Writing a Five-Paragraph Essay:ReviewMrs. Klaus

Step One: Read the Prompt!What are you being asked to do?Do you have any choice in your

topic? Or is it very specific?

Step Two: Brainstorm!If you are given more than one

possible topic, you need to decide which one would work best for you.◦Create a brainstorm sheet or idea list

for each topic to determine which topic is more doable. List specific examples you could use in

your response When writing about literature, look for

supporting quotes that could be used in the essay

Step Three: Organize your IdeasYour outline is a PLAN. Planning

is very important and effective when writing papers!

IntroductionHook or Attention-Getter

◦BE INTERESTING! ◦Make your reader WANT to read your

essay!◦Make sure that your attention-getter

is relevant and appropriate. If you are opening with a quote, be sure to use proper documentation.

Intro, continuedBrief background information

◦Provide general info about your topic: If you’re writing about literature, include

author and title…and also a one-sentence summary of the work.

If you’re writing about other topics, briefly give us the overview needed to lead in to your specific points.

Intro, cont’dTHESIS

◦This is the main point of your essay, stated in a COMPLETE SENTENCE

◦If you had to summarize the purpose of your essay, this would be it! Be clear, and make sure your central idea MATCHES THE PROMPT!

Intro, cont’dSUPPORT SENTENCE

◦This is a list of your supporting examples or reasons

◦These examples/reasons should be listed in the SAME ORDER you will discuss them in your essay.

◦You may write this as one complete sentence (including a list of examples) OR several sentences (if it’s easier grammatically).

Your thesis and support sentence should be the LAST TWO sentences of your intro!

Body Paragraph 1TOPIC SENTENCE

◦Connect to both your thesis (main point) and support sentence (example/reason #1)

Supporting sentences:Discuss the example or reason you have presented in the topic sentence. When writing about literature, include direct quotations with proper documentation. Be sure to include good support for each point!

TransitionsThese help you move from one

example to the next. These should appear at the end

of body paragraph 1 and body paragraph 2, as you introduce your next examples.

Body Paragraph 2Topic sentence (of course!!!)

◦Connect to theis and supporting topic #2

Supporting SentencesTransition to body paragraph 3 (thesis

topic 3)

Body Paragraph 3Topic sentence (connect to thesis

and support topic #3)

Supporting Sentences…

No transition needed here.

ConclusionWrap up the main points of your

essayTry to be interesting…it’s hard

not to be repetitive, but TRY! Aim for new wording and maybe a connection to something broader than the scope of your essay.

This paragraph can be shorter than your other paragraphs…aim for 3 sentences.

So what does all of this look like?Let’s look at your outline handout to

see an example…