Country Report (Pro)

 

1st Body Paragraph (Screencastify)

Read the key points, and then watch the video.

Key Points:


Identify Your Evidence

Now that you have put your source into your Works Cited page, it's time to identify the exact piece of evidence that you are going to use from this source.

Remember, it could be a:

    1. Statistic
    2. Fact
    3. Phrase
    4. Complete sentence
    5. Several sentences
    6. Entire paragraph

Here, once again, are some examples:

 

Type of Evidence

Example
Statistic

Greece has more than 1,000 beaches.

Fact

The world-famous Parthenon is located in Athens.

Phrase

The seafood you'll find in coastal villages is always fresh and delicious.

Complete Sentence

Greek people are some of the friendliest people in the world.

Several Sentences

Athens is known for its ancient culture. Monuments built by the Ancient Greeks can be seen everywhere.

An Entire Paragraph

My favorite place in the whole world is Greece. When I went with my family last year, we had a fantastic time. The food was delicious and the prices were reasonable. I can't wait to go back!

 

 

Once you have identified the exact piece of evidence that you are going to use from that source, it's time to put it into the body of your paper.

Lesson Steps

 
1

Select the phrase, sentence, or sentences that you want to incorporate into your own paper and copy them onto your clipboard.

  • With your mouse, select the words.
  • Right-click on the selected words.
  • Choose Copy.
2

Paste the words into your paper.

  • Right-click somewhere in the body of your document (between your title and your Works Cited page).
  • From the pop-up menu choose Paste without formatting. This will ensure that you aren't also importing a bunch of code that may give you trouble later.
3

Make a decision: Are you going to put this information into your own words?

In the case of statistics and facts, it's usually best to put the information into your own words.

In the case of phrases and sentences, you could put them into your own words—(that's called an indirect quote)—but it's often not worth the trouble. If you have chosen a good quote, why not keep it intact? (That's called a direct quote).

  • Indirect quotes do not get put within quotation marks.
  • Direct quotes do get put within quotation marks.
4

Add a parenthetical citation.

You must now cite your source properly by adding a parenthetical citation with the last name of the author of your source.

5

Check Your work.

If you have followed the these steps correctly, your paper should now look very much like this:

Jamaica: A Wonderful Vacation Destination

 

"The food in Jamaica is delicious" (Smith).

 

 

Works Cited

Smith, John. "Name of Article." Jeff's Travel Blog. 8 June 2016. Web. 17 Mar. 2017. <http://jeffsblog.com/jamaica.html>.

 

 

6

Congratulations! You're done with this lesson.

 

Add a Signal Phrase

You can now start building your sandwich, starting from the middle and moving upward.

Once again, let's review:

 
Topic Sentence  
Signal Phrase  
Evidence

"The food in Israel is tasty" (Sanchez).

Wrap

 

 

You already have the "inside" of your sandwich (your evidence). Now, working upward, you need a signal phrase. The job of the signal phrase is to introduce your evidence. Mostly, it answers the question: Who said it?

The most useful of all the signal phrases is:

But we still have a choice to make: Are we going to cite the author in the signal phrase? Or would you like to cite the name of the website? (We could even cite the title of the article, but this usually results in an awkward sentence).

Our two best choices would look like this:

If we go with the first choice (and cite the name), then we must remember the "Name Rule".

 
Name Rule: The first time you introduce someone, use their first and last name and an appositive which describes who they are. Thereafter, use only the person's last name.
 

An appositive is a short phrase which describes the person's occupation or relevance. So now we ask ourselves: Who is Sally Sanchez? Is she a:

Furthermore, we must keep in mind the "Appositive Rule":

 

Appositive Rule: If the appositive is long, put it after the name and place it between parenthetical commas. If the appositive is short, place it before the name, and in this case do not put a comma between the appositive and the name.

Examples:

  • Donald Trump, the president of the United States, claims that . . .
  • President Donald Trump claims that . . .
 

And if we decide to cite the website in the signal phrase (instead of the author), keep in mind that websites are always italicized, wherever they appear in your paper.

Keeping all these things in mind, here are some examples of ways that you could introduce your evidence with a signal phrase:

Of course there are other possibilities too. But let's leave those for later.

Lesson Steps

 
1

Write a signal phrase that introduces your evidence.

2

If you cited the author's name in your signal phrase, did you remember to include an appositive?

3

If you included an appositive in your signal phrase, did you punctuate it correctly, according to the Appositive Rule?

