The essay style of writing has become a staple in high school classrooms. Students learn to express their research, their life stories and their opinions in essay form. The five-paragraph essay is an organized way to write. After students brainstorm and gather their ideas, structuring the essay clearly is the next step.
Introduction
The introductory paragraph must ease the reader into the topic, while also ensuring they are interested in reading the rest of the essay. A funnel introduction starts with broad information and moves to the more specific. Beginning with a clever anecdote, a relevant quote or a startling fact are all possible choices. The last sentence in the first paragraph is the thesis statement, designed to express exactly what the paper will accomplish.
Body
Writing body paragraphs demands attention to the structure of a paragraph. You need a topic and concluding sentence for each paragraph, as well as three or more specific, supporting details. The body of the paper includes facts, anecdotes, and statistics that support the thesis of the essay. The five-paragraph essay requires three body paragraphs, which represent the three main elements of your essay.
Conclusion
The conclusion paragraph is integral to the paper. Re-wording the thesis sentence at the beginning of the paragraph is helpful. Using a reverse funnel technique works well, starting with the very specific re-worded thesis and easing the reader out of the paper in a broad way. Summarizing the three main body paragraphs, drawing conclusions, and giving a sense of the future of the topic are all strong techniques.
Model Essay Outline
High school students are expected to write about relevant issues across the curriculum. For example, a student could write about global warming for a science class. The introductory paragraph could paint the picture of polar bears swimming endlessly to find icebergs and end with the thesis: “Global warming is a real phenomenon that is affecting animals, humans and the planet.” The three body paragraphs could include one about how global warming affects animals, the second about humans and the third about the planet. The conclusion paragraph first re-states the thesis, “Without attention and money, global warming will continue destroying animals, humans and the planet,” and ends by drawing conclusions about the future of global warming.
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