Five rooms of taking writing apart. This one you build. A paragraph is one claim and the reasons that hold it up, arranged in a shape you chose on purpose. Everything from the band comes back in a different direction: the topic sentence is a main idea you wrote rather than found, the reasons are the details, the shape is the structure, and the last sentence does the job the theme did. Five tabs — cards for the parts and the drafting moves, hints with the build order and a revision checklist, a quiz that makes you spot the sentence that does not belong in someone else's paragraph, and a workshop where you sort sentences into a paragraph, order the drafting steps, label a finished one and write your own.
Start with the claim — one sentence that could be wrong. Then list reasons. That last line is true and about Rudy, and it holds nothing up.
A paragraph is one claim and the reasons that hold it up. Write the claim first and make sure it could be wrong. Give reasons, and put something checkable under each one. Pick your shape before you draft and use its transitions. Close with more than a repeat. Then hold every sentence against the claim and cut what holds nothing up.
Two things people get wrong
⚠️People often think…
It is about my subject and it is true, so it belongs in my paragraph.
“Rudy is brown with one white ear” is true and it is about Rudy — and it does nothing for the claim that he solves problems. On topic was never the test. The test is whether it holds the claim up, and a sentence that does not is exactly what makes a paragraph go soft.
Cut it even if you like it. Especially if you like it.
⚠️People often think…
I will start writing and the point will turn up somewhere.
It almost never does. What turns up is four true sentences about the same subject, none of them supporting anything, because there was nothing to support. The claim is what gives the other sentences jobs — without it you cannot tell a working sentence from a passenger.
Say the claim out loud in one sentence before you write anything.
Claim, reasons, evidence, close
1Watch one
Turn “recess should be longer” into the start of a real paragraph.
Check the claim can be wrong. It can — someone could argue the opposite. Keep it.
List reasons, and test each with because: because we come back able to concentrate; because it is the only time we sort out arguments ourselves.
Put something checkable under each: the class after a short recess is the noisiest of the day; last term two arguments got settled at recess and neither reached a teacher.
Pick the shape. This is problem and solution, so the transitions are “the trouble is” and “one answer would be”.
2Do one with me
Name the part of a paragraph each job belongs to.
The sentence that states the claim is the
A fact somebody else could go and check is
A sentence that is true but holds nothing up should be
💬One sentence, then you move on
Why must a topic sentence be something that could be wrong?
3Try one
Before you draft a single sentence, what do you write? Write one word.
I want a hint first
Three rooms ago you were hunting for other people’s. Now you write your own.
Where this goes
Where this lives
Every written answer you will ever give is this: an email asking for something, a test response, a note explaining why you were late. Claim, support, and nothing that holds nothing up.
What this feeds
That finishes the 3–5 band. The same move waits at 9–10 on harder material — longer texts, and writers who hide the claim on purpose.
Write one paragraph today about anything, and cut one sentence from it.
One card at a time — tap “Show me” to check yourself, then Next. Start at Foundation; when those feel easy, climb.
Helpful Hints
⚡ The one idea
A paragraph is one claim and the reasons that hold it up. That is the same shape you have been pulling out of other people's writing for five rooms — a main idea with details underneath. The only thing that changes now is the direction: you decide the claim first, then arrange the support so it is hard to refuse.
🪜 The build order
1 · Write the claim. One sentence, and it must be able to be wrong.
2 · List your reasons. Aim for three, and cut any that repeats another.
3 · Pick the shape — order, cause, comparison, problem. Pick before you draft.
4 · Draft, using the transitions that belong to that shape.
5 · Close with a sentence that says more than the opening did.
6 · Revise: hold every sentence against the claim and cut what does not hold it up.
📊 The parts of a paragraph
Part
Its job
Test it by asking
Topic sentence
states the claim
Could this be wrong?
Reason
says why the claim holds
Does this hold the claim up?
Evidence
a fact or example under a reason
Could someone check this?
Transition
shows how two sentences connect
Does it match my shape?
Closing sentence
says what it all adds up to
Is this more than a repeat?
✂️ The revision cut
Read each sentence and ask one question: does this hold the claim up? If the answer is no, cut it — even if it is your favorite sentence, even if it is true, even if it is about the same subject. A sentence that is about the topic but does nothing for the claim is exactly the one that makes a paragraph go soft.
🎯 How you will be asked
“Write a paragraph explaining why…”
“Which sentence does NOT belong in this paragraph?”
“Which sentence would be the best topic sentence?”
“Add a transition between these two sentences.”
“How could this paragraph be improved?”
✅ Before the test, can you…
Write a topic sentence that could be wrong?
Name your shape before you start drafting?
Tell a reason from a fact that restates the claim?
Write a closing sentence that is not the opening again?
Cut a sentence you liked because it held nothing up?
Pick your level
Look back at anything you missed — the hint that appeared is exactly what to reread tonight.
How sure did you feel?
Workshop
Build one yourself: sort twelve sentences from a rough draft, put the drafting steps in order, label a finished paragraph, then write your own claim with reasons under it.
Your practice never leaves this device. There is no account and no sign-in. Your work is saved in this browser only, and you can erase it whenever you want.
Your practice record — saved on this device
This is your record of the module on screen — it stays here and goes nowhere. Independent means you got it right on the first tap; supported means you got it after the explain-and-retry, or marked ‘I had it’ on a revealed answer. Both count, and neither is a grade. If your teacher asks, copy the row or show them this screen.
Date
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Topic
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Level
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Independent
0 of 0
Supported
0 of 0
Hints used
0
Cards studied
0
Lab
—
Traps met
0
Explained in own words
0
Confidence
—
The answer key is for a teacher: it prints only from here, for the unit on screen. Print the study packet prints the study pages and a blank quiz — never the answers.