essay writing sandwich diagram example

• Start diagramming Start diagramming

Figma design

Design and prototype in one place

Collaborate with a digital whiteboard

Translate designs into code

Get the desktop, mobile, and font installer apps

See the latest features and releases

• Prototyping
• Design systems
• Wireframing
• Online whiteboard
• Team meetings
• Strategic planning
• Brainstorming
• Diagramming
• Product development
• Web development
• Design handoff
• Product managers

Organizations

Config 2024

Register to attend in person or online — June 26–27

Creator fund

Build and sell what you love

User groups

Join a local Friends of Figma group

Learn best practices at virtual events

Customer stories

Read about leading product teams

Stories about bringing new ideas to life

Get started

• Developer docs
• Best practices
• Reports & insights
• Resource library
• Help center

FigJam Savor wordsmithing with our sandwich writing template

Refine your writing chops and serve your message with clarity when you use this interactive layering template to whip up the perfect triple-decker piece of content.

Sandwich writing template

Make essay writing as carefree as a picnic lunch, and easily shareable with everyone who attends.

Effective writing, as simple as PB&J

Don’t feel obligated to skip lunch—our essay writing sandwich diagram speeds up the process while maintaining integrity.

Deconstruct your plate: Visualize each layer for a purposeful, curated stack, from intro to conclusion.

Source fresh ingredients: Keep arguments airtight when you find credible evidenceto back up each idea.

Share with a friend: Invite a peer or mentor to fashion their own artisanal “sandwich,” then swap paragraphs for feedback.

FigJam What better condiment than FigJam?

Whether you’re writing for work, school, or a personal project, you’ll want to share your literary delicacies. Whip up something special as you taste-test ideas and concoct compelling paragraphs. FigJam’s pantry of resources is here to keep things sweet.

Make it a combo meal

Everybody knows the best sandwiches come with chips and a drink. Round out your writing projectwith more of FigJam’s customizable templates.

Design brief

Describe your visual ideas in written form.

Drawing template

Get creative juices flowing and doodle your way to clarity.

Other templates from the community

FigJam’s deli counter of resources is sure to satisfy hungry minds.

How to make a sandwich writing template?

First, download FigJam’s free template and begin plugging ideas into your sandwich chart writing prompt.

With your overarching topic in mind, start by zooming into one specific paragraph and determining the content of this specific section. If you’re writing an essay about controversial sandwiches that deserve induction into the modern zeitgeist, for example, you’ll want to choose the focus and goal for one particular paragraph—perhaps a strong case for the official sandwich-ification of two pancakes with scrambled eggs in the middle?

What is the sandwich technique in writing?

The sandwich paragraph writing template is a layered approach to essay writing, mimicking the shape of a classic sandwich. The sandwich technique, or sandwich rule, states that your paragraph has the same structural needs as a sandwich—bread to hold your sandwich contents together, a slice of cheese or condiment between two patties, and so on.

As such, your introduction is the top piece of bread, your conclusion is the bottom, and your main idea or arguments are delicious toppings. Any topics or insights that you include should be framed within the context of your essay, and the content needs to be substantially reliable. By following this layout, you’re guaranteed to produce top-quality writing and delicious handhelds.

How do you write a sandwich paragraph?

Start with the bread—your topic sentence—then add three tasty toppings that complement each other: facts, quotes, or statistics that work together to help prove your point. In between these hefty chunks, you can add cheese and lettuce in the form of introduction and transition sentences. You’ll finish out the sandwich with a final slice of bread, this time acting as a conclusion.

With a ready-made sandwich writing template, you can easily turn your outline into a well-substantiated and compelling paragraph. And if you do this for every paragraph, you’ll have a full picnic basket of an essay.

Other templates you might like

Explore 1,000+ templates on the Figma community

Explore even more templates, widgets, and plugins—all built by the Figma community.

Free Editable Hamburger Paragraph Examples

Frequently writing reports and paragraphs is common for students and professionals. In writing paragraphs, the thing that matters the most is your original writing. Even if you use helping content and websites, your writing skills will demonstrate your understanding of the topic. Hamburger paragraph is the most suitable graphic organizer for writing essays, paragraphs and reports.

1. What is a Hamburger Paragraph?

A hamburger paragraph is a graphic organizers that illustrates the key parts of paragraphs or other writings. It outlines the main points of various writings such as reports and essays to ensure that the writer follows the correct format and information hierarchy. Educators use hamburger graphic organizers to help students understand how to convert their ideas into organized text. With its help, most students learn to share their concepts with cohesive paragraphs and better understand paragraph writing structure.

2. Hamburger Paragraph Examples

Here are some of the most commonly used hamburger paragraph templates from EdrawMax's templates community. The purpose of these templates is to help students understand the concept of writing structures and idea organization. A hamburger graphic organizer makes it easier to visually represent the relationship between information in any paragraph or report. Our paragraph hamburger templates examples will help you better understand hamburger format writing. Check out these examples and pick a suitable template for your writing assignment.

Example 1: Hamburger Paragraph

This is a hamburger paragraph template. There are three parts of a paragraph hamburger. The first part is the top bun, which is the topic sentence of your writing. In this part, you explain your paragraph and your main idea. Under the topic sentence, you add the burger filling, which contains supporting information regarding your topic sentence. The third part is the bottom bun of the hamburger. You conclude your paragraph in this section by writing a few sentences about your main idea and making a reference to your topic sentence.

Example 2: Hamburger Graphic Organizer

This is an example of a hamburger graphic organizer. Students use these templates to make assignments and improve their writing skills and idea organization. The hamburger in this template contains five parts. The top bun where students add their topic sentence and give the main idea. The second part contains supporting sentences to provide more information about the topic. The third part connects to the second part and gives more supporting information about the subject. With such a template, you can keep adding supportive details till you prove your point and reach a conclusion.

Example 3: Hamburger Writing

Hamburger writing outlines come in various formats, but the key structure of each hamburger graphic organizer is similar. The template in this example resembles a hamburger from the inside and outside. The topic, supporting, and conclusion are part of the hamburger. Paragraph hamburger template helps you understand an ideal way to depict the relationship between pieces of information. The paragraph starts with the topic sentence and the main idea. In the filling section, you add two or three supporting paragraphs and conclude your writing in the last area.

Example 4: Hamburger Paragraph Writing Template

A hamburger paragraph writing template is mainly used for teaching purposes, and it helps students understand various writing structures and graphic organizers. There is a hamburger on the left side and a writing area on the right side in this example. The colors and lines represent which part of the hamburger represents which part of the paragraph. The top bun is the topic sentence, the filling is the supporting sentence, the bottom bun is the conclusion sentence. Students have to write the main idea, details and conclusion of the paragraph in an organized order.

Example 5: Hamburger Paragraph Examples

This is one of the most commonly used hamburger paragraph examples. There are three parts to this sandwich template. The topic sentence is the first part where students write the main idea of the target paragraph to explain the purpose of their writing. The second part is the body of the sandwich, which is further divided into two or three sections. Each of these sections contains details and supporting sentences regarding the topic sentence. All arguments and related information are mostly written in the body. In the last part, students conclude their writing and give their final thoughts.

Example 6: Hamburger Paragraph Template

The hamburger paragraph templates use a hamburger as a metaphor to describe the writing structure of any paragraph or report. The first section of the paragraph is the topic sentence that resembles any hamburger's top bun, and it provides the main idea and direction of the paragraph in question. The second section is the details and support statements that resemble the filling in a hamburger. The third section is the paragraph's conclusion that mirrors the bottom bun of a hamburger.

Click on the image to edit. Source: EdrawMax Online

3. Online Hamburger Graphic Organizer Maker

A graphic organizer maker is a helping tool for educators and students to create hamburger graphic organizers for assignments and other teaching purposes. EdrawMax Online is the best hamburger graphic organizer maker out there. Most educators use paragraph hamburgers to teach their students, but they don't usually have spare time to make a graphic designer from scratch because it takes some time and effort.

