Writing the Five Paragraph Essay
The most basic essay is the five paragraph essay. Before you begin writing you need to first:
- Understand what the main idea is. This could be the question that your teacher has assigned to you or a general topic.
- Come up with a thesis statement. You may need to do a little research before you can create one.
- Research and determine your points that prove your point. Make sure you write down what sources you are using so you can write a works cited page.
- Prewrite by writing an outline with your main idea, thesis, points, and evidence.
First Paragraph - Introduction |
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Second, Third, Fourth Paragraphs - Body |
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Fifth Paragraph - Conclusion |
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After you are done writing, be sure edit your paper before it is ready to be submitted.
- Make sure all of the words are spelled correctly and that you are using proper grammar and punctuation. No text lingo should be used!
- Read the essay out loud to see if the sentences flow and make sense. If you stumble on a sentence, perhaps it is awkward and needs to be rewritten.
- Have a friend or parent read through the essay. Sometimes having another set of eyes can catch some errors that you missed.