How to Teach Five-Paragraph Essay Writing

Figure out the easiest way to teach five-paragraph essay writing.

The five-paragraph essay consists of the introduction, three body paragraphs and conclusion. This is a basic essay format that students are taught when they learn to write essays. Each part of the five-paragraph essay serves a distinct purpose, and it is important for students to learn about their functions so that they can be effective essay writers.

Things You'll Need

• Worksheet

Instructions

Introduction

1. Pass out a worksheet to the students with samples of essay introductions. As a class, read the samples out loud and have your students decide which introductions are the most effective. Ask students why certain introductions draw them in more than others.

2. Discuss the introduction hook, which grabs the reader's attention through interest and stimulation. Hook examples include facts, statistics and quotations. The goal of the hook is to make the reader want to continue reading the essay.

3. Instruct students to start their introductions with a hook, then include a sentence or two describing what the essay is about. The introduction should end with a thesis statement stating the main idea that the writer is trying to persuade readers to believe. The thesis will be supported by the body of the essay. A thesis statement should one clear, concise sentence. (See Reference 2)

4. Practice in-class writing exercises for essay introductions. Give students a list of essay topics to base introductions on. They can swap introductions with classmates to see other students' ideas.

Body Paragraphs

1. Explain the role of the body paragraphs, which support the thesis statement. If the thesis statement is the argument, the body paragraphs provides evidence supporting it.

2. Teach paragraph technicalities. The main rule about paragraphs is that there should be one idea in each paragraph. Supporting information can be included in a single paragraph to back up the one idea, but new ideas belong in new paragraphs. (See Reference 1)

3. Tell students that body paragraphs must be well-developed, that is must contain examples, data, anecdotes, evaluations or comparisons that help to support the overall idea and thesis.

4. Teach students about transitions. Paragraphs must flow smoothly from one to the next. Typically, the last sentence of the preceding paragraph should flow smoothly into the first sentence of the following paragraph.

5. Provide examples of well-written and poorly written body paragraphs. Point out the differences between them to help the students learn to write successful paragraphs.

Conclusion

1. Teach students how to wrap up the five-paragraph essay through the conclusion. The conclusion must not introduce new information to the reader. Rather, it serves as a summary of the points established in the essay.

2. Tell students to not repeat the thesis statement in the conclusion. The conclusion must relate to the thesis statement but not restate it.

3. Have students practice writing conclusions. You can provide them worksheets containing essays and have the students write the conclusions.

References

• Purdue University, Online Writing Lab: Paragraphs and Paragraphing
• George Mason University: Thesis Statement Guidelines