5-paragraph essay and heading
When it comes to writing essays in college, we all need a place to start. Think of the five-paragraph essay as just that. Some students may find this to be a simple process, while others may spend a greater amount of time understanding this basic building block of college writing. Whatever the case, use the following guidelines to strengthen your knowledge of this preliminary essay format. Five-paragraph essays are incredibly useful in two situations — when writers are just starting out and when a writing assignment is timed. The five-paragraph essay has three basic parts: introduction , body , and conclusion.
Writing a Three-Paragraph Essay
Just like there is more than one way to skin a cat or so they say , there is more than one way to write an essay. One is not required to produce a perfectly formatted five-paragraph essay every time one composes a piece of writing. There is another type of essay you can write that may just be simpler than the traditional style: the three-paragraph essay.
This type of essay might be beneficial for beginning writers as it offers the organizational structure of a longer essay without requiring the length. It also offers a challenge to more advanced writers to condense their points. As with most essays, the three-paragraph essay has three parts: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Yet with this type of essay—unlike its five-paragraph counterpart—each one of these sections has only one paragraph. The three-paragraph essay, therefore, might be ideal for young writers or those who are currently mastering the English language.
Another benefit to the three-paragraph essay could be that it requires you to condense your supporting points into just one, which can be a good exercise. If you had to choose only one point to convince a reader to agree with you, what would it be? After performing some light prewriting, such as brainstorming or writing an outline, students can move right into composing the essay. While this process is similar across the board for writing academic papers, the three-paragraph essay is unique in that the body will take up less space in the finished product.
As with most formal essays, the three-paragraph essay begins with an introduction paragraph. Such paragraphs must, obviously, introduce the reader to your idea and, in most cases, convince the reader that this essay is worth reading. To craft a strong introduction, be sure to open with a solid hook. You want to draw in readers so they are compelled to engage with your writing.
A hook can be something compelling such as a question, a powerful quote, or an interesting fact. Introduction paragraphs also usually contain background information that assists the reader in understanding your topic, perhaps defining it or explaining an important part. Finally, you want to include a thesis statement. Even though your essay only has three paragraphs, there still needs to be a purpose to the writing. You could structure your introduction paragraph according to this outline :.
This structure is not mandatory, though it might be useful in the long run for organizing your thoughts. The second paragraph, as we have discussed, is the one and only body paragraph. This paragraph bears the burden of communicating support for the thesis statement all on its own. As such, it may take more than one rough draft to get this paragraph to communicate everything you want it to.
Your body paragraph needs to underscore the thesis statement. Create a topic sentence for this body paragraph that communicates this and also transitions from the introduction into the body. For example, your body paragraph topic sentence based on the outline above could be:.
One of those problems might play itself out as food scarcity where humans live. Within the body paragraph, you can quote different sources that support this point. Again, this paragraph does not have room to contain everything that a full five-paragraph essay might.
The final paragraph in an essay is usually the conclusion. The three-paragraph essay is no exception. In this essay, the conclusion can be just as long as the other two paragraphs, and it can drive home the point made in the thesis statement and body paragraph. As with most conclusion paragraphs, this paragraph ought to restate the thesis in different words.
It should then summarize what was stated in the body paragraph before challenging the reader in some way, whether in thought or action. One thing to be sure of in this type of essay as in any other is to polish it. Make it flow well. In other words, revise it! Before beginning the revision process, take a break from your writing so that you can look at it with fresh eyes.
Once you start revising, hunt not only for grammar and punctuation errors but for ways to make the writing flow better. Take a look at the sentences at the beginning and end of each paragraph. Do these sentences contain transition words? Do these paragraphs link to each other? There are also other services that will automatically proofread you paper.
If you used any sources i. Most teachers will ask you to create a bibliography in MLA format. Others may have you one in APA format , or create references in Chicago style. Ask your teacher for guidance on what citation style they prefer. You can also use it to relate a narrative tale, using the three parts as the beginning, middle, and end of a story. You can use this to craft an informative essay.
See if other types of essays—such as a process analysis or an evaluation—will fit inside the three-paragraph essay format. In many ways, the three-paragraph essay is similar to the five-paragraph essay.
They both make a solid point using an introduction, body, and conclusion. This simpler essay only requires that you condense your points into one body paragraph, perhaps only one supporting point, before reaching a conclusion. Again, this can make a good exercise for beginning English writers, but can also make a challenge for a more advanced writer to select their strongest supporting points. The Parts of the Essay and Its Benefits As with most essays, the three-paragraph essay has three parts: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.