  • Appositive Rule: If the appositive is long, put it after the name and place it between parenthetical commas. If the appositive is short, place it before the name, and in this case do not put a comma between the appositive and the name.
4

If your signal phrase includes the name of a website, did you remember to italicize it?

5

Check your work.

Your paper should now look very much like this:

Jamaica: A Wonderful Vacation Destination

 

According to travel writer John Smith, "The food in Jamaica is delicious" (Smith).

 

 

Works Cited

Smith, John. "Name of Article." Jeff's Travel Blog. 8 June 2016. Web. 17 Mar. 2017. <http://jeffsblog.com/jamaica.html>.

 

6

Congratulations! You're done with this lesson.

 

Add a Topic Sentence

You now have the "inside" of your sandwich. In this lesson, you'll add the top slice of bread—your topic sentence.

First, take a look at what you have so far. It should look something like this:

 
Topic Sentence  
Signal Phrase

According to travel writer Sally Sanchez,

Evidence

"The food in Israel is delicious" (Sanchez).

Wrap

 

 

Now ask yourself: What is a broad, general statement that will prepare the reader for the evidence I am presenting?

Here is an example:

 
Topic Sentence

Israel is a food-lover's paradise.

Signal Phrase

According to travel writer Sally Sanchez,

Evidence

"The food in Israel is delicious" (Sanchez).

Wrap

 

 

Lesson Steps

 
1

Write a topic sentence for your paragraph.

  • Keep it short and to the point. A simple sentence (a sentence with only one clause) is best.
2

Check your work.

Your paper should now look very much like this:

Jamaica: A Wonderful Vacation Destination

 

Jamaica is a food-lover's paradise. According to travel writer John Smith, "The food in Jamaica is delicious" (Smith).

 

 

Works Cited

Smith, John. "Name of Article." Jeff's Travel Blog. 8 June 2016. Web. 17 Mar. 2017. <http://jeffsblog.com/jamaica.html>.

 

 

3

Congratulations! You're done with this lesson.

 

Wrap It Up

Your sandwich should now look something like this:

 
Topic Sentence

German people are friendly.

Signal Phrase

According to travel writer Sally Sanchez,

Evidence

"Most Germans are extremely hospitable, and they love to welcome tourists into their homes" (Sanchez).

Wrap

 

 

Now it's time to wrap things up. The "wrap" is often the hardest part to write because there are many possibilities, and there is no single "formula" that works well in every case. You just have to toy with it until you are satisfied. (Nobody said writing was easy).

Let's review some of the possibilities:

 
Ways to Wrap Up a Paragraph Example

Restate the topic sentence in different words.

Clearly, Germans have warm hearts.

Explain the meaning of your evidence in simple, everyday language.

In other words, Germans are warm and generous, even to strangers.

Illustrate the point with an analogy

You will feel like you're talking to old friends!

Explain the significance (or the consequences) of your evidence.

You'll be able to make close connections, and you may even make a life-long German friend.

Ask a rhetorical question.

Wouldn't you love to experience German hospitality for yourself?

Extrapolate from the evidence. (If your evidence is true, what else is logically true?)

You will always feel comfortable and appreciated.

Add a piece of information from the same (or a different) source.

Beer festivals are a great place to chat with the local people (Sanchez).

 

In this case, I'm going to go with the last option. To do this, I'll follow these steps:

    1. I'm going to look for some additional information in the article by Sanchez.
    2. I'm going to try to put most of it in my own words, so I don't have two direct quotes in a row.
    3. I'm going to add a parenthetical citation at the end of my sentence, to show the reader that Sanchez is also the source of this information.

Our finished example might look like this:

 
Topic Sentence

German people are friendly.

Signal Phrase

According to travel writer Sally Sanchez,

Evidence

"Most Germans are extremely hospitable, and they love to welcome tourists into their homes" (Sanchez).

Wrap

Beer festivals are a great place to chat with the local people (Sanchez).

 


Lesson Steps

 
1

Wrap up your paragraph with a sentence or two.

2

Check your work.

Your paper should now look very much like this:

Jamaica: A Wonderful Vacation Destination

 

Jamaica is a food-lover's paradise. According to travel writer John Smith, "The food in Jamaica is delicious" (Smith). You can spend many delightful hours sampling Jamaican cuisine.

