When it comes to passing senior year English, there's nothing more dreaded than the five paragraph essay. You're probably scratching your head right now wondering how you're going to come up with a thesis statement. Or, maybe you're one of those people that gets lost in class and wants to know what the heck a thesis statement is in the first place. I know I struggled with it, but it doesn't have to be difficult. In the next four paragraphs, I'll show you how easy it is to write your five paragraph essay; it's as easy as putting together your thesis statement, three supporting paragraphs, and a simple conclusion.
The first thing you need to do is come up with a big statement and three ways you're going to back it up. You may be limited as far as topics go, but the structure of your thesis statement will be the same regardless of the point you're trying to make. The thesis statement is always a combination of your big statement followed by your backup points. For example, your statement might be that Grandma did not get run over by a reindeer. Following that, your three points might be that the supposed witnesses have to be lying because they were somewhere entirely different when the incident occurred, that Grandma never goes outside in the cold, and that Grandma is laid up in the nursing home and couldn't possibly have been walking home on Christmas Eve. Your thesis statement would go something like this: I am going to show you that due to Grandma's incredible witnesses, her personal preferences, and her physical limitations, it is highly improbable and most unlikely that Grandma was really run over by a reindeer.
The next thing you need to do is explain your three supporting backup points. Explain them in the order you listed them. In the example above, I would write a paragraph going into detail how I know the witnesses are fake. Then, I would write my next paragraph going into detail about Grandma's personal preferences; she hates the cold! My third paragraph would discuss how and why she couldn't have gotten out of bed in the first place on her own. These three paragraphs are the body of your five paragraph essay, therefore they should be the most detailed.
After the body of your essay, it's important to sum it up so to speak. Remind the reader of your three points. After examining the witnesses, you can prove that they're lying. Your grandma never goes out in the cold. Your grandma can't even walk! Lastly, you end with a concluding statement. To do this, you basically re-state your thesis statement. What was "I am going to show you that due to Grandma's incredible witnesses, her personal preferences, and her physical limitations, it is highly improbable and most unlikely that Grandma was really run over by a reindeer" becomes something like this: After going into detail about my grandma's incredible witnesses, her personal preferences, and her physical limitations, I hope I have convinced you that my grandma most certainly was not run over by a reindeer.
Well, I certainly hope that everyone now understands how to successfully build their five paragraph essay. Writing a five paragraph essay is not difficult at all. Anyone who can put together a thesis statement, five supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion can master the five paragraph essay!
