Schaeffer Writing Model

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Schaeffer Writing Model

• Step 1 The Body Paragraph

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Directions

• Divide a sheet of paper into 6 blocks and label
  the blocks as follows
• 1. Topic Sentence
• 2. Concrete Detail
• 3. Commentary
• 4. Chunk
• 5. Concluding Sentence
• 6. Body Paragraph Outline

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Prior Knowledge

• What do you know / remember about these terms?
  Have you seen them before, and do you think you
  might know what they mean? Discuss with your
  table.
• Note Remember, in this class, you will
  always dare to be smart. THINK and voice your
  opinion, even if you arent sure.

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Block 1 Topic Sentence

• 1st sentence of a body paragraph
• Says what the paragraph will be about
• general statement, not a specific detail
• TS

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Block 2 Concrete Detail

• Fact, example, quotation, story, etc.
• Can be proven or found
• Often begins with for example
• Additional concrete details need to be introduced
  with transitions
• CD

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Examples of Concrete Details

• For example, Mrs. Meeching is always wearing
  black.
• Another example is that Mrs. Meeching is called
  cold.
• Finally, even the sound of her name, Meeching, is
  unpleasant.
• For example, in seventh grade I made a C in math.
• Also, when we would play family games, my
  brothers would never let me keep score.
• Worst of all, in college, I was put into a
  remedial algebra class that was made up of the
  football team and me.

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Block 3 - Commentary

• Your analysis, opinion, or explanation of the
  concrete detail
• Opinionated
• this shows that / this is important because
• Should take more than one sentence of commentary
  to explain
• CM

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Examples of commentary

• This shows that the author probably chose Mrs.
  Meechings name in order to give us a clue about
  her creepiness. Her name is used as foreshadowing
  because it makes us realize that she is scary
  even before she actually does anything.

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Block 4 - Chunk

• CD plus CM together
• A chunk must be kept together and completed
  before moving on to a new idea
• The ratio of a well-written chunk is at least 21
  (2 CM for every 1 CD)

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Block 5 Concluding Sentence

• Sums up the entire paragraph
• Has the same idea as the topic sentence but in
  different words
• A general statement, not a concrete detail
• CS

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Basic Body Paragraph Outline

• TS
• CD
• CM
• CM
• CS

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You try it!

• On the back of your paper, write a ONE CHUNK
  paragraph that follows the format
• Use one of the following topics
• How would you describe your personality?
• Why is _____ your best friend?
• Should kids under 16 be allowed to play violent
  video games?
• Why should we keep or abolish Beck Dress Code?

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Check Your Neighbor!

• Identify and label all sentences in the paragraph

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Group Practice

• Follow directions according to your seat number.
• Initial the topic sentence and concluding
  sentence.
• Draw brackets around the three chunks.
• Highlight all concrete details in one color.
• Highlight commentary in another color.
• Check over everyones work and make any change.

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2nd Sheet of Paper

• Topic Choose EITHER
• Which Learner Profile Characteristic do you
  demonstrate the most?
• Which Learner Profile Characteristic do you
  demonstrate the least?

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Beyond the Basics Your Paragraph Outline

• TS
• CD 1
• CM 1A
• CM 1B
• CD 2
• CM 2A
• CM 2B
• CD 3
• CM 3A
• CM 3B
• CS

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Getting Started

• Brainstorm concrete details first (ask yourself,
  when was a time that I showed I was an inquirer,
  etc?)
• Try writing an outline see example
• Example will be posted online

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REMEMBER

• EXTRA SENTENCES ARE OKAY!
• If it takes you more than one sentence to explain
  your concrete detail, thats fine. Just dont
  forget that you should still have multiple
  sentences of commentary.
• If it takes you extra commentary to explain your
  details, fine!