Body
The body of the essay will include three paragraphs (if this is a five-paragraph essay), each limited to one main idea that supports your thesis. You should state your idea, then back it up with two or three sentences of evidence or examples.
Example of a main idea:
"It took incredible courage for an African American woman to make such a bold stance in 1955 Alabama."
Offer evidence to support this statement:
"This act took place in an era when African Americans could be arrested and face severe retribution for comitting the most trivial acts of defiance."
Include a few more supporting statements with further evidence, then use transition words to lead to the paragraph that follows. All of your body paragraphs should follow the pattern of statement, supporting ideas, and transition statement.

Sample transition words to use in your transition statements:
moreover
in fact
on the whole
furthermore
as a result
simply put
for this reason
similarly
likewise
it follows that
naturally
by comparison
surely