The body of the paper will provide supporting evidence to support the thesis in a logical, fully developed, and consistent manner. For each new subtopic supporting the overall thesis, provide a topic sentence or two. Each topic sentence is a thesis for that subtopic and supports the controlling thesis for the entire paper.  While there are creative ways to construct a research report, here is a simple way to format the information in the body of your essay. 

Body Paragraph Format: 

• Main Idea: The main idea is typically the first sentence in the body paragraph.  It also refers to one of the main points highlighted in the thesis statement.  The purpose of this sentence is to announce what the main idea of this paragraph will be.  This is typically one or two sentences long. 

• Evidence: Evidence typically requires two steps.  First, introduce the evidence.  Provide information about the source material and its relevance to the main idea.  Second, insert the quote using proper MLA in-text citation.  Please note that the final sentence in any paragraph should not be a quote or quoted material. Always follow any sourced material with an analysis of the quote. 

• Analysis: This section analyzes the quote in regard to the main idea of the paragraph.  Connect the importance of the quote to the main idea and to the position in your thesis statement.  This can be the longest section of a body paragraph.  It typically requires 2 - 3 sentences to fully discuss the importance of the quote as it relates to your main idea. 

• Conclusion/Transition: Either summarize the main point of the body paragraph or move the essay to the next idea with a transition word. 

For more information about writing the body paragraphs, click here.