With EdrawMax, teachers can use professional templates and customization tools to create any graphic organizer in minutes. Having pre-made templates makes all the difference because there is zero possibility of making any mistake or using the wrong format.

4. Key Takeaways

Hamburger paragraph helps students understand how to organize ideas and share their concepts. It is a creative method to showcase the ideal paragraph writing structure. The hamburger graphic organizer contains the key parts of a paragraph, and it takes a hamburger as a metaphor to organize information. It helps increase students' creativity while learning how to relate information in paragraphs.

As a result, it is important to find a stauible tool for making hamburger paragraph examples. EdrawMax Online is an ideal graphic organizer maker, because it only takes a few clicks for you to select a template and create a hamburger graphic organizer . You also find many shapes and icons in its symbol library. Find more graphic organizer template in the template community.

Best Ideas on Designing a Father's Day Cards

NBA Playoffs 2024 | A Quick Guide for Beginners

Best Ideas on Mother's Day Cards Printable

A Detailed Guide on Easter Flyers Designs

Basics of Easter Printables

10+ free card templates.

• Link to facebook
• Link to linkedin
• Link to twitter
• Link to youtube
• Writing Tips

Hamburger Paragraph Template for Essay Writing

3-minute read

• 3rd November 2023

It almost sounds like something you might see on a menu at a fast-food restaurant, but a “hamburger paragraph” is a method of essay writing often taught in schools to help students structure their paragraphs effectively. Just as a burger consists of various layers that come together to create a satisfying whole, an essay is built up of paragraphs that follow a specific structure.

In this blog post, we’ll explore the concept of a hamburger paragraph and how it can serve as a handy template for essay writing.

Hamburger Paragraph Template

The template below lists the “ingredients” of a hamburger paragraph:

Top Bun (Topic Sentence):

Introduce the main idea of the paragraph .

Filling (Supporting Detail #1):

Introduce your first supporting detail or example that backs up your main idea.

Filling (Supporting Detail #2):

Introduce your second supporting detail or example.

Filling (Supporting Detail #3):

Introduce your third supporting detail or example. Note: Depending on the depth required, you may have more or fewer supporting details.

Bottom Bun (Concluding Sentence):

Wrap up the paragraph by restating or summarizing the main idea – or transition to the next paragraph . Ensure that every main point or idea presented in the paragraph is well-supported and rounded off with a conclusion or transition.

Example of a Hamburger Paragraph Using the Template

Here’s a paragraph about dogs written following the hamburger paragraph method:

Find this useful?

Subscribe to our newsletter and get writing tips from our editors straight to your inbox.

Dogs have a reputation for being loyal companions.

Filling #1:

Historically, dogs have been known to travel vast distances to reunite with their owners.

Filling #2:

Many breeds have been specifically bred for their loyalty traits, such as Golden Retrievers and German Shepherds.

Filling #3:

Pet owners’ personal experiences further support the claim, with countless stories of dogs displaying unwavering loyalty in various situations.

Bottom Bun:

With their history, breeding, and the personal anecdotes of many, it’s clear why dogs are cherished for their loyalty.

The  hamburger template assists writers, especially those new to essay writing, in assembling a well-structured essay, helping them organize their thoughts and research into a logical format that readers can easily follow. Students can use this structure to ensure they’re fleshing out their ideas adequately and maintaining a logical flow throughout their essays.

So next time you’re writing an essay, think of your paragraphs as a delicious stack of hamburger paragraphs, with each one adding a unique flavor to your overall composition. If you’d like a professional proofreader to review your essay and its structure once you’ve completed your first draft, we’d be happy to help. Check out our essay proofreading services , or try us out by submitting a free sample !

Share this article:

Post A New Comment

Got content that needs a quick turnaround? Let us polish your work. Explore our editorial business services.

How to insert a text box in a google doc.

Google Docs is a powerful collaborative tool, and mastering its features can significantly enhance your...

2-minute read

How to Cite the CDC in APA

If you’re writing about health issues, you might need to reference the Centers for Disease...

5-minute read

Six Product Description Generator Tools for Your Product Copy

Introduction If you’re involved with ecommerce, you’re likely familiar with the often painstaking process of...

What Is a Content Editor?

Are you interested in learning more about the role of a content editor and the...

4-minute read

The Benefits of Using an Online Proofreading Service

Proofreading is important to ensure your writing is clear and concise for your readers. Whether...

6 Online AI Presentation Maker Tools

Creating presentations can be time-consuming and frustrating. Trying to construct a visually appealing and informative...

Make sure your writing is the best it can be with our expert English proofreading and editing.

Hamburger Graphic Organizer Complete Guide

Edraw content team, do you want to make your hamburger graphic ogranizer.

EdrawMax specializes in diagramming and visualizing. Learn from this hamburger graphic organizer complete guide to know everything about hamburger graphic organizer. Just try it free now!

Students and experts often write reports and paragraphs for educational purposes. The most important part of writing paragraphs is their original writing. Your writing abilities will indicate your subject knowledge even if you use reference materials and websites. The Hamburger paragraph is the professional graphic organizer for essays, paragraphs, and reports.

The Hamburger Graphic Organizer is the most exquisite of digital mind maps for both students and instructors. These hamburger paragraph samples will assist you in teaching your children the elements of a strong paragraph. Begin with the top bun, which represents the topic sentence, and explains the concept of the paragraph. And then comes the tasty supporting sentences/details: Onions, Tomatoes, ketchup, bacon, mustard, and a beef patty (100% vegetarian). Now, finish the paragraph with a bottom bun, also known as a concluding sentence that relates to the topic phrase. A Hamburger Graphic Organizer is an essential part of modern learning.

1. What is Hamburger Graphic Organizer

The " paragraph hamburger " is a writing organizer that visually highlights the critical parts of a paragraph. A topic sentence, descriptive sentences, and a concluding sentence are the core elements of solid writing. Each of these elements forms a distinct piece of a hamburger. It defines the major components of various types of writing, such as reports and essays, to assure that the writer sticks to the proper structure and information pyramid. Educators utilize hamburger visual organizers to help pupils comprehend how to organize their thoughts into writing. Many pupils learn to convey their ideas with integrated paragraphs and better understand paragraph writing structure with its aid. Hamburger Graphic Organizer assists in illustrating the organization or structure of ideas and displays how information is connected realistically.

The hamburger graphic organizer is a writing organizer that visually highlights the critical parts of a paragraph.

2. Benefits of Using Hamburger Graphic Organizer

Graphic organizers are commonly used these days for learning and professional purposes. Hamburger Graphic Organizer is a very common type of graphic organizers. Students and teachers usually use it for learning and building concepts. Some of its benefits are given below:

• Hamburger Graphic Organizers are simple but effective tools that can assist children with dyspraxia, executive functioning disorders, and other challenges that might cause writing issues.
• A visual organizer does more than just divide a task into more manageable steps. It may also help children organize their thoughts visually. They can learn best by using a such strategic techniques.
• Academic skills can be improved using Hamburger Graphic Organizer.
• This Organizer assists learners in clarifying their thoughts before commencing formal writing in detail.

3. How to Use a Hamburger Graphic Organizer

Hamburger Graphic Organizer is based on the hamburger method. While giving a constructive compliment on anything the individual performs well, you should start with a constructive remark (Otherwise known as the fluffy bun part). Then you come to the heart of the affair, which is, of course, constructive criticism. Writing an essay is very much like making a hamburger. Consider the prologue and epilogue as the bread pieces, with the "meat" of your argument sandwiched between these. The introduction contains your thesis statement, whereas the conclusion summarises your argument. Both should be limited to a few phrases. As an instructor, if you want to teach your students to create a hamburger paragraph, you need to give them a set of instructions that will help them complete the task. There are students with varying learning skills, kids with reading difficulties, younger learners, and second language learners, and they all need these instructions to proceed with educational writing.

