Brad CaseEnglish 9

The standard five paragraph essay structure follows a specific format. The introduction has a thesis and introduces three main supporting subtopics. The second through fourth paragraphs are the body and they individually support the subtopics. The fifth paragraph is the conclusion and it should restate the thesis and remind the reader of the supporting subtopics. Although the essay can have more than five paragraphs, it is often called a five-paragraph essay.

There are three main types of essays:1. Narrative essays—tell a story from a defined

point of view.2. Persuasive or argumentative essays— attempt

to convince the audience that the point of view or course of action recommended by the writer is valid.

3. Expository essays—define, explain, or analyze by using facts and statistical information, cause and effect relationships, or examples.

This is the focusing statement of any essay.  The basic structure of this sentence should

contain three sections. The sentence must be written in parallel structure; thereby controlling the topics of the first, second and third body paragraphs. The thesis is stated in the introduction and then is artfully reiterated, not repeated, in the conclusion.

The introduction serves two main functions:1. To engage the reader—catch the reader’s interest2. To introduce the main idea and supporting points that will be discussed.

There are six main ways to engage your audience:1. Ask a question (the weakest of the methods)2. Tell an anecdote3. Provide a relevant quotation4. Share some dialogue5. Reveal a startling or unusual fact6. Paint a vivid description (use sensory detail)

There are five main ways to introduce your main idea:

1. State the problem2. Present the information you are

going to compare/contrast3. Give background for your story4. State your thesis5. Introduce the idea/object/process person/place that you are going to describe

In the body, the writer presents at least three paragraphs. Each paragraph has a main supporting idea that directly relates to the thesis, main idea or topic of the paper as presented in the introduction. For these main supporting ideas, the writer supplies additional details explanations and proof related to the supporting main ideas.

Goal—the body serves one or more of the following purposes:

1. Tell your story in a narrative essay2. Compare and contrast your information in

an expository essay3. Describe your idea/object/process/person/

place in an expository essay4. Prove your point or thesis in an

argumentative essay5. Explain your solution to a problem in an

argumentative essay

Use a specific order or orders in the body of an essay:

1. Spatial order—order based on location—use for descriptions

2. Chronological order—order based on time—use for events in a narrative essay

3. Logical order—order based on ways of thinking—use for cause/effect, problem/solution, main idea/support in argumentative and expository essays

4. Order of Importance—order based on most important information to least important/ least important to most important—use in argumentative and expository essays

The goal of the conclusion is to signal to the audience that the piece is complete

There are nine basic ways to write a conclusion:

1. Restate (put in new words) the main idea— show chain of main ideas

2. Answer a question from the body or introduction

3. Ask an additional question that extends your main idea

4. Make a call to action

5. Make a suggestion6. Make a prediction7. Explain the importance of the information

in the piece8. In a narrative, end with the last event9. Extend the specific to the general and/or

universal

Remember, this is not exhaustive. If you can figure out a way to organize or present your piece that grows out of the information itself, use that.