Instruction: First read TEA Paragraph
TEA PARAGRAPHS:
Paragraph writing can certainly be painstaking, which is why I like to recommend a certain device for paragraph writing to my students. Whenever you begin the task of writing a paragraph, always remember the faithful acronym, TEA.
T = TOPIC
E = EVIDENCE
A = ANALYSIS
So what does this mean exactly? Well, every paragraph should have a clearly identified topic or main idea asserted in the topic sentence (the first or second sentence of your paragraph). Once you have established the main idea in your topic sentence, it is then your responsibility to provide your reader with supporting details to back up your main idea. This is where the ‘E’ and the ‘A’ come in.
E = Evidence
Evidence can come in several forms; evidence is always specific detail relevant to your topic, like statistics, important points & quotations. Just remember, whenever you use quotations, don’t forget to make your quotation sandwich – introducing the quote (signal phrase + reporting verb), writing the quote (comma + quotation + page #), and explaining the significance or relevance of your quote! It is hard to know what evidence is most important for the reader, but, when all else fails, remember your reader doesn’t have private access to your brain. Imagine the reader has no insight or information on the topic; it is then your responsibility to inform them to the best of your ability. If you were a lawyer defending a client you knew to be wrongly, it is your responsibility to provide the jury and judge with as much evidence as possible to prove your client’s innocence. Much the same with your paragraphs (and your thesis), you must provide your reader with enough evidence and analysis to establish your successful rhetoric – your ETHOS, PATHOS and LOGOS.
A = Analysis
When sharing analysis in your paragraphs, it is absolutely vital to make sure all evidence and supporting detail is clearly explained and relevant. Do not expect your quotation and details to do all the work for you, you must describe why you have chosen to share specific details and quotations – why are they important? How are they relevant (how do they connect) to your topic/main idea? Your analysis is where you are able to establish your ETHOS and your LOGOS, how successfully you are able to cultivate credibility and logical understanding of your topic depend directly on your ability to explain and analyze the supporting details in your paragraphs.
Example of a TEA paragraph:
(T) Elizabeth Warren, a Harvard Law School expert in bankruptcy, and Amelia Warren Tyagi, a business consultant, have studied the rise of bankruptcy in the United States. (E) By 2005, just before a new law making it much harder for individuals to declare bankruptcy took effect, the number of families filing for bankruptcy each year was five times its level in the early 1980s. (A) The proximate reason for this surge in bankruptcies was that families were taking on more debt – and this led to moralistic pronouncements about people spending too much money on luxuries they can’t afford. (E) What Warren and Tyagi found, however, was that middle-class families were actually spending less on luxuries than they had in the 1970s. Instead, the rise in debt mainly reflected increased spending on housing, largely driven by competition to get into good school districts. (A) Middle-class Americans have been caught up in a rat race, no because they’re greedy and foolish but because they’re trying to get their children a chance in an increasingly unequal society. (CS) And they’re right to be worried: A bad start can ruin a child’s chances for life.
*NOTE*
Your paragraphs can and should provide multiple instances of evidence and analysis. Meaning, one supporting detail is NOT enough!
Instructions for writing the essay:
Typed, double-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font, no more or less than one-page, MLA format. I want to know what was interesting to you, what confused you, what made you excited or outraged. What question/questions might the reading leave you with? Each response should assert a clear controlling idea (or thesis). The body paragraphs of your response should support and develop your ideas with evidence from the text and your own thoughts/analysis.
Rubric:
The writing asserts a precise, thoughtful position in its thesis or main idea.
Writing demonstrates an effective pattern of organization that facilitates the reader’s understanding of the thesis.
Main points are precisely stated.
Paragraphs are appropriately organized and avoid redundancy.
Statements are substantially supported with compelling and warranted illustration.
Writing adeptly uses appropriate and convincing passages from texts and engage reader.
Vocabulary and sentence structure are appropriate for the topic and intended audience; writing is clear, precise and virtually free from errors that distract from meaning and readability.
