5 paragraph essay with thesis example

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.

How to Write a Five Paragraph Essay

Posted 02 May By Sally Baggett Under Writing. Without a thesis, your argument falls flat and your information is unfocused. That type of thesis is a long, well-written paper that takes years to piece together.

This sentence can tell a reader whether your essay is something they want to read. Just as there are different types of essays, there are different types of thesis statements. The thesis should match the essay.

For example, with an informative essay, you should compose an informative thesis rather than argumentative. You want to declare your intentions in this essay and guide the reader to the conclusion that you reach. To make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, you must procure the ingredients, find a knife, and spread the condiments. This thesis showed the reader the topic a type of sandwich and the direction the essay will take describing how the sandwich is made. In other words, unless your purpose is simply to inform, your thesis is considered persuasive.

A persuasive thesis usually contains an opinion and the reason why your opinion is true. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are the best type of sandwich because they are versatile, easy to make, and taste good. In this persuasive thesis statement, you see that I state my opinion the best type of sandwich , which means I have chosen a stance.

Next, I explain that my opinion is correct with several key reasons. Just as there are two different types of thesis statements informative and persuasive , there are two basic styles you can use. The first style uses a list of two or more points. This style of thesis is perfect for a brief essay that contains only two or three body paragraphs. This basic five-paragraph essay is typical of middle and high school assignments. In the above persuasive thesis, you can see my opinion about Narnia followed by three clear reasons.

This thesis is perfect for setting up a tidy five-paragraph essay. In college, five paragraph essays become few and far between as essay length gets longer. Can you imagine having only five paragraphs in a six-page paper?

For a longer essay, you need a thesis statement that is more versatile. Instead of listing two or three distinct points, a thesis can list one overarching point that all body paragraphs tie into. Good vs. In this thesis, I have made a claim about the theme in Narnia followed by my reasoning. I am no longer limited in how many body paragraphs I can logically use. One thing I find that is helpful for students is having a clear template.

While students rarely end up with a thesis that follows this exact wording, the following template creates a good starting point:. Conversely, the formula for a thesis with only one point might follow this template:. When composing a thesis, you must consider not only the format, but other qualities like length, position in the essay, and how strong the argument is. Length: A thesis statement can be short or long, depending on how many points it mentions.

Typically, however, it is only one concise sentence. It does contain at least two clauses, usually an independent clause the opinion and a dependent clause the reasons. You probably should aim for a single sentence that is at least two lines, or about 30 to 40 words long.

Position: A thesis statement always belongs at the beginning of an essay. This is because it is a sentence that tells the reader what the writer is going to discuss. Teachers will have different preferences for the precise location of the thesis, but a good rule of thumb is in the introduction paragraph, within the last two or three sentences. Strength: Finally, for a persuasive thesis to be strong, it needs to be arguable.

This means that the statement is not obvious, and it is not something that everyone agrees is true. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are easy to make because it just takes three ingredients. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are fun to eat because they always slide around. Composing a thesis statement does take a bit more thought than many other parts of an essay. However, because a thesis statement can contain an entire argument in just a few words, it is worth taking the extra time to compose this sentence.

It can direct your research and your argument so that your essay is tight, focused, and makes readers think. Do you ever find yourself staring at a blank computer screen, trying to summon the words you need to finish Read more.

Essays, as you know, contain an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Each element functions in a unique, yet unified Read more. Calling all you wonderful word nerds! In a celebration of one of the most popular lingua franca on the planet, Read more. Tutoring is a fantastic part-time job — not only do you earn money, but also you keep your own skills Read more.

Tagged: thesis. Sally B. Writing is her life. She holds a master's in literature, teaching basic writing at the college level and tutoring in writing at all levels. She also is a literature instructor, inspiring students to love what they read so that writing about it is more fun. She enjoys cooking with her family and assisting others in achieving their dreams.

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Tips for Writing a Solid Introduction Essays, as you know, contain an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Plagiarism Checker Upload a paper to check for plagiarism against billions of sources and get advanced writing suggestions for clarity and style.