• Give them several samples of some well-written paragraphs and ask them to identify the components. Encourage students to go through them on their own by offering several paragraphs with labelled sections.
• Give participants some of the already completed pieces. For example, you may give them all of the "filler" sentences and ask them to produce an excellent introduction or closing statement.
• Provide them with already filled-in examples. Suggest that they cut out each section and then reassemble the pieces.
• Instruct them to locate a passage in their textbook. See if the students can identify the different parts of the text. Make them rewrite the textbook passage if required!
• Encourage them to verbalize the paragraph before writing it. Make use of scaffolding. For instance, "What is one thing you'd want to tell me about Fido (child's dog's name)?" "How much fun is Fido to cuddle with?" (Inquire for further information.) "So, what did you say about Fido?" (conclusion).

4. How to Make a Hamburger Graphic Organizer in General

Writing a solid paragraph is the core of composition writing. In addition, the concepts that teach our primary students about paragraph writing will help them for the rest of their lives. The hamburger model is an effective way to get students to practice writing. The hamburger model, also known as a sandwich model, is a composing strategy that assists students in constructing a paragraph or an essay. This model uses a paragraph structure of "introduction - supporting details - conclusion". It may help produce an organized and coherent paragraph.

1. Describe three main points of a paragraph:

• The Top Bun : It describes the topic sentence of a paragraph. This sentence represents the basic concept. The top bun is another name for the topic sentence.
• The middle or supporting sentence : The middle section provides reasoning, facts, and explanations, among other things, to justify the main topic statement.
• The Bottom Bun : This is an ending sentence of a paragraph.

2. Encourage students to construct a topic sentence that shows what the rest of the paragraph will contain.

3. Students should write multiple supporting statements that provide more details on the topic.

4. Teach to develop an ending sentence that reiterates the topic sentence.

5. How to Make a Hamburger Graphic Organizer in EdrawMax

Creating a Hamburger Graphic Organizer in EdrawMax is an easy process. The free visual organizer creator has multiple features, such as importing data straight from a .csv file or building one from scratch using free templates. In this article, a complete guide is provided to help you make a great hamburger writing graphic organizer.

Step1 Open EdrawMax and Login

Log in to EdrawMax with your registered email account. If you have never used EdrawMax before, you just need to create your new account by registering into EdrawMax with your personal or professional email ID.

Step2 Choose a Built-In Template

EdrawMax is one of the best free graphics organize templates. By clicking "Education" from the left navigation panel, you may choose a pre-designed theme from the product or service based on your desire or necessity. It will show a wide range of graphic organizer styles. Additionally, on the EdrawMax Online canvas, hit "+" to start from scratch and design a graphic organizer.

Step3 Select the Symbol

You can use a symbol bank to add your favourite symbols to ready-made templates or use these symbols to create a customized hamburger writing graphic organizer. It is located on the left of the screen and comprises basic drawings and arrow shapes. Diagrams, Graphs, Charts, Clip Art, Icons, festivals, Education, Design elements, and other figures are featured in the symbols library. With suitable icons and content, you may create an effective graphic organizer. You can add any logo to the sketching page by dragging and dropping it.

Step4 Add Components and Text

In this step, you will insert text in your Hamburger Graphic Organizer template. Double click on the sample text boxes, and write your required information in those boxes. Using different text tools will help you create a great graphic organizer template.

Step5 Customize the Details

Several tools in the EdrawMax will help you modify the graphic organizer design according to your needs. You can use various options that include a pen tool, pencil tool, text tool, connectors, formatting of shapes option, the movement of point tools, drawing of geometrical forms, the motion of anchor points, etc.

Step6 Export & Share

Once your graphic organizer is finished, you can easily export and share it with your colleagues or customers. A graphic organizer can be exported in various forms, including Graphics, JPEG, PDF, and HTML. You can also publish the designs on other social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Line.

Basically, it is simple to create a hamburger graphic organizer in EdrawMax, just grab a template and keep customizing, drag and drop professinal symbols to make your plan better. If you are still confusing about how to create a hamburger graphic organizer in EdrawMax, just check this graphic organizer guide , or check the video below. Or you can find more tutorial videos from our Youtube .

6. Free Hamburger Graphic Organizer Examples & Templates

There are 6 examples of hamburger graphic organizer that you can refer or use immediately. Just click the image to download EdrawMax , and download the templates accordingly. Then double click to open the templates and customize as your prefer. Or open the templates from EdrawMax Online, and duplicate the templates. Click this graphic organizer examples to get more inspirations.

Example 1: Hamburger Paragraph

This template is for the Hamburger paragraph. A paragraph hamburger is made up of three pieces. The first component is the top bun, which contains your topic statement. This section is where you describe your paragraph and key concept. You place the burger filler beneath the theme sentence, which offers supportive evidence about your topic statement. The third component is the hamburger's bottom bread. In this area, you end your paragraph by adding a few phrases regarding your primary concept and referencing your topic sentence.

Example 2: Hamburger Graphic Organizer

This template is for Hamburger Graphic Organizer. Students use these templates to create projects, enhance their writing abilities, and organize their ideas. This Hamburger template has five sections. The uppermost bun is where students put their theme phrase and explain their key points. The second section includes supporting statements that give further details about the problem. The third section links to the second and provides additional information about the topic. You can keep adding these supporting details and statements until you prove your claim and reach a conclusion.

Example 3: Hamburger Writing

Hamburger writing contours are available in a variety of formats, but the basic structure of each hamburger graphic organizer is the same. In this case, from the inside out template resembles a hamburger. This hamburger template includes a theme, supporting evidence, and a conclusion. This hamburger writing template will assist you in understanding the best way to portray the correlation between pieces of data. You must present the thesis statement and the theme first in any paragraph. In the stuffing section, you add up to three supporting passages before wrapping up your writing in the final segment.

Example 4: Hamburger Paragraph Writing Template

A hamburger paragraph writing template is primarily used in the classroom to make the students understand different writing frameworks and graphic organizers. This template has a hamburger on the left and a writing portion on the right. The uppermost area of the hamburger has a top bun that corresponds to the topic statement of the paragraph, the filling represents the supporting pieces of evidence, and at the bottom, the lower bun represents the concluding phrase. Students must learn to write the topic phrase, details, and the final sentence in a logical order.

Example 5: Blank Hamburger Graphic Organizer

This example is one of the most common kinds of Hamburger Graphic Organizer templates. This sandwich-shaped template is divided into three distinct sections. Students explain the concept of the target passage in the topic sentence to give information about their text. The second element which is also called the sandwich's body has two or three segments. All of these segments include information and supporting phrases about the topic sentence. The body contains a high proportion of reasoning and relevant information. Students conclude their writing and share their closing remarks in the final section.

Example 6: Hamburger Graphic Organizer for Writing

The hamburger graphic organizer for writing explain the writing format of any passage or report using a hamburger as an analogy. The first section of a paragraph is its topic or thesis statement which defines the direction and the main idea of the paragraph, and it closely resembles the top bread bun of a hamburger. The supporting phrases in the middle portion resemble the fillings of the hamburger. At last, the third segment of the paragraph is the conclusion that reflects the bottom bun of a hamburger.

7. Free Hamburger Graphic Organizer Software

EdrawMax is a free and widely used hamburger graphic organizer software in this category. It is popular among beginners because it provides simple, minimalistic features and easy-to-follow guidelines. It is being used in multiple businesses, educational, and social projects. This software has numerous features. Some prime features include:

• EdrawMax comes with a free version where you get to access some of the amazing design features. You can use this free hamburger graphic organizer creator to create over 280 types of different diagrams -- all in one single canvas.
• EdrawMax offers over 50,000 vector-enabled symbols. In our ' Predefined Library ' section, you will find all the hamburger graphic organizer-related symbols.
• EdrawMax lets you create great hamburger graphic organizers and provides you with additional features where you can share your file to different social media platforms or directly share the URL in your email to your client or architect.
• In addition to having over 25 million registered users, this free hamburger graphic organizer creator comes with extensive online resources. From video tutorials to elaborated guides just like this one, you will always find the right symbols, tips, and ways to create awesome hamburger graphic organizers for your projects.

