Breaking Down the MEAL Plan:
Beginning with the Main Idea
Monday, April 21, 2014
Featured , Organization , Paragraphs
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The MEAL plan* of paragraph development and organization is a popular acronym at Walden.
Whenever I ask students if they've heard of it, at least half already have and the other half
immediately start taking notes as I explain it. The reason it's popular is clear. It's easy to
remember and helps to demystify a topic that can seem quite murky: paragraphs.
Breaking Down
the MEAL Plan
a 4-part series
on writing strong paragraphs
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.
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 outlined above, and add or adjust as needed.
* The MEAL plan is adapted from the Duke University Writing Studio.
For an explanation of evidence in a paragraph, see our next post in the series.
There are a few requirements of a topic sentence that you should always check off:
ſ 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
5 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).
Here's a sample paragraph with a topic sentence:
Many infant and mother deaths can be prevented, especially in the third
world. Worldwide, around 11,000,000 children under 5 years old die primarily
from preventable diseases, and over 500,000 mothers die from pregnancy- or
delivery-related complications annually; almost 99% of these occur in developing
countries (Hil et al., 2007). This high number is devastating because while
infants in these countries have a high risk of dying, their risk does not stop once
they are adults. For women, the lifetime risk of dying from pregnancy and
childbirth-related causes is about 100 times higher in Bangladesh than in
developed countries (WHO, 2004). The continued failures in implementing
straightforward interventions targeting the root causes of mortalities have been
responsible for these deaths (McCoy, 2006). The medical community has not been
able to come up with simple, cost-effective, and life-saving methods that would
help save lives in developing countries. This lack of innovation in the medical
field has resulted in the continued unnecessary deaths of thousands of mothers
and children.
Reading Research Articles: 4 Approaches
Read with a critical eye.
#1: SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review)
TTE
Survey
Preview the reading.
?
Question
Develop questions
to keep you reading
Read
Answer the questions
as you read.
Recite
Summarize out loud.
Review
(and Reflect)
Skim your notes.
Best for: Remembering and understanding the material.
#2: KWL (Know, Want to Know, Learned)
1. Ask:
2. Ask:
3. Read.
4. Ask:
What do I already
know about the topic?
What do I
want to learn?
What did I learn?
Record.
Record.
Record.
Best for: Connecting and processing learning.
#3: Strategic Reading
Title
Abstract
Discussion
and Conclusion
Results/
Findings
Back to Introduction
and Read Onward
Best for: Determining usefulness and understanding context.
#4: Three Links
Examine the relationship among research components.
Research
Question
Method
and Evidence
Conclusions
Best for: Evaluating cohesion of a study.
For more information, visit the Academic Skills Center's web page on Developing Your Reading Skills.
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