I write a thesis statement based off those three examples, reasons, or pieces of evidence; I flesh out my introduction with a hook; and I write a conclusion. Structuring the Five-Paragraph Essay: Examples of Five-Paragraph Essays. A handy guide created by the Bronx Campus Writing Resource.

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Posted 02 May By Sally Baggett Under Writing.

A typical academic 5-paragraph essay includes five paragraphs. As a rule, a student has to introduce the topic, state and support up to three arguments, and sum up the results in the conclusion — a 5-paragraph outline explains every section in details. Students fail to come up with a good five-paragraph essay because the teachers sometimes do not provide necessary information and ignore the fact not all students are talented writers.

The Ultimate Guide to the 5-Paragraph Essay

Many students find it challenging to write a good essay. Often the main challenge is to organize and develop the ideas and arguments in a clear and coherent way. Sometimes a step-by-step description can help students on the way and make essay writing a more manageable task. The five paragraph essay is often assigned to students to help them in this process. A good 5-paragraph essay is a lot like a triple-decker burger, and is therefore often called the hamburger essay.

What Is a 5-Paragraph Essay and How to Write It?

The task of essay writing is undoubtedly daunting for many; specifically, the challenge of synthesizing information, relating it back to the thesis, and providing appropriate support can be overwhelming. Often, we race right back to our comfort zones — the five-paragraph essay. This format is often taught in high school, and its organizational structure is simple: an introduction, three body paragraphs that align with the three DOPs divisions of proof listed in the thesis, and a conclusion. What makes this format less useful for college writing is twofold. First, the limits set forth by the thesis apply, thus creating a paper that is structured around evidence instead of subtopics. Secondly, the format does not allow for deep interpretation. Snakes, particularly constrictors, provide the warmest hugs, thereby forging a sense of closeness between owner and pet. Though additional support exists, the thesis allows us to omit unnecessary data or evidence. Because our thesis is more argumentative than it is exploratory, a thematic organization might help us decide how to situate our body paragraphs.

That just about everyone reading this is well-familiar with the 5-paragraph essay is a testament to why it needs to be retired, and by retired, I mean killed dead, double-tap zombie-style, lest it rise again.

The 5 paragraph essay is considered to be the standard essay writing assignment. Once you have learned how to write it, you are prepared to tackle any other one.

Growing Your Essay Up: Part 2, Breaking out of the 5-Paragraph Essay

Though more advanced academic papers are a category all their own, the basic high school or college essay has the following standardized, five-paragraph structure:. Though it may seem formulaic — and, well, it is — the idea behind this structure is to make it easier for the reader to navigate the ideas put forth in an essay. You see, if your essay has the same structure as every other one, any reader should be able to quickly and easily find the information most relevant to them. Following the thesis, you should provide a mini-outline that previews the examples you will use to support your thesis in the rest of the essay. Not only does this tell the reader what to expect in the paragraphs to come but it also gives them a clearer understanding of what the essay is about. Finally, designing the last sentence in this way has the added benefit of seamlessly moving the reader to the first paragraph of the body of the paper. In this way, we can see that the basic introduction does not need to be much more than three or four sentences in length. If yours is much longer you might want to consider editing it down a bit! Here, by way of example, is an introductory paragraph to an essay in response to the following question:. People learn by doing and, accordingly, learn considerably more from their mistakes than their success.

How to write a 5-paragraph essay

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 :. The introduction serves to inform the reader of the basic premises, and then to state the author's thesis , or central idea. A thesis can also be used to point out the subject of each body paragraph. When a thesis essay is applied to this format, the first paragraph typically consists of a narrative hook , followed by a sentence that introduces the general theme, then another sentence narrowing the focus of the one previous. If the author is using this format for a text-based thesis, then a sentence quoting the text, supporting the essay-writer's claim, would typically go here, along with the name of the text and the name of the author. Example: "In the book Night , Elie Wiesel says After this, the author narrows the discussion of the topic by stating or identifying a problem. Often, an organizational sentence is used here to describe the layout of the paper.