Sophisticated Paragraphs (Notes from 3/12)

3/12

Sophisticated Paragraphs

Objective: To write sophisticated paragraphs on our topics, including our own observations and ideas about what we are learning.

King Henry VIII was a bad man. He divorced two of his wives and beheaded two. I don’t think he should have done that.

Elements of a BAD Paragraph: Do NOT do this!:

• Unsophisticated vocabulary
• Not detailed enough
• Use of “I.” We are the experts, we do not refer to ourselves.
• Too short (simple clauses)
• Boring
• Unoriginal

King Henry VIII was a man who became so conceited and obsessed with his own power as king that he believed that the rules of society and his religion did not apply to him. When the pope would not allow him to get divorced, he created his own Church of England in order to obtain a divorce. When two of his wives hurt his ego by their alleged unfaithfulness, he decided they no longer deserved to live and he beheaded them. His actions are those of a narcissist and history will remember him as a conceited, selfish, and domineering man.

Elements of a Sophisticated Paragraph:

• Complex sentences (multiple clauses)
• Sophisticated vocabulary
• Interesting
• Original ideas

• Three sophisticated sentences are better than seven boring ones!

To Do:

1. Write your own sophisticated paragraph on your topic:

• Go back and look at your notes and think about

• Why this is important
• Connections
• Your opinion
• Makes you think
• New ideas