Model PIE Paragraph for Happiness Topic

 

MODEL  PIE PARAGRAPH FOR HAPPINESS TOPIC:

 

            Clearly, happiness can be even sweeter after a big struggle.  After overcoming a major life obstacle, a sense of contentment can be felt more deeply, a huge reward, but those who have suffered may also feel happy more often because they learn that attaining happiness is a process, something ongoing, and this is a lesson we all could use to be happy.  Pope Francis gets at this idea by claiming that happiness is not instantaneous, not something found on a screen “not an app that you can download on your phone” (134).  Happiness is more of a process; feelings of deep contentment take time to achieve and often one isn’t always in a constant state of bliss.  In the documentary, Happy, by Roko Belic, he travels the world and interviews folks about what allows them to live more joyous lives, but a couple people stood out— Melissa Moody and Daniel Gilbert.  Melissa Moody seemed to have a “perfect” and full life until a horrible car accident changed all that.  While recovering from the accident she realized her life wasn’t “picture perfect,” that she had been abused, and she only discovered this and healed herself because of this major hurdle she was forced to endure.  But these obstacles allowed her to grow and appreciate life, a less superficial one (and her new husband) even more.  She thought she felt contentment initially in her life, but her struggle helped to push her to find an even deeper satisfaction over time, especially as she was recovering.  Daniel Gilbert talks about people’s ideas on the sources of happiness, stating “In general, people do really good when things go really bad,” suggesting that pain may be part of the recipe for being happy. 

Perhaps it is common sense that we can have too much of a good thing.  A scoop or two of your favorite ice cream, salted caramel, can be delightful but if you eat an entire gallon you might feel sick.  In “A Better Kind of Happiness” Will Storr writes about how finding happiness is not a “golden promise, but a practice.”  His word “practice” suggests that happiness is something we continue to try to attain, something we hone.  He goes on to state, “Stop hoping for happiness tomorrow. Happiness is being engaged in the process” (140).  Folks who’ve gone through some trials and tribulations may learn this lesson: that those ups and downs allow them to feel the ups more deeply and appreciate them and that there are many more of them to come.  And instead of getting completely bogged down in what’s hard, they manage to notice when the flickers of light shine in.   

1.     Does this body paragraph have a topic sentence or “P”?  Y or N?  Underline it.  Is it clear?  Is it arguable?  Is it one or two sentences?  Can it be supported in one or two paragraphs?

 

 

 

2.     Is this paragraph clear and convincing?  In other words, is there enough evidence/information?  What could you add or take away?  What types of evidence/support do you find?  [Put brackets around it.]

 

 

 

3.     What is left in the body paragraph?  What is it doing or providing?  Is there enough?  What might you add?

 

 

 

HERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU DEVELOP YOUR “E”:

What does this line(s) suggest or imply?

What is does this evidence prove or reveal?

What do certain words or phrases indicate about the point the writer is making?

What overall can we learn from the evidence?

 

You will want to come back to these questions throughout the quarter!