How to Successfully Write a Five Paragraph Essay

How to Successfully Write a 5 Paragraph Essay

An apple a day keeps the doctor away… and grows back your lost hair, slows down ageing, eliminates wrinkles, makes you look younger and even brings color back to grey hairs! So, this old saying is proving to be wrong, not only do Swiss apples not keep the doctor away; they actually attract doctors to them like a doctor magnet!  When successfully writing a five paragraph essay, you need to grab the reader’s attention from the start, you need five paragraphs and you need to follow a structure. This essay will focus on this structure which is first to have an introduction paragraph, then three body paragraphs that support your topic, and finishing with a concluding paragraph to wrap things up. Following this structure will help your essay endure time with fewer wrinkles and prevent your essay from having grey hairs prematurely. Let’s start off with the introduction paragraph, shall we?

The introduction paragraph should have a ‘hook’ to catch the readers’ attention, a thesis or topic statement, a mini-outline and finish off with a ‘transitional hook’ which transitions into the next or first paragraph of the body of the essay. The first paragraph of this essay hooks the reader in using the wonderful, purported effects of Swiss Apple stem cells combined with an old saying. Then there is a brief topic statement about a five paragraph essay’s structure. Then, the mini-outline of the essay is stated, the three main points of this paper, the introduction, the 3 main paragraphs (this is one) and the concluding paragraph. The mini-outline of this essay reflects a’ language sign-post’ (BBC Learning English, 2009) of an oral presentation which is a guide to lead the listener, or reader is our case, through the presentation or as in our case, the essay. The first paragraph of this essay ends off with a reference to the opening hook and concludes with a ‘transitional hook’ helping walk the reader into the next paragraph. This concludes the requirements of the introduction paragraph and concludes the first body paragraph. From here we will move on to the second body paragraph covering the point of the ‘three main body paragraphs’ as mentioned in our mini-outline.

The three main body paragraphs are the actual content of the topic being discussed. These three main paragraphs will give your essay the reasons to be. Whether your essay is an argumentative essay, comparison essay, narrative essay, evaluation essay, descriptive essay or a hybrid of these types of essays, it is important to organize these paragraphs according to some form of cognitive logic. The most frequently used organizational structure is to have the most important, strongest or significant point for your first body paragraph, then second most important and least important of the three points. You organizational structure could also be chronological, numerical, General/specific, compare and contrast, cause and effect, deductive, inductive or spatial. No matter which organizational structure you choose to use, you should use a parallel structure grammatically to the three points in the topic or thesis statement. In addition, your three main body paragraphs should be in the same order listed in the thesis statement and be linked with transitional words or phrases. By logically organizing the structure of your three main points, you will bring clarity and strength to you essay. Using transitional words will connect your ideas seamlessly from paragraph to paragraph and walk your readers into your concluding paragraph.

The concluding paragraph should sum up the three main points of the thesis statement and restate the thesis statement itself. It is the “tell them what you told them” part of the colloquialism “Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them it, then tell them what you told them.” The concluding paragraph should not introduce any new ideas but can offer a point or ‘policy point’ which is logically drawn as the result of the main points of the essay. The concluding paragraph should start using the principle point or ideas from each of the three body paragraphs and restate the thesis statement or topic. Then add an observation, recommendation or solution that is to be derived from the main points of the three body paragraphs.  The end of the concluding paragraph should ‘wrap up’ the entire essay and give the essay a sense of completion or finality. According to the purpose of the essay by the author, different types of endings might be used, for instance if the purpose of the essay was to entertain, then the author might choose a tragic or happy ending or even a twist for the element of surprise.  The ending can be ironic or ambiguous to instigate thought or state a moral. Endings can be circular bringing the reader back to where the essay began leaving the reader hanging, waiting for more or can end with a final witty statement that drives the main point or message of the essay home. Ensuring these elements are present in a concluding paragraph is a sure way to end the essay as strong as it started.

To summarize how to write a successful five paragraph essay you should start with a hook to catch the attention of the reader, state the thesis or topic statement, provide a min-outline of what you are going to say in a structured order, lead naturally or logical in to each of the three body paragraphs with transitions at the ending and beginning of each paragraph until you summarize the entire essay in the conclusion offering a policy point ending the essay with some form of  ending according to your purpose of the essay. If you follow the structure outlined in this essay, you will have a solid, strong essay that is easy to follow and one that conveys your message understood by the reader. So, what about that doctor magnet anyhow? The apple is called the Swiss Apple and the stem cells are being researched for the ability of being able to train or interact with human stem cells to live longer and stronger.  The prices vary from a low $120.00 US from Botanical Garden, LLC New York for a 30 ml/1 oz bottle to $355 US from Clarks Botanicals of New York.

 Bibliography

BBC Learning English. (2009, 01 01). Talking Business. Retrieved 03 04, 2011, from BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/business/talkingbusiness/unit3presentations/expert.shtml