Five Paragraph Essays Hooray! You ll be writing these on standardized tests throughout high school and college. Why not start doing them correctly now?
What are the 5 paragraphs? Introduction Body 1 Body 2 Body 3 Conclusion
Introduction Orient the reader to the topic. Get the reader s attention! Define important terms. Give background information. End with a thesis statement.
Thesis Statement States the MAIN IDEA of the essay What are you trying to prove? Of what are you informing us? Has the DIVISIONS into which your main idea is separated A five paragraph essay should have 3 divisions, one for each body paragraph. Includes the DIRECTION of the essay What is this essay doing? Is it persuading, informing, characterizing, etc?
Directions Persuasive Informational Cause/Effect Characterization Spatial (location) Chronological (time)
Attention Getter Increasingly narrower statements Example Introduction Albert Einstein. Mark Twain. Burt Reynolds. Throughout history, great men have grown mustaches. Those men have walked many different paths in life, but some of them have been educators. One particular educator, Mr. Frawley of Charles Boehm Middle School, could join the ranks of the great men of history if he grew his own mustache. Mr. Frawley should grow a mustache because it can fight cancer, attract ladies, and scare thieves. Broad opening statement. Thesis Division 1 Division 2 Division 3
Mr. Frawley should grow a mustache because it can fight cancer, attract ladies, and scare thieves. Main idea: Mr. Frawley should grow a mustache. Direction: Persuade should Divisions: Fight cancer Attract ladies Scare thieves
Body Paragraphs Begin with a transition word that opens your topic sentence! Each body paragraph corresponds to a division, in the same order as the divisions. The first body paragraph is about fighting cancer by growing a mustache. Include 3 supporting details for that topic. Explain each detail. Conclude by summarizing the details and restating the topic.
Transition Word Supporting Idea 1 Supporting Idea 3 Example Body Paragraph First, Mr. Frawley should grow a mustache to fight cancer. Mustaches can fight cancer through a website called Movember, which raises money for prostate cancer research. On the site, Mr. Frawley can ask friends and family to donate to his cause. Along the way, he can post pictures of his mustache as it grows. The more people who follow his mustache-growing progress, the more likely he will be to raise money. In fact, he could start a whole team of mustache-growers to join him. This would, potentially, raise the most money. In this way, Mr. Frawley can raise money to Concluding sentence fight cancer by growing a mustache. Supporting Idea 2
Transition Word Supporting Idea 2 Supporting Idea 3 Example Body Paragraph Furthermore, Mr. Frawley can attract ladies by growing a mustache. Traditionally, mustaches are worn by strong, manly men, which makes the ladies love them. Ron Swanson has a mustache, and he attracts many ladies. Also, a well-manicured mustache shows patience and caring. It requires time and effort to care for and groom a good mustache, and these are qualities that ladies love. Additionally, great men in history have had mustaches, and ladies love a man who can make his mark on history. Friedrich Nietzsche, Ron Burgundy, and Teddy Roosevelt all had mustaches while attracting beautiful women. For these reasons, it is clear that a mustache would make Mr. Frawley more attractive to the ladies. Supporting Idea Concluding sentence
Conclusion Restate the thesis, or the main idea. Do not rewrite it. Restate it. Summarize each division of the essay. Leave the reader with an interesting final impression. Refer back to your introduction (bookend) Call the reader to action
Example Conclusion In conclusion, a mustache should definitely grow on Mr. Frawley s face. By growing it, he can raise funds to fight cancer via Movember. Without a doubt, it would make him more attractive to the ladies by increasing his manliness and his historical significance. It would also make him more menacing, which would prevent thieves from trying to steal from him. Will a mustache make Mr. Frawley the next Albert Einstein? It probably will not, but it is definitely a step in the right direction. Mr. Frawley could be the next great man in history, and the mustache is his next step toward greatness.
What are the 5 paragraphs? Introduction Get attention, provide background, thesis with 3 divisions Body 1, 2, & 3 Transition word begins topic sentence 3 supporting details Summary sentence Conclusion Restate thesis, summarize divisions, leave reader with a strong final impression