8. Final Thoughts

The hamburger paragraph assists students in organizing their thoughts and sharing their opinions. It is a unique way to demonstrate the ideal narrative writing layout. The Hamburger Graphic Organizer contains the main components of a paragraph and organizes information using a hamburger as a metaphor. It encourages students' creative thinking while teaching them how to connect details in paragraphs. It only takes a few clicks to select a template and create a Hamburger Graphic Organizer.

It encourages students' creative thinking while teaching them how to connect details in paragraphs. Because it only takes a few clicks to select a template and create a hamburger graphic organizer, EdrawMax is the professional graphic organizer creator. Its symbol library also contains a large number of shapes and visuals. You can find many Hamburger Graphic Organizer templates in the template community.

Graphic Organizer Complete Guide

Check this complete guide to know everything about graphic organizer, like graphic organizer types, and how to make a graphic organizer.

You May Also Like

Compare and contrast graphic organizer complete guide, quality control flowchart, conceptual framework complete guide, dichotomous keys complete guide, rack diagram complete guide.

• How to Cite
• Language & Lit
• Rhyme & Rhythm
• The Rewrite
• Search Glass

Sandwich Method of Paragraph Writing

The sandwich method is a common strategy you can use to construct paragraphs within a paper and to prepare the elements of a particular paragraph. Clarity and unity are keys to well-constructed paragraphs. The sandwich method helps you frame a paragraph with introduction and conclusion statements that provide the "bun" for key points within the "meat" of the paragraph.

The sandwich method essentially uses a sandwich as a metaphor for the structure of a typical paragraph. The opening statement provides direction for the paragraph and mirrors the top bun of a sandwich. The middle, support statements provide details and mirror the meat and ingredients within the sandwich. A closing statement summarizes or ties up the content within the paragraph in the same way the bottom bun holds the sandwich together.

Top Bun -- Opening

The opening statement is a critical launching point for a distinct, clear paragraph. Each paragraph within a paper should touch on one key point. The opening is a general statement that frames the subject of the paragraph. In a paper outlining top strategies to find a job, you might start a paragraph on networking with the sentence "Networking is one of the most effective ways to find a new job." This statement introduces the topic of job networking and leaves the reader asking "Why?"

The Meat -- Detail Statements

The meat of the paragraph is made up of supporting, evidential or detail statements that answer the reader's question about the topic sentence. They clarify or give evidence to support the main point. In supporting the networking topic statement, you could have a second sentence stating "Networking involves using relationships with others to learn about open positions and get personal introductions to hiring managers." A third sentence could build on this with "Managers typically prefer to hire a person familiar to and trusted by someone within the organization." Both of these sentences speak to the reader's "Why?" question.

Bottom Bun -- Conclusion

Interestingly, a concluding statement in a paragraph is considered optional, though a missing bottom bun on a sandwich would likely make a mess. In the conventional sandwich paragraph, the last sentence wraps up the paragraph's topic or summarizes its key points. If you have an especially short paragraph with just two to four sentences, a conclusion isn't necessary. In a typical paragraph with five to seven statements, it makes more sense. In the networking example, your bottom bun statement could say "While you can use other methods as well, networking is proven to work most effectively because of the personal connection to an employer."

• Purdue University: On Paragraphs
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: Basic Paragraph Structure

Neil Kokemuller has been an active business, finance and education writer and content media website developer since 2007. He has been a college marketing professor since 2004. Kokemuller has additional professional experience in marketing, retail and small business. He holds a Master of Business Administration from Iowa State University.

The academic writing sandwich- EXPLAINED

Disclaimer: Some posts on Tourism Teacher may contain affiliate links. If you appreciate this content, you can show your support by making a purchase through these links or by buying me a coffee . Thank you for your support!

What is the academic writing sandwich and how can this help you to do better in your work? In this short article I have it all covered- read on to learn how to improve your academic writing and get better grades…

What is the academic writing sandwich?

The first layer of the academic writing sandwich- bread, the second layer of the academic writing sandwich-filling, the third layer of the academic writing sandwich-bread, the academic writing sandwich- further reading.

Sandwiches have three key parts – the first piece of bread, the filling and the final piece of bread. You can also think about paragraphs as having three key parts – the topic sentence, the evidence and the commentary. The academic writing sandwich can help you to write clear, concise paragraphs that are appropriate for your level of academic studies.

The ‘first piece of bread’ in a paragraph is the  topic sentence . This sentence tells the reader what your paragraph is going to be about and how it links to the paragraph before it.

Take a look at this example of a topic sentence: ‘ Another disadvantage of smoking is the negative impact it can have on health.  For example, according to the World Health Organisation (2014), nearly 6 million people die each year from smoking-related diseases such as coronary heart disease and lung cancer. Studies also show that many people do not know about the serious health problems that smoking can cause, which makes it even more dangerous (WHO, 2014). These negative effects of smoking on health and the lack of awareness among many smokers mean that finding ways of helping people to quit is very important. ‘

It may seem like a short sentence, but it tells us so much!

The word another  shows that it is adding to the previous paragraph.

The phrase disadvantage of smoking  shows that the paragraph will be describing a negative impact of smoking.

And the use of the word health  shows that the focus of the paragraph will be people’s health- with this topic sentence, the reader knows what to expect in the paragraph.

Now we have our first piece of bread, let’s think about our filling .

In a paragraph, the best fillings are examples and evidence (academic sources).

Lets take a look at this example- ‘ Another disadvantage of smoking is the negative impact it can have on health.  For example, according to the World Health Organisation (2014), nearly 6 million people die each year from smoking-related diseases such as coronary heart disease and lung cancer. Studies also show that many people do not know about the serious health problems that smoking can cause, which makes it even more dangerous (WHO, 2014).  These negative effects of smoking on health and the lack of awareness among many smokers mean that finding ways of helping people to quit is very important. ‘

The filling sentences in a paragraph sandwich add detail and they help support what you say in your topic sentence. Adding lots of examples, quotes and facts will help make your paragraph even better – just like lots of fillings make a great sandwich!

The final piece of bread in the academic writing sandwich is also known as the  commentary . The commentary aims to answer the question “ why is this important?” – you need to explain why the previous sentences are relevant to the topic you’re discussing in your report.

The commentary sentence normally starts with a word like ‘ this’ or ‘these ’, to show the link with the filling of the sandwich paragraph. Look at our paragraph example commentary. ‘ Another disadvantage of smoking is the negative impact it can have on health. For example, according to the World Health Organisation (2014), nearly 6 million people die each year from smoking-related diseases such as coronary heart disease and lung cancer. Studies also show that many people do not know about the serious health problems that smoking can cause, which makes it even more dangerous (WHO, 2014).  These negative effects of smoking on health and the lack of awareness among many smokers mean that finding ways of helping people to quit is very important. ‘

You can see that the final part of this paragraph demonstrates why this in formation is helpful.

If you enjoyed learning about the academic writing sandwich, I am sure that you will enjoy these articles too-

• The 6 major learning styles: VAK, pragmatist, activist, reflector, theorist, pragmatist
• Herzberg theory: Made simple
• How to design a questionnaire or survey the EASY way
• What is qualitative and quantitative research? An EASY explanation

Liked this article? Click to share!

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

11 Writing a Quote Sandwich

The Basic Quote Sandwich

● Top “Slice of Bread:” Context, explanation, introduction

● Filling: Material quoted directly from a source

● Bottom   “Slice of Bread:” Analysis, explanation, connection to your thesis

Avoid “Dropped” Quotations Even though teachers may have students’ best interest in mind, traditional models of education ignore the humanity of students, allowing teachers to treat their students as objects rather than people. “The capability of banking education to minimize or annul the students’ creative power and to stimulate their credulity serves the interest of oppressors, who care neither to have the world revealed nor to see it transformed” (Freire 1970, p.258) .

