A five paragraph essay is a useful, simple and common essay model for people who would like to improve or develop their writing skills. For instance, a student who enters college life with a solid background regarding this model would find his initial year easier. The model is regarded as the fundamental high school essay model for the important role it plays in overall learning. Some call it as a “one-three-one” essay or even a “hamburger” essay. In any case, how does 5 paragraph essay writing go? (/0x4*
As the name suggests, a five paragraph essay has five paragraphs including the introductory paragraph, the body that consists of three main paragraphs and the conclusion paragraph at the end. Each of the paragraphs has its specific purpose and goal to achieve.
The intro provides the reader with an initial impression and direction regarding the essay. The initial impression has a considerable consequence and role. It sparks interest in the reader if written effectively. A good intro grabs the interest of the reader and leads him to the rest of the essay. A thesis statement is an important element of an effective introductory paragraph
The next three paragraphs represent the body and communicate the main thoughts or evidence. The reader should get the idea of what the body is about from the intro. Each of the three paragraphs presents a single idea. It makes sense to articulate the strongest ideas first. The three paragraphs should be coherent.
The fifth and last paragraph is the conclusion that typically restates the thesis statement and presents a summary of the key points or ideas. This approach ties up everything together and reminds and asserts to the reader the overarching idea, thought, or position.
Top Tips to Help You Ace Your Five Paragraph Essay
Whereas there might be some additional considerations based on the specific writing task, the broad considerations when writing the five paragraph essay are useful across the board. Below are some broad considerations to guide you.
1. Select an Appropriate Topic
In some cases, the topic is provided while in others you need to come up with one. In the latter scenario, make sure to select a superb topic that aligns with your interests and the task at hand. Avoid topics that are too broad or too narrow to fit the five paragraph essay seamlessly. A topic is too limited or narrow if there aren’t sufficient ideas for discussion. A topic with less than three ideas is provides limited options for the discussion. A topic that is too broad creates difficulties in organizing and presenting ideas or points. Examples include broad topics such as communication, agriculture, banking and football; A more specific topic such as the benefits of communication and the power of online banking represent viable options
2. Develop an Outline
An outline is the blueprint for the essay and is useful in organizing ideas to flow consistently and follow a coherent order. Through experience, writing on some topics might become second nature to you and therefore you might have the blueprint in your mind. When dealing with novel topics, however, an outline provides some assurance that your essay is organized.
3. Write a Smashing Introduction
The first paragraph is the introduction. The most notable elements of this paragraph are the hook and thesis statement. The thesis statement acts like the summary of what the entire essay is all about. The introduction is perhaps the most essential part of any essay writing as it carries the tenacity of the essay and can determine the reader’s interest.
4. Write the Body
The next three paragraphs comprise the body. State, develop and improve each idea in a single paragraph with supporting points with clarity. Use appropriate transitional words to ensure your writing is coherent. Keep in mind the following points when writing the body
- Each paragraph presents a single idea.
- The most important ideas should come first.
- Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence representing what the paragraph discusses.
5. Finish With a Conclusion
The conclusion restates the thesis statement and a summary of the main ideas presented in the three paragraphs comprising the body. The paragraph should also include statement to denote the end of the essay. Do not present other ideas that were not discussed in the essay. This will only create confusion and undermine the overall direction and impact of the essay. The introduction should be a succinct presentation of the previous sections. Including a restatement of the thesis statement, a summary of the key points, and a closing statement.
6. Edit and Proofread Your Essay
Editing and proofreading is an important step to ensure your essay is error-free. Proofreading by someone else can help in identifying any issues that might escape your checks. If you are in such a position, seek the help of someone else to proofread your essay. Some of the relevant tasks are listed below:
- Remove grammatical errors
- Ensure that your sentence constructions are error-free
- Ensure that all punctuation are correct
- Ensure the font is eligible
7. Other Considerations
Some instructors provide additional requirements when writing the five paragraph essay. Ensure that your essay meets such requirements. Use appropriate citations for material obtained from other works and provide the appropriate reference list. Plagiarism is a major offense with major implications for the effectiveness of your essay. Proper citations can help you avoid plagiarism and the associated penalties.
Writing the Five Paragraph Narration Essay
Many English courses both online and at school make it mandatory for their students to write a well-written 5 paragraphed narration essay. A narration essay is quite different from any other essay types. This kind of essay requires a writer to write a story that will let the readers of the story know about the writer’s experiences. In addition, this kind of essay can provide readers with lessons that can be used when they encounter the same situation that the writer has. The following paragraphs will let you know how to create this type of essay.
Before writing a 5 paragraphed narration essay, you must gather all your thoughts and remember everything about the story you want to tell. You might want to meditate for at least ten to fifteen minutes since this is the only way you can get your ‘research’ material for your story. While doing this, it is best to think clearly and try to re-live all the scenes that you want to tell. This will make it easier for you to convey the emotions in written words.
After gathering all the thoughts that you need to write on your 5 paragraphed narration essay, write them down sentence by sentence. Try to use adjectives that suit your emotions and adjectives that vividly describe the scenarios. This will not be your actual essay but this will be your resource material written. By doing this, you will not need to rethink and you will be sure that what you will write will be accurate.
Next is to organize your story. You will do this by arranging your story to a 5 paragraphed narration essay form.
The first one is introduction. In this part, you will mention the things you want to point out in your story. This will include what you learned and how this story influenced you.
Next are the body paragraphs. The first paragraph will tell the readers how the story began. While the second paragraph will explain all the details on what happened in your story. To end the body, the third paragraph will talk about your emotions and the after effects of the incident.
The last paragraph of your 5 paragraphed narration essay will be the conclusion. In this paragraph, you will briefly mention again all the things that happened. In addition, you will need to tell the end of the story here. To finish this paragraph, write at least one to two sentences about the moral lesson you have learned.
Following all the instructions provided will help you write a nice 5 paragraphed narration essay. To make sure your work has no problems, after writing the conclusion, proofread your 5 paragraphed narration essay from any possible grammatical errors. Moreover, there are other ways to write this kind of essay, make sure that you learn them for you to improve further.