Grad Writing II

Breaking Down the MEAL Plan with the Walden Writing Center: Part 1: The Main Idea

However, to use the MEAL plan effectively to develop and revise paragraphs, it needs a little bit of explanation. In this first of a series of blog posts about the MEAL plan, I’m going to tackle the first letter: M, standing for “main idea.”

The main idea of a paragraph is often called a topic sentence.

There are a few requirements of a topic sentence that you should always check off:

√ You should always have one! Each paragraph should start with a topic sentence—that’s right, each and every paragraph. This type of sentence is that important.

√ The topic sentence needs to introduce the main idea you’ll be exploring or explaining in the rest of the paragraph. It’s sort of like the thesis statement of the paragraph in this way: it helps tell the reader what topic all the sentences in the paragraph will have in common.

√ It probably shouldn’t have a citation. While this isn’t a hard and fast rule, it’s a good guideline. A topic sentence may include research (with a citation), but it usually doesn’t because it should be an overall statement of the paragraph’s focus (rather than a specific idea or fact that needs a citation).

**Misalignment between student preferences and instructor practices regarding writing feedback may impede student learning. This sequential explanatory mixed-methods study addressed postsecondary online students' preferences and the reasons for their preferences. A survey was used to collect 93 responses from postsecondary students attending a large private online university; data collection included interviews with a subsample of 4 participants. Findings indicated students preferred proximal, detailed, supportive feedback to enhance their writing skills and to understand deductions assessed by instructors. Findings may increase instructor awareness of students' preferences and enhance collaboration in the feedback process to promote writing skill development and improve academic outcomes.

In analyzing this paragraph, we can check off all of our requirements for a topic sentence:

√ First, it exists! I know this sounds simple, but students often forget to include topic sentences in their hurry to include evidence from sources.

√ Second, it tells us what this paragraph’s focus will be about. After reading the rest of the paragraph, we can see that all the other sentences reflect this focus—they develop and support this idea that (a) infants and mothers are dying, (b) these deaths are preventable, and (c) this is happening in the third world.

√ Third, the statement is general enough that it doesn’t need a citation. Instead, it’s an overall statement that summarizes the focus of the entire paragraph, not just one idea or fact that would need a citation.

√ Lastly, take another look at the paragraph and imagine if that topic sentence wasn’t there. While each sentence on its own would make sense, we wouldn’t know the main point or idea of the paragraph until the very last sentence. Waiting until the end of the paragraph to understand the paragraph’s main idea impedes the reader’s ability to understand how these sentences fit together.

I hope you’re getting a sense of what a topic sentence looks like and why it is important. However, most writers don’t naturally include topic sentences in their paragraphs, and that’s okay! What’s important is that you are able to revise for topic sentences. To do so, I always suggest that students review each paragraph of a first draft: look for paragraphs that don’t have a topic sentence that fulfills the requirements I outlined above and add or adjust as needed. I need an argument statement, And an explanation statement 

Argument Statement:

The article argues that knowing what kind of written feedback online students prefer helps improve their learning and overall experience.

Explanation:

This is important because the article looks at how different types of feedback affect students’ motivation and success. Understanding what students want makes it easier for teachers to give helpful feedback, leading to better communication and learning in online classes. 

The Structure of an Argument

Background can be the theory that supports your approach, what others have said about your topic,

definitions you want to clarify, etc. It lays the foundation for and justifies your research question. The

background may or may not appear in the writing itself, depending on the scope of the argument.

Main Idea is supported by the evidence and analysis. If the evidence and analysis are logically sound,