Tips+on+Using+Traffic+Colors+to+Organize+your+Writing

The three colors of the traffic light help me remember how to write a simple essay or paragraph. First, I use green to get me going. My topic sentence or lead is green; it tells the reader what I am going to prove, going to explain, going to describe, or going to share. Next, yellow reminds me to slow down and support my topic with good reasons, details, or facts with transitions. Finally, I see red and it reminds me to stop. Red examples, explanations, evidence and events bring my writing to life. My conclusion, of course, is green because I go back to my topic and use my last sentences to remind the reader of the topic.

When using the three traffic colors to expand and add detail to an essay or a paragraph, it's important to "stretch" your topic, not "stack" your topics. Read through the paragraph below.

//My dog Barney was a very loyal friend. He would do just about anything you wanted to do. He was an exceptional listener. He was always there when you needed him. Barney was the best pet a kid could want.//

As you can see, the paragraph is all about Barney being a good friend, and I've given support for my topic, but I haven't really given any real details. The reader doesn't have a good picture in his or her head. Since I would highlight topics green, and I'd highlight support yellow, the paragraph would look like this:

// My dog Barney was a very loyal friend. He would do just about anything you wanted to do. He was also an exceptional listener. He was always there when you needed him. Barney was the best pet a kid could want. //

In order to add detail, I really need to stretch the information I already have. I don't want to add //new// reasons, I want to expand the reasons I've given. For example, what sorts of things would Barney do for me? Why was it important to me that he was such a good listener? When was he there for me when it really mattered? My new and improved paragraph might look like this:

// My dog Barney was a very loyal friend. He would do just about anything you wanted to do. When you couldn't find anyone to go outside and play in the backyard or take a walk, Barney was always a willing participant. He was great at being my sidekick (I, of course, was the superhero), an evil villain, or our kind aunt when my stuffed animals and I were having a tea party. He was also an exceptional listener. Whenever I was having a bad day, I could always talk to Barney. He listened without judgement to all of my complaints, fears, and dreams. Plus he was the best keeper of secrets I knew! Barney was always there when you needed him. Every day, when I walked up the driveway after school, I could always count on Barney to be sitting outside, wagging his tail, waiting for me. Barney was the best pet a kid could want. //