Student Illustration Paragraph

Casandra Palmer

Gifts from the Heart

PREDICT After reading the title, what do you think the paragraph will be about?

image

Casandra Palmer graduated from the University of Akron / Wayne College in 2009. After completing her essay “Gifts from the Heart,” Casandra went on to seek publication in her campus paper at the encouragement of her instructor. She spent a few days revising the essay and looked to feedback from others to help strengthen the clarity of her points. With plans to continue writing for publication when time allows, Casandra enjoys reading inspirational novels and offers this advice to other student writers: “Learn all you can and never give up. Follow your dreams!”

REFLECT Have you ever received a gift that made you laugh or cry?

143
In our home, gift exchanges have always been meaningful items to us. We do not just give things so that everyone has lots of presents. Each item has a purpose, such as a need or something that someone has desired for a long time. Some things have been given that may have made the other person laugh or cry. I remember one Christmas, our daughter Hannah had her boyfriend, who looked a lot like Harry Potter, join us. We wanted to include him, but we did not know him well, so it was hard to know what to give him. We decided to get Hannah a Harry Potter poster and crossed out the name Harry Potter. In place of Harry Potter, we put her boyfriend’s name. Everyone thought it was funny, and we were all laughing, including Hannah’s boyfriend. It was a personal gift that he knew we had thought about. For some reason, Hannah did not think it was so funny, but she will still remember it. Another meaningful gift came from watching the movie Titanic with my other daughter, Tabitha. We both cried hard and hugged each other. She surprised me by getting a necklace that resembled the gem known as “Heart of the Ocean.” I was so touched that she gave me something to remind me of the experience we shared. These special moments have left lasting impressions on my heart.

  1. Double-underline the topic sentence.
  2. Underline the examples that support the main point.
  3. Circle the transitions.
  4. Does the paragraph have the Four Basics of Good Illustration (p. 132)? Why or why not? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  5. Does the paragraph use a particular kind of organization, like time, space, or importance? Does that choice help the paragraph’s effectiveness or not? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________