1. 5-Paragraph Essay Structure
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2. Why is this format important to know?
This is a standard format for writing a 5- paragraph essay, meaning that it can be used for almost every topic. Knowing this format for writing a 5-paragraph essay will help you when you need to write essays now and in the future.

3. Parts of a Standard 5-Paragraph Essay
Here are the 5 parts (each one is a paragraph) that are found in this essay structure:
Introduction
Body Paragraph 1
Body Paragraph 2
Body Paragraph 3
Conclusion

4. 1) Introduction

5. 1) Introductory Paragraph
The introductory paragraph starts off your essay. In this paragraph, you should:
Introduce your topic in a way that captures the reader’s attention.
Write your thesis statement.
State your 3 topic sentences.

6. 1) Introducing your Topic
The first few sentences in the introductory paragraph should be dedicated to introducing the topic of your essay. The most important thing to remember when introducing your topic is that you should try to capture the reader’s attention.

7. 1) Why Capture the Reader’s Attention?
If you capture your reader’s attention right away, they’ll want to continue reading. If your introduction doesn’t capture their attention, they most likely won’t want to continue reading your essay.

8. 1) Ways to Capture the Reader’s Attention
Here are some ways to capture your reader’s attention while introducing your topic:
Give the reader a vivid description of your topic.
Introduce your topic using a short story.
Use a surprising statement.
Ask a question.
Use a direct quotation.

9. 1) Capturing the Reader’s Attention
Remember: You’ll want to put a lot of thought into your introduction, because it is the first thing that people read in your essay. A strong and intriguing introduction makes people want to read the rest of your essay.

10. 1) Stating your Thesis & Topic Sentences
Even after you’ve introduced your topic, you’re still not done with the introductory paragraph! You still have to state your thesis and topic sentences.

11. 1) What is the Thesis Statement?
After introducing your topic, you must write your thesis statement. The thesis statement of your paper is one sentence that tells your reader specifically what your essay will be about. It should be clear and concise.

12. 1) Thesis vs. Topic
The topic of your essay is the subject of your essay. The thesis, however, is more specific than your topic and makes an important point about the topic.

13. 1) Stating the Topic Sentences
After stating your thesis, you should state the topic sentences. The topic sentences of your essay correspond with the 3 body paragraphs we’ll learn about later on. They are 3 specific ideas or points that you want to talk about in your essay that support your thesis statement.

14. 1) Why State the Topic Sentences?
Stating your topic sentences right away in the first paragraph gives your reader an idea of what content will be covered in your essay. It helps to prepare the reader for what’s next.

15. 1) Introductory Paragraph
Now that you’ve introduced your topic and stated your thesis and three topic sentences, your introductory paragraph is done. Now, it’s time to work on the body paragraphs!

16. 2 - 4) Body Paragraphs

17. 2 - 4) Body Paragraphs
The body paragraphs are the bulk of your essay. Unlike the introductory paragraph, which tells the reader what your essay will be about, these paragraphs contain the content of your essay.

18. 2 - 4) Body Paragraphs
Each of the 3 body paragraphs covers one of the 3 topic sentences that were mentioned before. In each of these paragraphs, you should:
State the topic sentence of the paragraph.
Insert your supporting details for the topic.
Add a transitional statement to transition to the next paragraph smoothly.

19. 2 - 4) Stating the Topic Sentence
Do you remember the 3 specific ideas or points that you wrote in your introductory paragraph that support your thesis statement? These three points will also be used in your body paragraphs!

20. 2 - 4) Stating the Topic Sentence
Recall that each of those 3 ideas or points that you made was a topic sentence. You should start off each of your 3 body paragraphs with a different topic sentence.

21. 2 - 4) Supporting Details
The majority of each of the body paragraphs should be made up of supporting details. These details support the topic sentence of the paragraph and help the reader to understand it better.

22. 2 - 4) Supporting Details
Notice that “details” is plural; you should have more than one detail for each paragraph. Three is an ideal number of supporting details to have in each body paragraph.

23. 2 - 4) Adding a Transitional Statement
To make your essay flow better, consider adding a transitional statement after your supporting details that connects to the next paragraph. These statements help transition to the next paragraph smoothly and improve the overall flow of your essay.