Some sandwiches are better than others:

● Formally introduce sources

● Use signal phrases

● Explain difficult ideas

Same material using the “sandwich” method In Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire (1970) argues that, even though teachers may have students’ best interest in mind, traditional models of education ignore the humanity of students, allowing teachers to treat their students as objects rather than people. Freire says , “The capability of banking education to minimize or annul the students’ creative power and to stimulate their credulity serves the interest of oppressors, who care neither to have the world revealed nor to see it transformed” (p.258). When teachers participate in banking education, they only serve to perpetuate the status quo.

Making a more substantial sandwich:

● Establish an idea that your selected quote will support or comment on

● Provide some context for your reader

● Explain how your discussion of the quote furthers your own aims

A solid quote sandwich In Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire (1970) argues that, even though teachers may have students’ best interest in mind, traditional models of education ignore the humanity of students, allowing teachers to treat their students as objects rather than people. Education, for Freire, ought to be about transforming the world, and bringing students to awareness of their role in doing so. This “critical consciousness” would result in students becoming “transformers of the world” (p. 258). However, what Freire calls the banking concept of education prevents students from ever developing this kind of consciousness. Freire says, “The capability of banking education to minimize or annul the students’ creative power and to stimulate their credulity serves the interest of oppressors, who care neither to have the world revealed nor to see it transformed” (p.258). When teachers participate, consciously or unconsciously, in banking education, t hey are not serving the interests of their students. Instead, banking education only adapts students to the world as it is, serving to perpetuate the status quo.

Write Your Own! Use the Quote Sandwich Builder worksheet to write your own quote sandwich.

QUOTE SANDWICH BUILDER: 1. What point do you want to make in this section of your paper? ____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

2. In a brief sentence, explain why you think the quote you’ve selected helps you make this point.

3. Is there any additional context your reader needs to understand the author’s ideas?

4. Who is speaking? Write a signal phrase.

5. Your selected quote goes here.

6. Paraphrase the ideas in your selected quote, beginning with “In other words…”

7. Write a sentence or two that explains the connection between the ideas in the quote and the point you are trying to make in this section of your paper.

Writing That Works Copyright © 2021 by The Writing Center at The University of Baltimore is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

Language Point

teacher training

• Jul 13, 2021

How to teach writing 3 - Developing ideas in student essays: Sandwiches vs spaghetti

Writing is a complex activity - it involves language, culture, cognition and the management of ideas as they develop onto the page. In writing classes, however, one of these important aspects of writing is often overlooked: that of culture.

Written communication is culturally relative in many ways: Essay and text structures are presented differently under different education systems, priority is given to different kinds of information, and the relationships between written points are not the same in every culture. Perhaps more importantly, students bring culturally-bound assumptions about the nature of writing with them to the English language classroom, and teachers have their own culturally-bound expectations of what makes an effective essay or paragraph. These assumptions don’t always align, so a clear set of criteria is required to guide student writing.

The following are suggestions for helping students to develop their essay writing to align with common expectations from English-language settings such as international universities, language tests and international exams :

1) Remind readers what they're reading

This piece of advice has worked wonders in getting learners to write with clarity and full development. In many cultures, shared knowledge of written information is assumed between the reader and the writer, meaning that the reader and the writer share responsibility for understanding the message. In English-language writing, however, it is the sole responsibility of the writer to make points clearly. Alignment between the expectations of the writer and those of the reader are essential to avoid a clash of cultures in written work.

2) Write a sandwich, not a bowl of spaghetti

A famous metaphor for the structure of English-language essays is that of a sandwich, with bread on the top (the introduction), the fillings inside (the paragraph points) and the bread at the bottom (the conclusion). This structure can be broken down into its constituent parts, and explored from within, looking at the content that each part of the sandwich requires.

By contrast, in cultures of writing where the reader shares responsibility for understanding, an essay can feel less like a sandwich and more like a bowl of spaghetti, with fragments of topics appearing in different parts of the dish, and every mouthful being slightly different, with little linear progression through the points being made. In English language writing, if the reader is expected to pick through the points and identify the ingredients themselves, an essay can feel unfocused and confusing to follow.

A functional view of what is achieved in each part of the sandwich can be used as a ‘recipe’ for writers to follow as they develop their essay as a whole:

Essay structure: the sandwich

Bread (introduction):

General statement of topic

Statement of opinion / argument / explanation (according to the focus of the essay)

Scope - Short introduction of paragraph topics 1, 2 and 3, framed as reasons / examples / arguments (according to essay focus)

Filling 1: Introduction of paragraph topic 1

Development of main topic idea, with reasons, examples, effects…

Summary of paragraph topic 1 with reference to development points

Filling 2: Introduction of paragraph topic 2

Summary of paragraph topic 2 with reference to development points

Filling 3: Introduction of paragraph topic 3

Summary of paragraph topic 3 with reference to development points

Bread (conclusion)

Restate the main idea of the whole essay and finish off with restatement of the main point

Like a sandwich, every bite of the essay should be predictable as the reader works through the points. This means that paragraph topics are presented in the introduction, stated as topic sentences at the beginning of each paragraph and summarised in the last sentence of each paragraph. This cycling of points through the essay seems repetitive, but each step should develop the paragraph points in more detail, to move towards an overall conclusion by the end of the essay.

3) Repeat points without repeating language

As you can see from the above, effective English-language essay structure seems to involve a lot of repetition. However, development of ideas means the ability to return to points of points without repeating specific vocabulary, grammar or other features time after time to avoid redundancy.

To avoid redundancy, several writing sub-skills are necessary: use of synonyms and paraphrase can avoid vocabulary repetition; flexibility of grammar can shift the focus of the points made at different points in the essay (for example using active and passive voice to restate points in the introduction and paragraph points), and ensuring that there is a flow from general information in the introduction to more specific detail in the paragraphs adds progression to the points.

In conclusion, by highlighting how to return to points without repeating, how to frame the paragraphs in the bread of the introduction and conclusion, and how to organise the fillings so that there is development through the essay, student work becomes more linear, and fits the expectations of English-language essay structure more appropriately in the final product.

Tom Garside is Director of Language Point Teacher Education. Language Point delivers the internationally recognised RQF level 5 Trinity CertTESOL in a totally online mode of study , and the RQF level 6 Trinity College Certificate for Practising Teachers , a contextually-informed teacher development qualification with specific courses which focus on online language education or online methodology.

If you are interested to know more about these qualifications, or you want take your teaching to a new level with our teacher education courses, contact us or visit our CertTESOL FAQ and CertPT FAQ pages for details.

Recent Posts

Some and any… Revisiting Quantifiers and Countability

Countable and uncountable nouns - what’s the difference?

We're having a Spring refresh

IB DP Language A Language and Literature – sample text analysis – essay / sandwich diagram

Before you read the “spoiler” bullet points below take a careful look at the text. Imagine it is a text you are using for your DP Language A Language and Literature assessments: the individual oral, the HL essay, or Paper 1 and analyze it accordingly. (This text would not be appropriate for Paper 2).

Some elements of the text to consider:

• The name and date at the top of the image – the text is clearly a classroom handout
• The use of the sandwich to represent an essay and what type of audience this image is suited for
• The sparse amount of detail in the diagram – enough for it to be recognizable as a sandwich but not enough detail to be distracting
• The spaces in the diagram which could be for students to make notes and plan an essay

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Privacy Overview

Sandwich Method of Paragraph Writing

26 sep 2017.

Understanding the components of a paragraph will help you improve your writing skills and may also help you improve your reading and comprehension. Your paragraphs should have a main idea and information to support the statement. Each sentence has a role, and if you know how to break down the paragraph structure into individual parts, you can identify the role of each sentence.