 

 

Works Cited

Smith, John. "Name of Article." Jeff's Travel Blog. 8 June 2016. Web. 17 Mar. 2017. <http://jeffsblog.com/jamaica.html>.

 

 

3

Congratulations! You're done with this lesson.

 

Smooth It Out

You're almost done building your sandwich. The basics are there, but it may need smoothing out. (Perhaps a little mayonnaise?)

In particular, you may need to smooth the transition between your topic sentence and your signal phrase. To this end, the following three transition phrases are especially useful:

Study the following examples below. (All of them are taken from student papers). Then take a look at your own paragraph and ask yourself if one of these phrases may improve it.

 
Third, in Egypt it is common for women to experience sexual harassment. For example, according to journalist Gheani Raknee, "Walking through the main bazaar in Cairo, it is crowded as to be expected. What I didn't expect was to have hands coming at me from every direction possible, it was impossible to try and avoid it, so my only option was just to leave. Men would yell out on the street, stare in a very unsavory way or call out to grab my attention."
 
 
Third, the city of Montreal is famous for its culture and cuisine. In the words of travel writer Steve Paolina, "From what I've seen so far, I really like Montreal. The city just oozes with culture . . . "
 
 
The leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un,is a liar. For example, he claims that he was born on a sacred mountain, but he was actually born in the Soviet Union (Urban). Do you really want to visit a country where the leader is a liar?
 
 
First, Scotland is famous for its historic castles. For example, Edinburgh castle has been around for over 800 years and is on most people’s top ten list for things to see in Scotland (“Top 10 Scotland”). Whether you are taking a tour of this castle, or just doing a drive by, you will definitely enjoy its beauty.
 
 
Second, police officers in the U.K. are approachable and understanding. In fact, according to travel writer Ben Curtis, friendly police officers are one of the best ten things about the U.K. In his own words, “One policeman we talked to while waiting for a crashed car to be pulled off an icy road was a thoroughly nice chap” (Curtis).
 
 
Third, the amount of rainfall in the U.K. can be a hassle for many people. In fact, the amount of rain that fell in 2013 was “the most significant in almost 250 years of recorded measurement” (“Top 16”). Rainfall in the U.K. causes many road and walking accidents (“Top 16”).
 
 
First, driving in Italy can be a problem. For example, the traffic in Rome is a nightmare. Traffic laws aren't’t enforced, and people drive wildly (sexliesandnutella). The roads are downright scary.
 
 
Second, Brazil has a very high crime rate. In fact, the crime rate is higher than in other countries (Bruha). Furthermore, reports of rape have increased dramatically in recent years (Bruha). 
 
 
First, China has a lot of great food. In fact, according to a food blogger named Dino Lingo, "Chinese food is very popular all over the world" (Lingo).
 
 
Second, China has a lot of great landmarks. For example, two of the most popular attractions are the Great Wall of China and the Terracotta Army. According to author Annie Wu, the Terracotta Army is "amazing" (Wu). 
 
 
First, the toilets in Malaysia are disgusting. In the words of a commentator on Virtual Tourist: "The toilets can be very dirty, very wet and very smelly; sometimes they are seldom cleaned. Usually, you would have to squat awkwardly and the worst of all, there is not toilet paper" (Longsanborn).
 
 
First, racism is like a joke to the citizens of Spain. For example, in an interview, Erin, a Chinese-American female blogger, stated that she faced more discrimination in Spain than she does in the United States. In her own words, "People are very open with their racist thoughts. . . .They’re not afraid to tell me about the stereotypes they hold against los Chinos, nor do they differentiate between the many countries in Asia in making these comments" (Estrada).
 
 
Second, Spain’s economy has gone downhill the past few years. In fact, according to Rick Newman, an author for US News & World Report, during the first three months of 2013, the unemployment rate reached 27.2% (Newman). Clearly, the economy is terrible. 
 
 
Third, Spain has a lot of crime. For example, Larissa, a travel blogger, claims, “Getting robbed in Barcelona is like getting a suntan in the Caribbean” (Olenicoff). In other words, you should not be surprised if you get robbed.
 

Lesson Steps

 
1

Examine the transition between your topic sentence and your signal phrase or evidence. Is there a way to smooth it out? Consider inserting one of the following phrases:

  • In fact,
  • For example, .
  • In the words of . . .

You may have to juggle other words in your paragraph accordingly.

2 Congratulations! You're done with this lesson.
 

Instructions for the Quiz

Answer the questions.

Quiz