Four Square Writing

A quick and easy way to write an essay!

Opinion Writing

• States an opinion• States reasons,based on experience and/or

facts, supporting opinion• Very structured• Connecting words are needed• Little or no dialogue• Little or no action

Choose a topic

Art and music classes are essential for a well-rounded education.

Prove It!

• Add reasons, examples, or explanations that prove the center box is true.

• Add details to support your opinion.• All details should relate to the opinion and help

the reader understand your point better.

Add Reasons or Supports

Art and music classes are essential for a well-rounded education.

Music stimulates the brain. Art and music add balance to core subjects.

Art aides in child development.

Wrap-Up Sentence

Art and music are essential to a well-rounded education.

Music stimulates the brain. Art and music add balance to core subjects.

Art aides in child developmentArt and music are essential to a well-rounded education because music stimulates the brain, they balance curriculum, and aide in child development.

Details

• Give more information and strengthen your opinion

• Should include at least one fact• Details should not be repeated in the boxes• At least 3 details in each box

Add Details

In my opinion, art and music are essential for a well-rounded education.

Music stimulates the brain. Art and music balance core subjects.

Art aides in child development. Art and music are essential to a well-rounded education because they stimulate the brain, balance curriculum, and aide in child development.

• break from math and reading• hands-on learning

• motor skills• creativity• expression and communication

*helps me remember things*makes me want to move/dance

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Factual Details

In my opinion, art and music are essential for a well-rounded education.

Music stimulates the brain.Art and music balance core subjects.

Art aides in child development.Art and music are essential to a well-rounded education because they stimulate the brain, balance curriculum, and aide in child development.

• break from math and reading (EXP)• different learning styles utlilized (EXP)• “the amount of musical training

the children underwent in the first year of our study correlated with the amount of improvements in the children’s reading fluency” (www.dana.org)

• fine motor skills • creativity: “Art is an experience that

requires freethinking, experimentation, and analysis -- all part of creativity.” ( MaryAnn F. Kohl, art educator and author)

• Expression and communication

•helps me remember things (EXP)•makes me want to move/dance (EXP)•stabilizes body rhythms to attain deep focus; baroque music (50-80 beats/min.) leads to better learning of vocabulary, facts, and reading (Johns Hopkins School of Education)

Transitions: Connecting Words

• Link paragraph ideas together• Provide smooth reading• Like puzzle pieces, connecting words hold the

different parts of an essay together.

Beginning Transitions

• First,• For example,

• One example...• To begin with,• To start with,

Middle Transitions

• Another reason...• Another example...

• Also,• As well as ____,...

• In addition,• Additionally,

Ending Transitions

LastFinally,

In conclusion,In summary,

So you can seeAs one can seeTo summarizeIn my opinion,

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Factual Details

In my opinion, art and music are essential for a well-rounded education.

Music stimulates the brain. Art and music balance core subjects.

Art aides in child development. Art and music are essential to a well-rounded education because music stimulates the brain, they balance curriculum, and aide in child development.

• break from math and reading• different learning styles utilized• “the amount of musical training

the children underwent in the first year of our study correlated with the amount of improvements in the children’s reading fluency” (www.dana.org)

• fine motor skills • creativity: “Art is an experience that

requires freethinking, experimentation, and analysis -- all part of creativity.” ( MaryAnn F. Kohl, art educator and author)

• Expression and communication

•helps me remember things•makes me want to move/dance•stabilizes body rhythms to attain deep focus; baroque music (50-80 beats/min.) leads to better learning of vocabulary, facts, and reading (Johns Hopkins School of Education)

To begin withTo begin with Another reason...Another reason...

As well as balanceAs well as balance To summarize,To summarize,

From Charts to Paragraphs

Introduction Paragraph•Attention Grabber•Topic Sentence•Wrap-up Sentence

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Attention Grabbers

Attention grabbers are techniques you use at the very beginning of an essay as a means to hook your readers' attention and get them interested in your topic. You can use one of several techniques, such as a surprising statistic, a generalization or even a story. However, no matter which method you use, you need to make sure that your hook either supports your thesis or provides an opposing stance to which you can argue.

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Types of Grabbers

General Statement

One effective way to grab your reader's attention is to write a general statement about topic. You could open with a statement, such as "We can all agree that recycling is a good idea." A statement like this introduces your subject in a way that leads you into an argument that will challenge the way readers think about recycling. Your statement may cause them to agree with you or disagree with your opinion before starting your paper.

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Types of Grabbers

Surprising Facts

Surprising facts work as attention grabbers because they teach the reader something interesting and unexpected. These facts can take the form of statistics (numbers, percentages, etc.) or obscure (unusual) information related to your subject. For example, if your essay argues that recycling is a waste of time, you could open with a statistic (number fact) about the shocking number of recyclable items that get thrown in the trash by the garbage men themselves. Remember, if you're going to use a surprising fact or statistic, make sure it works to support your opinion, and isn't just an unrelated gimmick (trick) to get your reader's attention.

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Types of Grabbers

Quotations

Quotations, like surprising facts, are effective for engaging your reader with the subject of your argument. Using quotations also bolsters your credibility because you are citing an outside source to help prove your opinion statement. When quoting somebody directly, make sure to place their words in quotation marks, and attribute the quote to its source. For example, if you are writing an essay stating that uniforms should be worn in schools, you may start your paper with “The school looks very good. The uniforms are a good thing. It will be easy for my wife. She won't have to fight about clothes.” Benjamin Franklin’s words were never truer than in today’s schools.

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Types of Grabbers

Anecdotes (Personal Story)

Perhaps the most effective method of grabbing a reader's attention is to use an anecdote. Anecdotes are short stories that illustrate a point. When opening with a story, start right in the middle of a scene. Use descriptive language to paint the setting, and strong verbs to describe the actions so your reader can experience the events as though they were reading a novel. Furthermore, don't tell readers how they should feel about the anecdote, show them in a way that allows them to figure out the them for themselves. For example, if you're writing a personal essay about your opinion of junk food in schools, don’t tell your reader it’s unhealthy, show them with the story.

Introductory Paragraph Example

“A man paints with his brain and not his hands.” I agree with the masterful painter Michelangelo that the arts and the mind are connected. Because of this, I believe that art and music classes are essential to a well-rounded education. Art and music are critical to a versatile education because they stimulate the brain, balance curriculum, and aide in child development.

INDENT

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Body Paragraph Template• Introduction: transition and support #1 • Detail #1• Explanation, personal experience, or

supportive fact• Detail #2, explanation, personal experience, or

supportive fact• Detail #3, explanation, personal experience, or

supportive fact• Conclusion: restate your introduction in

other words

Body Paragraphs

To begin with, music stimulates the brain. Music helps people remember things. For as long as I can recall, I have used music to memorize information. I still know the names of the fifty states in alphabetical order because I learned them in a song! Music’s rhythm motivates your brain to get up, move around, and even dance. According to Johns Hopkins School of Education, Baroque music’s rhythm of 50-80 beats per minute stabilizes your body rhythms to attain deep focus for better learning of vocabulary, memorizing facts, and reading. As you can see, music stimulates your brain in many ways.

Final Paragraph

• Wrap-up sentence with the connecting words

• To summarize, art and music classes are essential for a well-rounded education because they stimulate the brain, balance curriculum, and aide in child development.