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Five Paragraph Essay: Step-By-Step Guides With Examples

Whether you’re still studying at high school or have become a student of Harvard already, some academic standards will follow you wherever you are. Learning how to write five paragraph paper is an essential skill that will come in handy in countless instances. It gives a chance to see what essays should look like, how they should be written, and what structure they should have. Five paragraph essay layouts will prepare you for future more complex works, such as dissertations and thesis. They’ll also assist in SAT considerably because flawless essay-writing is one of the most valuable assets there. So, how to write a 5 paragraph essay? We are just about to tell you and remember - if you face difficulties, give our professional team a call: "who can do my essay for me?". If you'll choose to pay for college essay, you will pay for a qualified, top-rated writer who is an expert in their field.

5 Paragraph Essay Basics 

Five paragraphs essay means a piece of writing that comprises five parts: introduction, three body paragraphs, and conclusion. The purpose of writing such essays lies in training students to express their thoughts clearly, concisely, and accurately. This skill will be critical in any kind of academic work in the future. For foreigners, it helps in preparing for TOEFL testing. If you’re an American, you might consider taking IELTS at some point to boost your worth as a potential candidate since this English testing program is challenging even for native speakers. Without knowing the basics of essay writing, you won’t be able to pass it properly, and five paragraph essay is a great training base in this regard.
 
To help you get a feel of the 5 paragraph essay format, let’s consider three of its main types.

  • Persuasive essay. The point of this kind of paper is to present your point to the audience and make them accept your opinion. Basically, you pick an idea and work on promoting your view on it. 
  • Narrative essay. In most cases, narrative essays are personal stories that reveal how some of writer’s experiences have shaped their beliefs or character. For example, you can explain how the event in your past has motivated you to pursue your current education sphere.  
  • Argumentative essay. This piece of paper is more complex as it requires presenting both points of view, your own and that of the opposition. Your goal is to prove that your arguments are correct, but to do that, you must also address and counter the points made by the opposing side.       

These seem like different essay types, but they all have one major similarity: structure. Being representatives of five paragraph essay, they all follow identical writing rules. To succeed in academic work, you have to learn them by heart. 

5 Paragraph Essay

Perfect Essay Structure for You to Follow

As it’s evident from the name, this essay must have five parts. It doesn’t matter what type of paper you’ve been assigned, persuasive, narrative, argumentative, or others, you should still follow a typical 5 paragraph essay template. 

  • Introduction and thesis. Introduction is the first paragraph of all essays. Present your chosen topic as well as some background here. Don’t write too much, though! Remember that five paragraph essay is pretty limited in size. Your introduction shouldn’t exceed 10% from the general word count. End introduction with thesis statement, an argumentative central claim that you have to prove in other paragraphs. 
  • Main body. Since we’re talking about five paragraph essay, there should be 3 body paragraphs. Dedicate each one to one specific point. Don’t mix ideas, be clear. Create appropriate opening and closing sentences to make good, smooth transitions between paragraphs. For example, don’t use direct quotes as the last sentence of paragraph. Instead, create logical links between ideas. 
  • Conclusion. This is a last part of five paragraph essay where you should restate thesis and reinforce your ideas. Don’t mention any new facts, just recycle info that was mentioned previously. 

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Five Writing Tips on How to Get an A 

  • Brainstorm ideas. Consider various spheres of interests, look at available 5 paragraph essay examples. Don’t be specific at this stage, just figure out some broad aspects you’d like to write about. Search online forums or discuss it with friends/classmates.
  • Choose topic. There are many 5 paragraph essay topics that you can choose from. Unless you’re assigned something specific, feel free to use your imagination. What are you interested in? What would you like to explore? Once you’ve selected a topic, consider what angle you’re going to approach it from. Make notes to make sure nothing is forgotten. 
  • Pick sources. They’ll be a support base proving why some ideas are better than others. Choose relevant ones, such as articles from known American academic journals created in the last 10 years. Be prepared to cite every fact that is not common knowledge – it’ll strengthen your arguments. Obviously, these rules do not usually apply to narrative essay as the focus there is strictly personal, but everywhere else, proper sources selection is vital.    
  • Create an outline. It might seem like a waste of time but in reality, outlines are crucial, especially if you aren’t an experienced writer yet. You have five solid paragraphs to construct, with each of them having to be relevant and well planned. Put down what ideas go where, it’ll be a backbone of your essay. Include transitions between paragraphs here as well so you could understand how one idea flows into another. 

Read also: How Long is a 1000 Word Essay?

5 Paragraph Essay Outline Example

Theory is good but practice is everything. Let’s make a sample outline for a persuasive essay titled “Shaming Culture Should Be Demolished in the USA”.  Take it as a sample and use to make your own paper.

1) Introduction  

a) Hook aimed to intrigue readers: Shaming has become an inherent part of American society, where people ruin others’ lives and ignore the consequences.  
b) Information about what this culture entails and how recently, it has gained particular popularity. 
c) Thesis: Shaming someone for their interests, physical appearance, and past behavior can tarnish their reputation and lead them to depression, which is why shame-culture should be eliminated from the USA.   

2) Body. Paragraph 1. 

a) Opening sentence: Shaming people for such things as hobbies, looks, and past actions is a negative trend in the USA.  
b) Develop opening sentence; mention specific examples of shaming, like when women are ridiculed for enjoying romantic fiction or when young adults are destroyed online due to careless remarks they posted many years ago. 
c) Closing sentence and transition: This shaming can lead to severe consequences. 

3) Body. Paragraph 2. 

a) Opening sentence: Being shunned by society makes many victims of shaming suffer from depression and even commit suicide.  
b) Examples of negative consequences. Several instances of people who enjoy dark fiction being labeled as psychopaths and abusers by the so-called ‘moral police’, which irrevocably shattered their self-esteem and made them feel inferior.
c) Closing sentence and transition: Considering these long-term negative effects, it is important to dismantle this culture. 

4) Body. Paragraph 3. 

a) Opening sentence: There are two ways in which the problem with shame-culture could be addressed.    
b) Description of these ways. 
c) Closing sentence: Therefore, the elimination of shaming culture will make the society less ignorant and it’ll contribute to more positive trends’ creation. 

5) Conclusion. 

a) Restatement of thesis in other words. 
b) Repetition of main points. 
c) Closing statement concluding my point. 

Read also: How to Write a 500 Word Essay Quickly?

Need Some Professional Help?

After reading this guide, you know all the basics of writing five paragraph essay. Order of information is the same for every type, just change content accordingly. In case you’re stuck and need assistance, consider custom essay writing services. EduBirdie operates a network of professionals who will help you at every stage. Buying an essay with us is 100% safe: unless you’re satisfied, your assistant won’t receive payment, so you can ask for as many revisions as needed. We will deliver the work of best quality that fully corresponds to academic standards, so if you need help, contact us now and we’ll start working on your paper immediately.  

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