How to Write a 5 Paragraph Essay

What Is a 5 Paragraph Essay?

The 5 paragraph essay format is the most common essay a student can be faced with. The name is a result of the five paragraph structure: one introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph. Because of the layered structure, you might have also heard this type of essay being called a hamburger essay, one three one, or a three-tier essay.

It is used in most exams, such as the TOEFL, IELTS, and SAT. Since most of these exams limit students’ time on the “Writing” section of an exam, students are trained to memorize this format. This allows students to answer the exam prompt quickly and efficiently.

How many words is a 5 paragraph essay you may wonder? Typically, they are around 250 to 500 words long. The format’s plasticity allows students to experiment with various essay styles. Persuasive, Arguntative, Expository, Narrative, and Cause and Effect essays can all be written in this format.

Types of 5 Paragraph Essay on Standardized Tests

The most challenging assignment is the one written during a standardized test. The type of essay may define the topic and the thesis. It means that some essays are better off with narrow and serious topics, while other essays are better suited to students who might write creative stories full of jokes. The various types of essays include:

• Definition — adds a personal interpretation of the term or phrase, along with the official one paraphrased from the dictionary.
• Descriptive — adds as many details as possible to illustrate the research problem.
• Narrative — tells a story with vivid examples.
• Argumentative & persuasive — the difference between these academic projects is that the writer only has to mention and explain his or her personal position towards the analyzed problem in an argumentative essay. While in a persuasive essay, it is also important to defend your position and convince readers of your truth.
• Compare & contrast — shows the differences & similarities between several subjects.
• Cause & effect — explains the reasons for something to happen and the consequences of these actions.
• Literary analysis — picks the specific literary text like a poem or essay and evaluates/criticizes it.

While sometimes it is enough to answer a question, in other cases, a student has to conduct in-depth research and offer more solutions to the problems discussed.

Train hard at home to master the art of academic writing. Remember that any essay you have to write for a standardized test is limited by time, so you might have to prepare an outline and write the text itself at the speed of light.

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10 Good Example Topics

Look at the 10 topic example ideas from different categories below. The 5 paragraph essay topics listed here are some of the most common topics students write essays about. Choose those you like, or offer new approaches to discuss:

• Can one learn a life lesson from an experience that they didn’t have?
• Wealthy nations should share goods with countries living in poverty
• Should education be free for all students?
• The discrimination of female employees at work.
• Should the death penalty be abolished completely?
• Separate classes for male and female students
• The importance of investing money in space exploration
• Living in a world without any rules
• Should same-sex marriage be allowed?
• The role of advanced technologies in education

Before choosing a topic and starting the writing process, students should come up with a catchy title to grab the reader’s attention right from the get-go. It may influence the final grade.

The Outline

When writing a 5 paragraph essay, it is important to follow the structure. As it is said, the typical format for an essay starts with an introduction, has three body paragraphs, and sums everything up with a conclusion. Each body paragraph serves a specific purpose, and the essay should take the form of a keyhole. This means that it starts very broad, gets increasingly narrow, and finishes out broad.

Introduction: 3-5 Sentences

So, let’s look at how to write an introduction paragraph for an essay. To start out impressively, think about a hook. A hook is a 1-2 sentence bang that makes the reader want to keep on reading the entire text. It can be a rhetorical question, literary quote, joke, anecdote, metaphor, simile, a famous person saying, fact, or statistic. It is essential to check the credibility of the information you use.

• The introduction sets the structure for the rest of the essay, with the first sentence being the hook sentence.
• The hook sentence is kind of like the spark to a flame. It grabs the reader’s attention.
• The hook is usually either a rhetorical question, some life example, or a stunning fact.

Body Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 (5-7 Sentences)

Let’s figure out how to start a body paragraph. Even though all body paragraphs are equally vital, keep in mind that the opening paragraph should be the strongest one; it may include the most potent argument. The writer should come up with the most vivid example, the smartest illustration, and an obvious starting point — the topic sentence. Do not forget to add a “reverse hook” sentence. Each argument of the body must relate to the thesis. Here are some other facts about the body::

• This is the “meat” of your 5 paragraph essay, where you explain the position you are defending. In other words, it has to relate to your thesis sentence.
• The structure of a body paragraph is usually: Intro sentence (1), Supporting Argument Explanation (3-5), Concluding Sentence (1)
• The intro sentence should briefly bring about your argument, without revealing too much information

Conclusion (3-5 Sentences): The “Mirror” of Your Intro

The last paragraph of your paper must contain these elements:

• An allusion to what was said in the opening part.
• A rewritten thesis statement, using your own new, original language and interpretation — do not merely copy-paste the thesis.
• A summary of the three major points from the paper’s body.
• A closing statement that alarms the reader that the discussion is about to be over.

5 Paragraph Essay Outline Example: Why Are History and Culture Important to Society?

Introduction

• Humans tend to repeat mistakes, whether it be personal ones or general faults of our species. Thankfully, we finally understand that war never changes, and this acceptance has brought great prosperity. (Hook)
• Introducing the importance of traditions, understanding our roots, and dialoguing the growth of the human race. (Background info)
• Remembering and embracing our past, while simultaneously learning and building from it, can help the human race achieve great things at an ever increasing rate!

Body Paragraph 1

• Topic sentence that introduces traditions and why they hold value.
• Linking the value of our traditions and how we can build from them.
• Evidence of this done in the past (Sounds → Language) (Sticks + Stones → Rifles).
• Concluding statement about the significance of tradition.

Body Paragraph 2

• Topic sentence that introduces the importance of embracing our culture.
• Showing our origins and highlighting the value of understanding ourselves.
• Provide examples (Civilizations → Empires → Cities).
• Concluding statement about the value of our origins.

Body Paragraph 3

• Topic sentence that exclaims the importance of dialoguing our race.
• Using our past to better our future and learning from our mistakes.
• Examples (Less War, Technological Growth, Human Rights).
• Significance of the documentation.

Conclusion

• By analyzing our cultural and historical past, we can build a future for a better tomorrow! (Thesis Restatement)
• Summary of traditions claim.
• Summary of the cultural claim.
• Summary of value that comes from dialoguing our race.
• If we don’t consider our past as a valuable pool from where to obtain information, then we are showcasing ourselves as an ignorant race. (Overall Concluding Statement)

General Grading Rubric

Several schools and universities worldwide use several different types of rubrics, but one of the most standard rubric styles is the 5 point style. This style is broken down into five segments: Focus, Organization, Conventions, Style, and Content.

• Focus: Did the writer spend his time proving his or her thesis? Did they accomplish their goal?
• Organization: Was the essay readable, were the transitions between paragraphs smooth, and did the writer follow the proper outline format and not diverge from the set structure?
• Conventions: Did the writer make many grammatical mistakes? Did they have run-on sentences?
• Style: Did the writer use high-level vocabulary, were words rarely repeated, how original were his or her sentence structures?
• Content: Did the writer adequately prove his argument and were his or her statements logical, reliable, and factual?