Explore this article

• Bottom Slice
• Making the Sandwich

1 Top Slice

For the top piece of bread of your paragraph sandwich, you have the first sentence. The first sentence, also known as the topic sentence, contains the main idea of your paragraph. This sentence should not sound too general or too specific. You need to make a statement that you back up with the other sentences in the paragraph. As a basic example, a topic sentence that balances general and specifics might look like this: “Eating well can impact your health.” This top slice of the bread, this topic sentence, informs the reader about what she can expect to hear more about in the upcoming sentences.

Vocabulary Builder

Underneath your top slice of bread, is the filling for your sandwich. These supporting sentences expand on the idea you present in the opening sentence. In the previous example, “Eating well can impact your health,” you might have supporting sentences that use research and data showing how a particular diet reduces the risks of certain health conditions. Essentially, this center portion of your paragraph will set out to prove your topic sentence.

3 Bottom Slice

The bottom slice of bread is your concluding sentence. In this sentence, you pull all the information together for the reader by summarizing the content of the paragraph. In most cases, the concluding sentence resembles the topic sentence. For example, your concluding sentence may look like this: “As the research shows, eating a diet rich in whole grains, fruits and vegetables can greatly reduce your risk for health problems.”

4 Making the Sandwich

In looking at the paragraph as a whole, you can see how the “sandwich” forms. The topic and concluding sentences, the slices of bread, give the reader enough information to grab onto the subject matter. The middle sentences give the details, the taste of the sandwich – the meat, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. With strong topic, supporting and concluding sentences you can create a filling paragraph that gives the reader all the information she needs to understand the topic.

• 1 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: Basic Paragraph Structure

About the Author

Kate Beck started writing for online publications in 2005. She worked as a certified ophthalmic technician for 10 years before returning to school to earn a Masters of Fine Arts degree in writing. Beck is currently putting the finishing touches on a novel.

Related Articles

How to Write a Persuasive Essay for Middle School

Types of Introductions in Essays

Paragraph Writing Skills for Beginners

How to Make a Good Introduction Paragraph

Three Components of a Good Paragraph

Three Qualities of a Good Topic Sentence

How to Find a Thesis in an Essay

How to Write an Organized Definition Essay (5-Paragraphs)

How to Write a Short Paragraph

How to Write a Theme Paragraph

How to Write an Essay Abstract

Transitions For Essays

How to Teach Second-Graders to Write a Topic Sentence

How to Write an Informative Essay

How to Restate a Thesis Statement

How to Write a Hypothesis to an Analytical Essay

8 Steps in Writing a Process Paragraph

How to Write an Introduction Paragraph With Thesis...

How to Write Sermon Outlines

Activities on Topic Sentences for Middle Schoolers

Regardless of how old we are, we never stop learning. Classroom is the educational resource for people of all ages. Whether you’re studying times tables or applying to college, Classroom has the answers.

• Accessibility
• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Copyright Policy
• Manage Preferences

© 2020 Leaf Group Ltd. / Leaf Group Media, All Rights Reserved. Based on the Word Net lexical database for the English Language. See disclaimer .

Diagrams in Essays: Exploring the Kinds of Diagrams Students Generate and How Well They Work

• Conference paper
• Open Access
• First Online: 21 September 2021
• Cite this conference paper

You have full access to this open access conference paper

• Emmanuel Manalo 14 &
• Mari Fukuda 15  

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 12909))

Included in the following conference series:

• International Conference on Theory and Application of Diagrams

2249 Accesses

Using appropriate diagrams is generally considered efficacious in communication. However, although diagrams are extensively used in printed and digital media, people in general rarely construct diagrams to use in common everyday communication. Furthermore, instruction on diagram use for communicative purposes is uncommon in formal education and, when students are required to communicate what they have learned, the usual expectation is they will use words – not diagrams. Requiring diagram inclusion in essays, for example, would be almost unheard of. Consequently, current understanding about student capabilities in this area is very limited. The aim of this study therefore was to contribute to addressing this gap: it comprised a qualitative exploration of 12 undergraduate students’ diagram use in two essays (in which they were asked to include at least one diagram). Analysis focused on identifying the kinds of diagrams produced, and the effectiveness with which those diagrams were used. Useful functions that the diagrams served included clarification, summarization, integration of points, and provision of additional information and/or perspectives in visual form. However, there were also redundancies, as well as unclear, schematically erroneous, and overly complicated representations in some of the diagrams that the students constructed. These findings are discussed in terms of needs, opportunities, and challenges in instructional provision.

You have full access to this open access chapter,  Download conference paper PDF

Similar content being viewed by others

Students’ Spontaneous Use of Diagrams in Written Communication: Understanding Variations According to Purpose and Cognitive Cost Entailed

How communicative learning situations influence students’ use of diagrams: focusing on spontaneous diagram construction and protocols during explanation, the impacts of domain-general vs. domain-specific diagramming tools on writing.

• Self-constructed diagrams
• Essay writing
• Effective communication
• Student instructional needs

1 Introduction

Alongside problem solving and thinking, communication is one of the areas of human activity where diagram use is considered to be beneficial. When appropriately used, diagrams can clarify and/or complement verbal information presented in speech or text, so that both verbal and visual channels of working memory are utilized, thus facilitating more efficient cognitive processing [ 1 , 2 ].

Diagrams can contribute to both message encoding and decoding (i.e., the production and the comprehension of communication), thus being of value to both the communicator and the communication receiver. Especially in contexts where there are some constraints or limitations to conveying the message through verbal means, diagrams can be indispensable. They can supplement speech or text by providing complementary or alternative means of conveying the intended message. Examples of such contexts include communicating complicated procedures, like furniture assembly [ 3 ], and communicating with people who speak a different language [ 4 ].

However, despite the apparent usefulness of diagrams in communication, its actual use remains very limited. Pictures and various kinds of diagrams, including illustrations, are regularly used in books, magazines, websites, and various forms of printed and digital media, but most of those visual representations are commercially or professionally created. They are not generated by regular people in everyday communication contexts. Regular people are often only receivers of such visual representations. In most communication contexts, they do not generate their own diagrams: they rely almost exclusively on written or spoken words. In formal education provided in modern societies, diagram use for communicative purposes is rarely taught. Despite the recognition in research and policy documents of the value of being able to use multiple forms of representation [ 5 , 6 ], students seldom receive explicit instruction about how to create and use diagrams. In both school and higher education, when students are asked to communicate what they have learned and what they think (e.g., in essays, which are focused pieces of writing intended to inform or persuade), the general expectation is that they will express that information in words – without the use of any diagrams [ 7 ].

Considering that much of the knowledge and ideas that students have to engage with, learn, and then communicate are quite complex, and diagrams have the capacity of representing complex ideas effectively [ 8 ], the general lack of attention in education to cultivating skills in diagram use is troubling. Like words, diagrams can be used effectively or ineffectively [ 9 ], so the question of the extent to which instruction or guidance may be necessary would appear important to address. In tasks like problem solving and information organization in subjects like mathematics and science, the kinds of diagrams that students generate and use have previously been investigated [ 10 , 11 , 12 ]. However, very few studies have examined diagram use in communicating information in the social sciences [ 13 ], where traditionally a greater emphasis has been placed on the quality of language that is used. In fact, the present authors are not aware of any studies that have examined students’ diagram use in essays . Our current understanding of student capabilities in using diagrams in such contexts is very limited, including what we know of the potential benefits that such use might afford.

The present study was motivated by this knowledge gap, and it comprised a qualitative exploration of student diagram use in two essays they produced for an undergraduate-level introductory course in educational psychology. In the two essays, the students were asked to include at least one diagram to portray processes or mechanisms of moderately complex ideas. Both essays were expository-type essays, hence requiring the students to demonstrate not only knowledge of the topic, but also the ability to communicate information clearly – which the appropriate use of diagrams is supposed to facilitate. The following were the main questions we addressed:

What kinds of diagrams would students use to portray processes/mechanisms?

