My students and I have been working on developing paragraphs. This includes writing clear topic sentences and strong transitions, as well as introducing evidence effectively. One exercise I use to help students with this involves giving them a jumbled block of text and asking them to rearranged it into three paragraphs. I’ve included clues in the text to show which sentences connect to each other. Here’s an example:
Every community has a post office, so postal banking would greatly expand access to banks for many low-income and minority communities. One cause of the racial wealth gap was the widespread denial of home loans to African Americans. People living paycheck to paycheck often are unable to meet minimum balance requirements even if there is a bank close to their home. The racial wealth gap has grown in the past few decades. Democratic Senator and presidential hopeful Kirsten Gillibrand has proposed a postal banking bill. Postal banking is a popular solution to the problem of banking deserts. Many communities exist in “banking deserts,” forcing residents to pay ATM fees whenever they need cash. By relieving minority communities of the fees that siphon off their earnings, postal banking would reduce the racial wealth gap. Postal banking would return to an earlier system in which post offices offered banking services. More than half of African Americans are underserved by banks. Postal banking would help address the racial wealth gap. Banking deserts are most common in Southern cities. Senator Gillibrand’s bill would require post offices to offer checking and savings accounts and small, short-term loans. The postal savings system helped immigrants save money from the early to the mid-twentieth century. Almost twenty percent of Americans rely on predatory payday lenders or check cashers because there is no bank near their home. The racial wealth gap is the vast difference in net worth between whites and blacks. Those without reliable access to banks could spend $2,000 per year in fees.
The rearranged text should look something like this:
Many communities exist in “banking deserts,” forcing residents to pay ATM fees whenever they need cash. Banking deserts are most common in Southern cities. More than half of African Americans are underserved by banks. Almost twenty percent of Americans rely on predatory payday lenders or check cashers because there is no bank near their home. People living paycheck to paycheck often are unable to meet minimum balance requirements even if there is a bank close to their home. Those without reliable access to banks could spend $2,000 per year in fees.
Postal banking is a popular solution to the problem of banking deserts. Every community has a post office, so postal banking would greatly expand access to banks for many low-income and minority communities. Postal banking would return to an earlier system in which post offices offered banking services. The postal savings system helped immigrants save money from the early to the mid-twentieth century. Democratic Senator and presidential hopeful Kirsten Gillibrand has proposed a postal banking bill. Senator Gillibrand’s bill would require post offices to offer checking and savings accounts and small, short-term loans.
Postal banking would help address the racial wealth gap. The racial wealth gap is the vast difference in net worth between whites and blacks. The racial wealth gap has grown in the past few decades. One cause of the racial wealth gap was the widespread denial of home loans to African Americans. By relieving minority communities of the fees that siphon off their earnings, postal banking would reduce the racial wealth gap.