24. 2 - 4) Going On…
Remember: you need to have 3 of these body paragraphs in your essay. Make sure that you write all 3 of them out before you continue to the next (and final) paragraph.

25. 5) Conclusion

26. 5) Conclusion Paragraph
Once you’ve finished up your three body paragraphs, you can move on to the conclusion paragraph! This paragraph is the fifth and final paragraph in your essay.

27. 5) Writing a Conclusion Paragraph
In the conclusion paragraph, you should:
Restate your thesis statement.
Restate your 3 topic sentences.
Write an ending statement to the essay.

28. 5) Restate your Thesis Statement
To sum up your essay, you should restate your thesis statement. Don’t write your thesis statement the same way that you did in the introduction paragraph; write it differently so that it doesn’t sound like a repeat of the first paragraph.

29. 5) Restate your Topic Sentences
In addition to restating the thesis statement of your essay, you should also restate the 3 topic sentences that support your thesis. Restating these topic sentences as well as your thesis helps to briefly summarize the content of your essay.

30. 5) Writing an Ending Statement
You’re still not done yet! You still have to finish your essay with an ending statement. A good ending statement should:
Signify the end of the essay.
Make the reader remember your essay.

31. 5) Signify the End
Don’t leave the reader with a “cliffhanger” at the end of your essay. Make sure that the ending isn’t abrupt and that your ending statement ends the essay in a satisfying way and that you can tell that it is the end of your essay.

32. 5) Make the Reader Remember
You also want people reading your essay to remember your essay. A good ending statement is the key to that. Think about what feeling or idea you want to leave your reader with, and be sure to emphasize that in your ending statement.

33. You’re Done!
After following all of those steps, you can confidently say that you’ve written a 5- paragraph essay! If you followed all of the steps correctly, this is what your essay should look like:

34. An outline of your finished essay…
1. Introductory Paragraph
2. Body Paragraph 1
3. Body Paragraph 2
4. Body Paragraph 3
5. Concluding Paragraph

35. An outline of your finished essay…
1. Introductory Paragraph
Introducing Topic
Thesis Statement
Topic Sentences
2. Body Paragraph 1
3. Body Paragraph 2
4. Body Paragraph 3
5. Concluding Paragraph

36. An outline of your finished essay…
1. Introductory Paragraph
Introducing Topic
Thesis Statement
Topic Sentences
2. Body Paragraph 1
Topic Sentence
Supporting Details (3)
(Transition to Body Paragraph 2)
3. Body Paragraph 2
4. Body Paragraph 3
5. Concluding Paragraph

37. An outline of your finished essay…
1. Introductory Paragraph
Introducing Topic
Thesis Statement
Topic Sentences
2. Body Paragraph 1
Topic Sentence
Supporting Details (3)
(Transition to Body Paragraph 2)
3. Body Paragraph 2
Topic Sentence
Supporting Details (3)
(Transition to Body Paragraph 3)
4. Body Paragraph 3
5. Concluding Paragraph

38. An outline of your finished essay…
1. Introductory Paragraph
4. Body Paragraph 3
Introducing Topic
Thesis Statement
Topic Sentences
Topic Sentence
Supporting Details (3)
(Transition to Conclusion)
2. Body Paragraph 1
Topic Sentence
Supporting Details (3)
(Transition to Body Paragraph 2)
5. Concluding Paragraph
3. Body Paragraph 2
Topic Sentence
Supporting Details (3)
(Transition to Body Paragraph 3)

39. An outline of your finished essay…
1. Introductory Paragraph
4. Body Paragraph 3
Introducing Topic
Thesis Statement
Topic Sentences
Topic Sentence
Supporting Details (3)
(Transition to Conclusion)
2. Body Paragraph 1
Topic Sentence
Supporting Details (3)
(Transition to Body Paragraph 2)
5. Concluding Paragraph
Restate Thesis Statement (Paraphrase)
Restate Topic Sentences
Ending Statement
3. Body Paragraph 2
Topic Sentence
Supporting Details (3)
(Transition to Body Paragraph 3)
Does your completed essay look like this and include all of these parts?

40. Great job! You now know how to write a 5-paragraph essay!
Remember this format; it will help you to write essays in the future and concepts that you have learned now will be a foundation as you progress to learning more complex structures later.