In what ways do students use diagrams effectively in their essays?

In what ways do they not use diagrams effectively?

This investigation comprised analysis of the contents of two essays that students produced as part of their coursework. No experimental manipulation was involved. The analysis was conducted following completion of the course, so it had no bearing on the students’ grading. Permission was obtained from all the students for use of their essays.

There were 12 students in the course (females = 4), 7 of whom were in their first year of study, while the remaining 5 were in their second year or higher. Nine of the students were Japanese, and 3 were international students from other East Asian countries. All had English as a foreign language, but were adequately proficient in that language (a requirement for acceptance to the university). The course was conducted entirely in English, and all assignments (including the essays) had to be written in English.

The essays were each worth 20% of the students’ final grade, and they dealt with topics covered in the course. However, both essays required students to seek additional information (beyond what was covered in class), and to provide explanations that could not simply be obtained from the instructions provided in the course. The first essay required the students to research and then explain one theory about how young children develop their understanding of the world around them. The second required them to undertake research on formative assessment and explain how it can promote more successful learning. In both essays, the students were asked to include at least one diagram, which was allotted 3 points (out of 20) in the grading rubrics (in this case, for “demonstrating a clear understanding of the mechanisms or processes that it illustrates”). Diagrams can assist in clarifying ideas [ 8 ] and so, from a pedagogical perspective, one purpose of asking the students to include the diagram was for them to better understand key processes covered in the course. The diagram had to be self-constructed (i.e., not copied-and-pasted from some other source). In the first essay, the instruction given to the students indicated that the diagram was to “help in explaining the progress in understanding that children develop ”, while in the second essay the diagram was to “help in clarifying how formative assessment facilitates learning ”. No other instruction was provided on what form the diagram should take or how they should construct it, and no diagrams relating to those or other similar mechanisms/processes were shown during instructions provided in class. During grading of the essays, apart from the score out of 3 on the grading rubrics (see above), no explicit comment or feedback was provided on the type, content, or quality of construction of the diagrams the students included.

In the analysis, firstly the number and kinds of diagrams included in the essays were determined with the use of a coding schema comprising categories from previous research [ 10 , 11 , 13 ]. Apart from the first author’s coding, the second author, who initially was not involved in this research, also independently coded the diagrams. Initial inter-coder agreement was 75%. Differences were then discussed and subsequently agreed upon. Second, the diagrams were evaluated in terms of how effectively they were used. For this, key questions asked were: Does the diagram contribute to clarifying the process it refers to – and, if so, how? Apart from clarification, does it serve other useful functions? When diagrams did not appear to work well, the reasons were also carefully considered. Again, both authors independently coded the diagrams (initial inter-coder agreement was 92%), and then discussed differences to reach agreement.

Examples of diagrams belonging to each of the categories that were identified

3 Results and Discussion

3.1 kinds of diagrams used to portray processes/mechanisms.

Table 1 shows the kinds/categories and corresponding frequencies of diagrams the students included in their first and second essays, and in total, while Fig.  1 shows examples of the diagrams belonging to each of those categories. In the first essay four of the 12 students included more than one diagram (two student with 3 diagrams, and two with 2 diagrams), and in the second essay two students included more than one diagram (both with 2 diagrams). The frequencies shown in Table 1 include all the diagrams the students generated.

All except one student included self-constructed diagrams (as the assignments required). We were fairly confident about this because the language use in and appearance of the diagrams included suggested non-native and/or non-professional creators. The one student who included diagrams that obviously came from some Internet source (they were both watermarked) did so in both the first and second essays. Both diagrams were in the category of illustrations.

Although a “list” on its own does not – technically speaking – count as a diagram, it has been included in the categories because one student erroneously included a list as one of his 3 diagrams for the first essay, and three other students included lists as part of their “combination” diagram.

The kind of diagram most frequently used was a flow diagram: apart from the total of 10 flow diagrams shown in Table 1 , 7 of the 9 combination diagrams comprised a flow diagram with another kind of diagram. This is probably understandable given that flow diagrams (also known as “flow charts”) are meant to depict processes, procedures or sequence of steps, and cause-and-effect relationships. An interesting point to note is how the number of flow diagrams increased from the first to the second essay. No instruction or hint was given to the students about what diagram to use, so this increase could have been due to a number of other possible reasons, including differences between the two essays in the procedures/mechanisms that needed to be represented, the students seeing other diagrams their peers have generated (although there were no indications of copying), and development in the students’ understanding of what works well (or not) in using diagrams to communicate particular kinds of information.

It is also worth noting that although we often consider flow diagrams as being most appropriate for representing processes and mechanisms, other forms of diagrams can work as effectively when designed well to match their intended purposes. For example, Panels C and F in Fig.  1 show two examples depicting the progression through the stages of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, using a table in C, and a combination of illustration (of steps) and line diagram in F. Although they differ in appearance, the diagrams can be considered as working equally well not only in showing the proposed stages of the theory, but also in conveying the incremental progression through key cognitive abilities with increasing age (corresponding to those stages).

3.2 Ways that Diagrams Were Used Effectively

The majority of the students did not refer to their diagrams in the text of their essays: only two students did in both essays. Thus, this is perhaps an academic writing method that undergraduate students (like these students) could usefully be instructed to do. However, in general, the students placed their diagrams appropriately, following the text where they deal with the information that is portrayed in the diagram – thereby making the connection between text information and the diagram more apparent.

Concerning the question of whether the diagrams that the students constructed contributed to clarifying any of the processes or mechanisms they were explaining: in the first essay, 7 of the students were considered to have satisfactorily achieved this with at least one of their diagrams, while 8 of them were considered to have done so in the second essay. In each of these cases, the diagrams served a useful function in the essay, to the extent that if they were not included, something sufficiently important in the essay would have been lost, not achieved, or not conveyed as adequately. In most of the cases, the diagrams clarified how the stages or processes referred to in the essay text connect or relate to each other and progress through particular sequences: Panels A and D in Fig.  1 are good examples of this. However, in a few cases, the diagrams also made clearer concepts that – to those unfamiliar with them – could be difficult to understand, such as what is involved in developing the ability of conservation (Panel B of Fig.  1 ).

In some cases, the diagrams also showed or clarified the connections to other components, such as children’s abilities in connection to the progression of developmental stages in the previously referred to Panels C and F in Fig.  1 . In a way, some of the diagrams that worked well served a summarizing function: they visually represented key components and showed more saliently how they were related to each other – which were not as easy to apprehend in sentences because of temporal/sequential separation. This is one of the reasons diagrams are considered effective: they integrate all information that is used together, reducing the need and effort for searching [ 14 ].

In the majority of cases where the diagrams worked well, they visually represented content that was already represented in words in the text – albeit with some enhancements like integration, as noted above. However, in a few exceptional cases, the diagrams also introduced content that was not present in the text of the essays. Figure  2 provides two examples of this. In Panel A, the diagram includes details in the lower part about unsuccessful (arrows with x) and successful (arrows with o) outcomes which require different responses. These details were not explicitly provided in the text but they enable readers to better understand how formative feedback is used in the example of solving story problems. Likewise, in Panel B, the diagram shows details not duplicated in the text about how different categories of complexes are formed, leading eventually to the formation of concepts [ 15 ]. The illustrations of different object combinations make the categories of complexes easier to grasp and distinguish from each other.

