The Five Paragraph Essay

Grades 5-6 (Grades 7-12 below)

The five paragraph essay is organized into three sections: introduction, body and conclusion. The introduction must include a thesis statement, which is the main theme or main argument one wishes the essay to pursue. A strong thesis statement is far easier to support, and a missing thesis statement will mean the essay does not have a defined direction. One should be able to reduce the theme of the essay to one coherent sentence.

This can actually be easily done when one gets assigned topics in question form. Generally the thesis can simply be rearranging the question into a declarative form. For example, the question before you might be: Was Mark Twain opposed to slavery? This could translate to a statement: Mark Twain was opposed to slavery, or Mark Twain supported slavery.

The first paragraph also lists the three points that will serve as examples, or further your theme. So for our essay on Mark Twain, a thesis statement might be followed with: Huck Finn shows the injustice of slavery, the fear of the slave having to go south, and the ignorance in which most slaves were held.

The three body paragraphs would then follow, and each would take up one of these three statements with appropriate cited examples. Each body paragraph should ideally be about five to seven sentences long, and should work on one subject only. This is often confusing for students when they find they have more that they want to say, on “the injustice of slavery,” perhaps. If a person requiring the essay wants the student to remain rigidly in five paragraph form, one may have to merely take the bare essentials to prove the thesis, and forget using other examples.

The fifth paragraph in the essay ends with a conclusion. The conclusion briefly restates the thesis, may touch a little bit more on the examples, and then perhaps makes a statement about how the thesis might affect the world now, or you personally. It might end with a question, which is meant to provoke further thought on the thesis. The conclusion should not include the words “In conclusion,” as these are considered tired beyond use, and the writer should recognize that most people will note their fifth paragraph is their conclusion.

Structure of the Five Paragraph Essay — Grades 7-12


The first paragraph:

1) Begins with a topic sentence that introduces a general theme.
2) Follows the topic sentence with sentences that narrow the focus of the theme, so that it is less general.
3) Introduces the author of the text you are writing about.
4) Introduces the title of that text.
5) Narrows the discussion of the topic by identifying an issue or problem.
6) Finishes by making a debatable claim a thesis statement, which is defined as a debatable point/claim. Always locate the thesis statement as the final sentence of the introductory paragraph, for students will be graded on this.

Body paragraphs:

1) Begin with topic sentences that clearly relate to the topic, or issue, or problem, that was identified in the introductory paragraph.
2) Sentences that elaborate on the issue, or problem discussed in the introductory paragraph, and also demonstrates a clear connection to the thesis statement.
3) A sentence or sentences that make a claim about the topic, issue, problem.
4) A quote from the text you are analyzing that supports your claim.
5) Your interpretation of that quote, which explains how you arrived at your conclusion, and also demonstrates a clear connection to the thesis statement.

Body paragraphs employ the One, Two, Three Rule, which is:

1) Make a debatable claim.
2) Support the claim with a quote.
3) Explain the connection between your claim and the quote, which means you make an intellectual conclusion.

Concluding paragraph:

1) Begins with a topic sentence that clearly relates to the topic, or issue, or problem, that was identified in the introductory paragraph.
2) Sentences that make connections with, or revisit, points from your introductory paragraph and your body paragraphs.  These points now serve to close your argument.
3) A synthesis of these points that clearly demonstrates the focus of your thesis statement.
4) A final comment, or intellectual conclusion of sorts that points out the larger significance of your argument.

Things to avoid:

 

  • Do not use contractions.
  • Do not use first person pronouns such as “I” “me” “my.”
  • Do not use second person pronouns such as “you” “your” “yours.”
  • Do not engage in personal stories, meaning stories of your own life experiences, or the experiences of friends, family, and so on.
  • Do not begin sentences with conjunctions: but, and, or, nor, for, so, yet.
  • Do not pose any questions in any assignments. This means, quite literally, not to use questions. Make statements instead.
  •  Avoid any form of direct address to the reader, such as “think about the fact that . . .”
  • Avoid too casual of a prose style, such as sentences that begin with words like “well, sure, now, yes, no.”