Writing - The Sandwich Paragraphs and the Last Slice for CBEST Exam Study Guide

Transition Sentences

A transition sentence joins two paragraphs together in some way. Usually, an idea taken from one paragraph links with an idea in a second paragraph. This is done in one sentence. Sometimes you can do this at the end of one paragraph to link it to the next, but often it's effective to build your transition right into your topic sentence, as you did with the first body paragraph. For instance, take the topic sentence for your second body paragraph:

Children benefit from a school uniform policy.

How can you link parents, the subject of your first body paragraph, to children? Try something like this:

Not only are parents happy to see a uniform policy in place, but their children benefit as well.

Voilà, a transition that links together body paragraphs one and two.

You can also put your transition at the end of the previous paragraph, rather than at the beginning of the new one. For instance, you can put a sentence like this at the end of your paragraph on children to lead into the paragraph about teachers and administrators:

Children are happy with the school uniform policy, but not as happy as their teachers and principals.

Now add the subpoints from your outline to your second and third body paragraphs. (Are you still looking for the mistakes in these paragraphs?)

Not only are parents happy to see a uniform policy in place, but their children benefit as well. If you were poor wouldn't you feel bad if you were not dressed as well as your peers. Children who dress differently are alienated from cliques at school and left to feel like outsiders and are teased unmercifully and end up losing a lot of self-esteem and so maybe they will grow up bitter and make bad choices in life that could hurt themselves or someone else. Dressing in uniform eliminates that problem. Instead you feel a sense of belonging. You are less distracted by comparing your clothes to others so you are more apd to be relaxed and quieter in school. This enables them to learn more. Children might be happy with the school uniform policy but not as happy as their teachers and principals

Uniforms cost no extra money for teachers and administrators yet the benefits are great. There is less competition in school so there is less fights. The reason is because there is less bullying and teasing and there is a lot less complaints. Instead, principals and teachers were able to use uniforms to build school pride and loyalty. Administrators and teachers will be able to concentrate on what they love to do most—teach—instead of dealing with problems from children and parents.

Hot Tip

Write neatly! The scorers do not want to take time to stop and decipher your words. If a word appears illegible or spelled wrong (an i looks like an e), erase the letter or word neatly and write it again. If your handwriting is illegible, print.

The Conclusion

The concluding paragraph is one of the most difficult to compose. A good format to follow is to first restate your thesis, and then try for a "clincher," something that will leave your readers with a sense of closure.

So in the first sentence or two, restate your thesis. Do not add any new ideas here. This is a good place to try out parallel form.

Adopting a uniform policy will lighten the burden of parents. It will promote cheerfulness and scholarship in children. Lastly, it will free the time and talents of teachers and administrators.

The concluding paragraph in a narrative essay could sum up the story.

I can look back now on that day long ago. I was at the crossroads. I knew I loved children and that my parents would be proud. I signed up for teacher training.

The last sentence or two should contain the clincher. Its purpose is to end the paragraph gracefully and leave the reader with a sense of finality.

Hot Tip

Although you aren't required to write a title, it helps the judges to see that you are an organized and thoughtful writer. Leave a few lines blank at the beginning of your essay, since you might not come up with a title until you're nearly finished. Make sure your title captures the main idea of your essay. "Uniforms: Boon or Bane?" would not be appropriate for an essay that mostly deals with the positive reasons for uniforms because it suggests there are two sides to the story. "In Praise of Uniforms" would be better.

The last sentence of a persuasive essay may be a call to action, a question, a prediction, or a personal comment.You might add one of these clinchers to the thesis summary on school uniforms:

What are we waiting for? We need to talk to our teachers, principals, and school boards, and give our children ALL the tools we can that are essential for their growth and development.

Since school uniforms do so much good,would you want your school to miss out?

For a narrative essay, this last sentence could state your opinion, or talk about someone, even yourself, who will never be the same. You might add one of these sentences about your decision to go into teacher training:

I am glad I did.
My world will never be the same.
I often wonder how many children's lives will be changed because of one decision on that one April day.

It can be difficult to write this last sentence or two, but you need to supply your readers with something that makes your essay memorable.

Once you have your ideas down on paper, it's important to see that they are clearly and correctly expressed—unlike the paragraphs found in this lesson. Go on to Writing 4 and Writing 5 to see how to make your sentence structure and word choice work for you.