Examples of diagrams that introduced content or elaborations not present in the text

3.3 Ways that Diagrams Were Not Used Effectively

There were also numerous instances when the diagrams the students included did not appear to serve any useful function in the essay. In a couple of those cases, the diagrams were redundant: they showed images that portrayed information from the text that was simple enough not to require visual clarification. The illustration in Panel A in Fig.  3 is an example of this. Another ineffective use manifested was when the schematic structure of the diagram was unclear or erroneous. Examples of this are shown in Panels B and C of Fig.  3 . In Panel B, both the intended message and the connections between the components shown are unclear. In Panel C, the meaning of the arrows, and therefore what process might be depicted by the diagram, is unclear. In addition, there were a few diagrams, like the one shown in Panel D of Fig.  3 , which were quite complicated and therefore hard to understand. The contents of Panel D were also referred to in the text of the student’s essay, but the relationships shown in the diagram are new configurations that are not obvious and not explained explicitly in the text. It is therefore difficult to grasp its possible contribution to explaining, in this case, children’s development of understanding of the world around them.

Examples of diagrams that did not effectively serve their intended purpose in the essay

3.4 Implications for Theory, Research, and Practice

The many purposes that diagrams can serve in enhancing communication have been established in previous research [ 2 , 5 , 8 ], and the findings of the present study provide additional evidence for those in the area of student essay writing at the tertiary level. The findings also provide support for the idea that the same communicative purpose can be served by different kinds of diagrams [ 14 ]. Thus, for example, conveying the progression of a particular process can effectively be achieved using a flow diagram – or a table … or an illustration. This means that, in the same way that different words can convey the same meaning, different diagrams – if used/constructed appropriately – can communicate the same meaning. However, in future research, it would be useful to examine the range of communicative purposes that different kinds of diagrams can serve as there are probably important limitations to it. For example, if the communicative purpose is to describe what something looks like , other kinds of diagrams may not be quite as effective as an illustration (e.g., a table or a flow chart would be quite limited in conveying qualities pertaining to appearance).

The findings of the present research also suggest that many students, even at the tertiary level, would likely benefit from receiving some instruction or guidance on the use of diagrams not only in essays but also other forms of communication. While some students were able to generate diagrams that served useful functions in their essays, there were also quite a few who did not manage to do this. However, the findings of this exploratory study were based on a small sample of students taking the same course, so future investigations about spontaneous use and the effects of instruction provision ought to be conducted with larger and more diverse student groups.

Clark, J.M., Paivio, A.: Dual coding theory and education. Educ. Psychol. Rev. 3 , 149–210 (1991)

Article   Google Scholar  

Mayer, R.E., Moreno, R.: A split-attention effect in multimedia learning: evidence for dual processing systems in working memory. J. Educ. Psychol. 90 , 312–320 (1998)

Heiser, J., Tversky, B.: Characterizing diagrams produced by individuals and dyads. In: Freksa, C., Knauff, M., Krieg-Brückner, B., Nebel, B., Barkowsky, T. (eds.) Spatial Cognition 2004. LNCS (LNAI), vol. 3343, pp. 214–226. Springer, Heidelberg (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-32255-9_13

Chapter   Google Scholar  

Alabsi, T.A., Taha, I.M.: Using drawings to facilitate communication of non Arabic and non English speaking patients in Al Medinah health care sector. J. Am. Sci. 10 (6), 174–190 (2014)

Google Scholar  

Ainsworth, S., Prain, V., Tytler, R.: Drawing to learn in science. Science 333 , 1096–1097 (2011)

National Research Council: Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century. National Academies Press, Washington, DC (2012)

Manalo, E., Ueaska, Y., Kriz, S., Kato, M., Fukaya, T.: Science and engineering students’ use of diagrams during note taking versus explanation. Educ. Stud. 39 , 118–123 (2013)

Tversky, B.: Visualizing thought. Top. Cogn. Sci. 3 , 499–535 (2011)

Hegarty, M., Kozhevnikov, M.: Types of visual-spatial representations and mathematical problem solving. J. Educ. Psychol. 91 , 684–689 (1999)

Novick, L.R., Hurley, S.M.: To matrix, network, or hierarchy: that is the question. Cognitive Psychol. 42 , 158–216 (2001)

Zahner, D., Corter, J.E.: The process of probability problem solving: use of external visual representations. Math. Think. Learn. 12 , 177–204 (2010)

Manalo, E., Uesaka, Y.: Students’ spontaneous use of diagrams in written communication: understanding variations according to purpose and cognitive cost entailed. In: Dwyer, T., Purchase, H., Delaney, A. (eds.) Diagrams 2014. LNCS (LNAI), vol. 8578, pp. 78–92. Springer, Heidelberg (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-44043-8_13

Manalo, E., Uesaka, Y.: Hint, instruction, and practice: the necessary components for promoting spontaneous diagram use in students’ written work? In: Jamnik, M., Uesaka, Y., Elzer Schwartz, S. (eds.) Diagrams 2016. LNCS (LNAI), vol. 9781, pp. 157–171. Springer, Cham (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42333-3_12

Larkin, J.H., Simon, H.A.: Why a diagram is (sometimes) worth ten thousand words. Cognitive Sci. 11 , 65–99 (1987)

Vygotsky, L.: Studies in communication. In: Hanfmann, E., Vakar, G. (eds.) Thought and Language. MIT Press, Cambridge (1962)

Download references

Acknowledgment

This research was supported by a grant-in-aid (20K20516) received from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Graduate School of Education, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

Emmanuel Manalo

Graduate School of Education, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

Mari Fukuda

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Emmanuel Manalo .

Editor information

Editors and affiliations.

Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India

Amrita Basu

University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

Gem Stapleton

Lancaster University in Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany

Sven Linker

Deakin University, Burwood, VIC, Australia

Catherine Legg

Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, Brazil

Petrucio Viana

Rights and permissions

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Author(s)

About this paper

Cite this paper.

Manalo, E., Fukuda, M. (2021). Diagrams in Essays: Exploring the Kinds of Diagrams Students Generate and How Well They Work. In: Basu, A., Stapleton, G., Linker, S., Legg, C., Manalo, E., Viana, P. (eds) Diagrammatic Representation and Inference. Diagrams 2021. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12909. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-86062-2_56

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-86062-2_56

Published : 21 September 2021

Publisher Name : Springer, Cham

Print ISBN : 978-3-030-86061-5

Online ISBN : 978-3-030-86062-2

eBook Packages : Computer Science Computer Science (R0)

Share this paper

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research

sandwich essay

All Formats

Resource types, all resource types.

• Rating Count
• Price (Ascending)
• Price (Descending)
• Most Recent

Sandwich essay

Informational Writing-5 Paragraph Essay Sandwich Unit

• Google Apps™

Organize an Essay with The Essay Sandwich

STATE TEST ARGUMENT ESSAY OREOS AND SANDWICHES (OST: Argumentation Format)

Essay Writing Guide | The New Quote Sandwich chart body paragraph tutorial

Expository Essay : How to Make a Sandwich

Sandwich Model: Essay Writing (Review of Structure & Support)

Evidence Sandwich : Writing An Essay with Evidence and Counterarguments

Social Studies Essay Sandwich

Parts of an Essay - Sandwich Visual

Sandwich Handout for Teaching Essays and Paragraphs

• Word Document File

Essay " Sandwich " Handout

Quote Sandwich in Hop-Frog Analysis Essay

How to Make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Procedural Writing Template

How-To Writing { Sandwich Style Writing}

How to Introduce Quotations with the Quote Sandwich No Prep Digital Lesson

• Google Drive™ folder

Digital Hamburger Paragraph Sort - Sandwich Paragraph - Hamburger Writing

• Google Slides™
• Internet Activities

Fun Literary Analysis Essay Assignment for Middle School with Sample

Quote Sandwich BUNDLE

SANDWICH PARAGRAPH WRITING SKILLS

Quote Sandwich Practice With Answer Key

Essay Writing for Middle School | Full Year

Elements of the Essay Notes Bundle

Middle School Research Paper | True Crime Essay Writing Project #2

A 5 Sentence Paragraph Writing Essay Outline Worksheet

• We're hiring
• Help & FAQ
• Privacy policy
• Student privacy
• Terms of service
• Tell us what you think

english essay 8th class