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157One helpful guideline is to assume that your reader has read the text but has not necessarily thought too much about it. To write for this kind of audience, you won%u2019t have to recount the full plot or describe each and every character. Instead, you can focus on the big-picture elements that connect to your interpretation of the text, and try to explain how those specific elements convey meaning.Let%u2019s walk through one way to write a body paragraph in support of topic sentence 3:While the school symbolizes safety and opportunity in the future, the blizzard symbolizes challenges beyond the characters%u2019 control.If you have time, you may find it helpful to summarize relevant events from the text in a short paragraph as a first step. For example, take Ivek%u2019s initial decision to push on once the blizzard begins. A full summary might look like this:At the moment the blizzard begins, Ivek has been driving at the usual higher speed, but the snow immediately causes him to significantly slow the bus while trying to remain on the road. The children on the bus understand right away how serious the situation has become, even before Ivek realizes they are no longer on the road. Additionally, everybody on the bus knows they have reached an area with few houses or safe places to stop. Ivek feels relief knowing he at least will not run out of gas given that they must continue on their way. However, his thoughts turn to the individual children on the bus and their parents, as well as any children he had not picked up. He also feels relief that his own children had stayed home because they had been sick, and while he cannot be sure how the rest of the trip will go, the story reiterates how he knows he has no choice but to keep driving. Despite the importance of getting the children to school, Ivek can do very little else in the face of the blizzard.This is a lot of information, and not all of it is necessary to support the claim in the topic sentence that the blizzard symbolizes the challenges people face to secure opportunity and safety for children. Instead, your description of a given event in the text should be roughly one sentence long, and the rest of the body paragraph should be made up of your own commentary on what those events and big-picture elements mean. Some options for shortening the paragraph-long summary include:%u2022 The blizzard%u2019s suddenness catches Ivek by surprise and prevents him from remaining on the road, but he knows he must continue driving and feels relieved that he has enough fuel.%u2022 Even though the blizzard immediately hinders Ivek%u2019s ability to drive the bus at regular speeds and to remain on the road, Ivek knows his best option is to continue driving.%u2022 The children and Ivek understand the seriousness of the blizzard immediately, and everybody works together to remain calm and push forward despite the dangers.Analysis of Theme in Fiction Writing WorkshopCopyright %u00a9 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. For review purposes only. Not for redistribution.