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Structuring Your Personal Statement: Body Paragraphs

Body paragraphs are the meat of your essay, and as such are the most important component of your essay. In the body paragraphs, you will expand upon and provide support for the theme you introduced in the first paragraph and will provide the details that move that theme forward. A two page essay will typically contain 2-4 body paragraphs. Each paragraph contains:主题段落是文章的"肉体"，也是文章最重要的组成部分。应在主题部分为开头段落提供更加详实的内容和细节。一份两页纸的个人陈述一般需要2到4段的主题。

	A topic sentence that expands your theme and makes a transition from the previous paragraph 主题句用来进一步说明主题，并进行过渡。
	Development of ideas that support your essay's theme 段落结束句应该自然过渡到下一个段落。
	An ending sentence that wraps up the paragraph and helps to transition into the next paragraph

The first body paragraph is the place to start building your support for your theme. Here you will begin with the smallest components of your theme and, in subsequent paragraphs, work toward the most significant. Or you can organize chronologically. Try both methods and see which one is most persuasive for your particular theme.主题段落可以按照时间顺序描述，也可以从简单到复杂。

TIP: As you draft each paragraph, use the following Signpost Questions in as you develop your essay to help ensure that you have developed your paragraphs fully.利用下面的路标问题思考主题段落的框架和内容。

Introduction and/or First Body Paragraph

What are my values and philosophies about my theme? What is the basis of these values? 主题的价值和思想是什么？

Body Paragraphs 2-4

	What accomplishment am I most proud of, and why? 最引以为荣的成就是什么？
	What incident/event provides evidence of my responsibility, and how? 个人的责任心如何体现的。
	What difficulties or disadvantages have I faced and how did I overcome them? (This is especially important if you are applying for the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP). 我面临的困难和不利条件是什么，如何克服的。
	What is one area in which I am weak, and how have I overcome it? 弱势是哪个方面，如何克服的。

TIP: Avoid simplistic transitions between paragraphs. If your topic sentences (generally the first sentence in each paragraph) all begin with some sort of numerical transition (first, second, third, finally), or you find yourself relying to heavily on "also" to move your paragraphs forward, look for more interesting and sophisticated transition words and phrases to move the essay along. 尽量不要用第一第二第三第四这种结构，用更加有趣的过渡词汇。

Here is a sample essay to help you visualize this structure and development.

Go back to Introductions Move forward to Conclusions