Example: Contrast paragraph
Title: Halloween Then and Now
Halloween is very different for my grandchildren than it was for me. To begin with, because their mom (my daughter) is a great bargain finder, they have many well-made costumes to choose from. In contrast, when I was their age, we'd go to the five and dime store, and I'd pick out a cheap and uncomfortable plastic mask that came with a sort of stiff plastic tunic printed with a design suggesting that character. Also, they have many near neighbors' homes where they can trick-or-treat. On the other hand, my parents would have to drive me miles to get to the other far-flung farms where our neighbors lived.Their Halloween fantasies are enhanced by readily available DVD's and videos they can watch right in their home. There were no such things when I was in school, and if you wanted to watch a scary show, you had to catch it at the time it was shown on one of your two or three TV channels. There was no way to record it and watch it while you warmed up after returning from collecting candy. Though my grandchildren have better costumes, closer neighbors, and more access to Halloween media, my childhood memories of the holiday will always be precious and magical to me just as their memories will be for them.
Blue Introduction (topic sentence)
Yellow: First detail from both sides
Orange : Second detail from both sides
Purple: Third detail from both sides
Red: Conclusion/Concluding sentence
or
Halloween is very different for my grandchildren than it was for me.Because their mom (my daughter) is a great bargain finder, they have many well-made costumes to choose from. Also, they have many near neighbors' homes where they can trick-or-treat. Their Halloween fantasies are enhanced by readily available DVD's and videos they can watch right in their home. In contrast, when I was their age, we'd go to the five and dime store, and I'd pick out a cheap and uncomfortable plastic mask that came with a sort of stiff plastic tunic printed with a design suggesting that character. Also, my parents would have to drive me miles to get to the other far-flung farms where our neighbors lived. Finally, there were no such things as DVD's or videos or TiVo when I was in school, and if you wanted to watch a scary show, you had to catch it at the time it was shown on one of your two or three TV channels. There was no way to record it and watch it while you warmed up after returning from collecting candy. Though my grandchildren have better costumes, closer neighbors, and more access to Halloween media, my childhood memories of the holiday will always be precious and magical to me just as their memories will be for them. 
Green Introduction (topic sentence)
Yellow: First detail from one side.
Orange: Second detail from one side
Purple: Third detail from one side
Red: First detail from the other side.
Orange: Second detail from the other side
Purple: Third detail from the other side
Red: Conclusion/Concluding sentence
Prompt for students: When your grandparents were growing up, life was different in many ways. Select one particular aspect of life and write a paragraph showing the differences between the way it was for them and the way it is for you.
Another contrast paragraph:
Sample Contrast Paragraph
My Dogs
Although I raised Marcee and Obbie from puppies, they have completely diverse personalities. Obbie is a six year old, male, toy Pomeranian whereasMarcee is a one year old, female, Boston terrier. Obbie is small and soft,unlike Marcee who has bristly hair and is much bigger. Marcee insists on sleeping on the bed, under the covers every night. On the other hand, Obbie will only sleep on the floor, under the bed. Obbie is tremendously loyal and uptight; however, Marcee is hyper and friendly to anyone she meets or sees. Around other dogs, Marcee cowers to the larger dog, yet Obbie will always stand his ground, never giving up until he is scolded. Given that they were both treated the same way all their life, it is hard to believe that they are so different in everything they do.
~© 2005 Kayla Marie Anfinson~ found at http://english120.pbworks.com/w/page/19006879/FrontPage
More on writing paragraphs:
http://freeology.com/graphicorgs/pdf/hamburger.pdf
More information on writing paragraphs:
http://www.greenville.k12.sc.us/taylorse/Taylors%20Elementary%20Curriculum%20Information/paragraph.asp
Basics of writing a paragraph:
1. Make sure today's date is at the head of this entry.
2. Skip a line.
3. Indent the next line and begin with your topic sentence.
4. Create another sentence that supports the topic sentence.
5. Create another sentence that supports the topic sentence.
6. Create another sentence that supports the topic sentence.
7. Add your closing/concluding sentence. This sentence leaves the reader feeling that the piece has been wrapped up/finished.
8. Now, go back to #2 and give your paragraph a title that tells the subject of the paragraph.
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