’s point perfectly.  The repeated message is that women cannot be winners, that their place is on the sidelines.  This message impacts how women view themselves and how men view them.