The main body of your essay is where you need to elaborate on each of your supporting points.
For the essays that are required for most standardized tests, the main body will normally be two to four paragraphs in length.
With one paragraph for your introduction and another final paragraph for your conclusion, this means that essays for standardized tests will usually consist of four to six paragraphs altogether.
When you begin to write your essay, you may find it useful to jot down a list of your thoughts on the subject.
Main Body − Exercise 1
Let’s continue by looking at our topic: Is it fair for students to be graded on group projects?
Make a list of points that you wish to discuss in your essay. Then check your work against the suggested answer provided below.
When you have made your list, have a look at the following notes.
Is it fair for students to be graded on group projects?
- some students sometimes fail to attend group meetings
- students in a group have different ability levels
- arguments can take place among students in the group
- some students will not do the required work
- if a presentation is required, some students will not want to speak
- the teacher sometimes has to intervene
Main Body − Exercise 2
Now have another look at your notes and see if you can combine your points into three main ideas. Each of these three main ideas will form the basis of your main body paragraphs.
Then check your response against the suggested answer provided below.
We can regroup our ideas as follows:
1) Lack of full participation by certain group members
- some students sometimes fail to attend group meetings
- some students will not do the required work
2) Differences in skills and abilities
- students in a group have different ability levels
- if a presentation is required, some students will not want to speak
3) Reasons why the group project is not a cooperative endeavor
- arguments can take place among students in the group
- the teacher sometimes has to intervene
Main Body − Exercise 3
Now write your main body paragraphs based on the notes you have made.
Then have a look at the sample main body paragraphs below.
First of all, group projects are unfair because there is often a lack of full participation by certain group members. This failure to participate can take various forms. For instance, certain students may fail to attend group meetings at which tasks are to be allocated or work is to be discussed. Further, even if all of the students attend the group meetings, some students may not actually complete the work that they have agreed to do.
In addition, students can have noticeable disparities in their skills and abilities. It may seem a harsh comment, but some students are simply more capable than others. As a result, the more capable students may end up picking up the slack when the less capable students fail to perform in the group. Moreover, students can have vast differences in their personal preferences. Some students may love public speaking, while others loathe it. As a result, if a presentation is required, some students will not want to speak in front of the class.
Finally, the group project is not a cooperative endeavor in reality. Disagreements and differences of opinion are natural in any group setting, and arguments can take place among students in the group as the pressure to complete the project becomes too intense. It sometimes happens that the teacher will be told about these troubles. When the educator has to intervene in the project that he or she has assigned, clearly the goal of cooperation has not been achieved.