You could structure your introduction paragraph according to this outline : Introduction Paragraph Hook: Is there no solution for dumping waste in the ocean?
Background Points Explain why trash is dumped in the ocean Statistics about dumping trash in the ocean Thesis Statement: Dumping waste in the ocean is a problem because it spells disaster for the ecosystem, leading to problems on land. Paragraph Two: Body The second paragraph, as we have discussed, is the one and only body paragraph. For example, your body paragraph topic sentence based on the outline above could be: One of those problems might play itself out as food scarcity where humans live.
Paragraph Three: Conclusion The final paragraph in an essay is usually the conclusion. Editing Before Turning It In One thing to be sure of in this type of essay as in any other is to polish it.
The five-paragraph essay is a format of essay having five paragraphs: one introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs with support and development, and. A five-paragraph essay is a prose composition that follows a prescribed format of an introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs, and a.
This checklist will help students organize their papers before turning them in. Tags: Paragraphs. Writing 0. Does the length of the paper meet assignment expectations?
English Handout: How to Write an Opinion Essay.
It is the third rail of ELA instruction, with an army of passionate and seemingly intractable supporters on both sides. There may be no greater enemy to quality writing than the 5-paragraph essay.
Five-paragraph essay
When I hand back analytic essays, I try to leave room to do a collective post-mortem and talk about common problems or challenges that appeared in a number of essays. I think it helps a lot to know that the comment you got is a comment that other people got, and also to know how some people dealt more successfully with the same issue. All anonymous, of course, and nothing especially brutal in terms of the actual grades dispensed. I usually base my comments on some scrawled meta-notes I keep as I work through each batch of essays. Sometimes there are unique problems that arise in relation to a particular essay question, which is sometimes a consequence of my having given enough rope for certain students to hang themselves in the phrasing of the question. Choice of tenses , which can be difficult in history papers if the student is writing about contemporary texts as well as past events.
5 Paragraph Essay Checklist
Just like there is more than one way to skin a cat or so they say , there is more than one way to write an essay. One is not required to produce a perfectly formatted five-paragraph essay every time one composes a piece of writing. There is another type of essay you can write that may just be simpler than the traditional style: the three-paragraph essay. This type of essay might be beneficial for beginning writers as it offers the organizational structure of a longer essay without requiring the length. It also offers a challenge to more advanced writers to condense their points. As with most essays, the three-paragraph essay has three parts: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Yet with this type of essay—unlike its five-paragraph counterpart—each one of these sections has only one paragraph. The three-paragraph essay, therefore, might be ideal for young writers or those who are currently mastering the English language. Another benefit to the three-paragraph essay could be that it requires you to condense your supporting points into just one, which can be a good exercise.
Noted critic and fourteen. If not.
The five-paragraph essay is a format of essay having five paragraphs : one introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs with support and development, and one concluding paragraph. Because of this structure, it is also known as a hamburger essay , one three one , or a three-tier essay. The five-paragraph essay is a form of essay having five paragraphs :.
What Should We Do With the Five Paragraph Essay?
Still, teaching students to organize essays into the five-paragraph format is an easy way to introduce them to writing literary criticism, which will be tested time and again throughout their primary, secondary, and further education. The introduction is the first paragraph in your essay, and it should accomplish a few specific goals: capture the reader's interest, introduce the topic, and make a claim or express an opinion in a thesis statement. Students can practice with creative writing prompts to get some ideas for interesting ways to start an essay. The next few sentences should explain your first statement, and prepare the reader for your thesis statement, which is typically the last sentence in the introduction. To correctly write each of these three body paragraphs, you should state your supporting idea, your topic sentence, then back it up with two or three sentences of evidence. Words to use as you transition from one paragraph to another include: moreover, in fact, on the whole, furthermore, as a result, simply put, for this reason, similarly, likewise, it follows that, naturally, by comparison, surely, and yet. The final paragraph will summarize your main points and re-assert your main claim from your thesis sentence. It should point out your main points, but should not repeat specific examples, and should, as always, leave a lasting impression on the reader. The first sentence of the conclusion, therefore, should be used to restate the supporting claims argued in the body paragraphs as they relate to the thesis statement, then the next few sentences should be used to explain how the essay's main points can lead outward, perhaps to further thought on the topic. Ending the conclusion with a question, anecdote, or final pondering is a great way to leave a lasting impact. Once you complete the first draft of your essay, it's a good idea to re-visit the thesis statement in your first paragraph. Read your essay to see if it flows well, and you might find that the supporting paragraphs are strong, but they don't address the exact focus of your thesis.
