T opic identification.

"I have to write a paper on the person I most admire. I picked Magic Johnson. The teacher said to make sure that I explain the reasons why I admire him."

A tree trunk.
R eact to each paragraph

."These are the paragraphs I have written. I'll read them to make sure that they're related to my topic."

The person I most admire is Magic Johnson. The reason for this is that he is a famous basketball player who admitted that he was HIV positive. He was at the top of his career when he announced this.
Magic said that he contracted the virus because he was promiscuous. He has a wife and child but they are not HIV positive. He is also the sixth of 10 children. His announcement showed that AIDS was not a gay disease. He was not afraid of being called gay.
He has dedicated his life to educating people about AIDS. After his announcement, he continued to play basketball for a while. When he couldn't play anymore, he went into business. He owns a chain of movie theatres. He also is active in causes like the United Negro College Fund.
When he played basketball, he and Larry Bird were competitors. They were always being compared to each other.
Magic shows that it is possible to overcome illness and be successful. He played for Michigan State when he was in college and then he played for the L.A. Lakers. He has been a model for many people who have problems in their lives.

"All the paragraphs seem to be related to the topic of why I admire Magic Johnson except the paragraph that tells about Magic and Larry Bird. That's not related to the topic so I'll drop that paragraph."

A tree with branches but no leaves.
E xamine each sentence in each paragraph.

"I've looked at all the sentences in each paragraph. There's only one sentence that doesn't fit the topic. It's the sentence in the second paragraph that says that Magic was the sixth of 10 children. I'm going to drop that sentence."

A tree with branches and a tire swing.
E nd.

"The last paragraph introduces some new information. The sentence that says that he played for Michigan State and the L.A. Lakers really isn't necessary so I'll take it out."

Leaves on the tree, serving as a concluding paragraph.



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