The Formal Five-Paragraph Essay

1. The Formal Five-Paragraph Essay Mrs. K Prescott

2. The purpose of most expository writing is to communicate ideas or answer questions. Expository Writing • Gives information about a topic • Explains ideas • Answers questions

3. Five-Paragraph Format Introduction including thesis statement as the final sentence First subtopic supporting thesis Second subtopic supporting thesis Third subtopic supporting thesis Conclusion including a restatement of your thesis

4. Introduction The introduction should be composed of three parts: • Statement of Situation • Theme • Thesis

5. Statement of Situation • A sentence (or a few) that establishes the topic of the paper. It should be limited in scope. (A brief summary of your topic) Examples: • In Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago stoically fights an unwinnable battle against nature. • The film Gattaca depicts a world in which citizens have the opportunity to give birth to genetically engineered children in order to ensure their success in a society that favors human perfection.

6. Theme • The author’s main idea; a universal truth developed by the author. Examples: • Hemingway illustrates how man can be destroyed, but he can never be defeated. • Playing off Huxley’s warning in Brave New World, Gattaca cautions against the possible results of creating a society driven by technological advancement.

7. Thesis • The main, controlling idea of the essay. • Subject + verb + opinion + three sub-topics to support your opinion. Examples: • Through Santiago, the marlin, and the sharks, Hemingway creates symbols that reinforce his theme that man can never be defeated. • The world of Gattaca exemplifies a dehumanizing and immoral society through the promotion of human genetic modification, social isolation, and a belief system founded on the principle of predestination.

8. Introduction Example 1 In Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago stoically fights an unwinnable battle against nature. Hemingway illustrates how man can be destroyed, but he can never be defeated. Through Santiago, the marlin, and the sharks, Hemingway creates symbols that reinforce his theme that man can never be defeated. *** Notice the repetition of “can never be defeated” – this would need to be addressed during the editing process.

9. Introduction Example 2 The film Gattaca depicts a world in which citizens have the opportunity to give birth to genetically engineered children in order to ensure their success in a society that favors human perfection. Playing off Huxley’s warning in Brave New World, Gattaca cautions against the possible results of creating a society driven by technological advancement. The world of Gattaca exemplifies a dehumanizing and immoral society through the promotion of human genetic modification, social isolation, and a belief system founded on the principle of predestination.

10. Body Paragraphs Use Correct Paragraph Form • Topic Sentence • Three Examples • Conclusion Each paragraph should include: No paragraph should be less than five sentences.

11. The body paragraphs should each develop one main idea (one of the three sub-topics in your thesis statement) Restate each subtopic as the topic sentence for each of the next three paragraphs. Body Paragraphs

12. Topic Sentence • The main idea of the paragraph. It should state the topic of the paragraph and explain how the sub-topic proves or reinforces your thesis statement.

13. Concrete Detail Within your body paragraphs, you must provide concrete details. Depending on the topic of your essay, you could use: • Direct quotes from the source (state the speaker of the line before the quote) • Current events • Specific references to movies, T.V. shows, novels or plays to support your ideas.

14. Commentary • Commentary explains how the quotes, examples, and concrete details support or reinforce your thesis statement. Choose specific words, images, symbols, etc. to focus your commentary on – and explain how and why the details/examples/quotes are significant

15. Coherence • Commentary must clearly explain how your concrete details support your thesis

16. Paragraph 2 Format • Topic Sentence (Restates Example #1 from the Introduction) • 3 Example Sentences (Prove your Topic Sentence) • Concluding Sentence (Explain how your example reinforces your thesis) And so on for paragraphs 3 and 4

17. Transitions • Use transitions to move from one idea (paragraph) to the next. • Moreover, however, although, in addition, furthermore, unlike, etc. Example of a smooth transition: If one paragraph in an essay on agriculture ends with the idea that the use of horses declines where there are tropical diseases, the next paragraph needs to start with something like “Disease is not the only dis-incentive to tropical agriculture…”

18. Conclusion • Restate your thesis or main idea in different words. • Explain how your sub-topics prove the thesis. • Closing sentence. • Avoid ‘In conclusion…” or “To conclude…” • Never add anything new to the conclusion

19. Format • Introduction • First Subtopic • Second Subtopic • Third Subtopic • Conclusion

20. There you have it! Expository writing isn’t that difficult when you have a plan. To make it even easier you may want to use a graphic organizer like the following to organize your thoughts.

22. Writing Tips • Be Specific – avoid ‘things’ , ‘stuff’ , ‘like’ • Avoid beginning sentences with: It, This, But, And, That, • All verbs should be present tense – be consistent • Avoid first person pronouns: I, we, us, me, our • Avoid second period pronouns: you • Avoid abbreviations (etc., e.g., &) • Avoid beginning sentences with ‘they’ unless it is perfectly clear who you are talking about. • Eliminate as many ‘this’ ‘that’ ‘it’ ‘they’ words as possible • Spell out numbers in your text • Never use contractions (can’t, don’t, doesn’t) • Watch out for subject-verb agreement. • Never use slang – kinda, wanna, tadaa, duh • Use a Thesaurus – avoid dead, tired words – use intelligent, specific, and purposeful words

23. Presentation Requirements • 1 inch margins • Double-spaced – the WHOLE way through • Typed – 12 point font – Times New Roman • Indent each new paragraph • First page – MLA format • Works Cited Page – if needed – MLA format • Add a title AFTER the essay is written (let the title emerge from the content) • Spelling and Grammar checks • Peer Conferencing • Read it aloud to someone else and make sure they agree the essay does what you want it to do

24. These guidelines and organizational strategies for the formal five-paragraph essay should help you in your essay writing. Once you are able to successfully implement these strategies and write an organized and purposeful essay, you will learn how to diverge from these expectations, write longer essays, and be creative.

25. Six Traits of Writing • Content/Ideas • Organization • Voice • Word Choice • Sentence Fluency • Conventions