How to Write the Five Paragraph Essay

Remember the basic structure of a paragraph?

1. Topic Sentence

2. Usually no fewer than 3 examples.

3. A concluding sentence.

An essay follows the same logic and procedure

First you are assigned a topic: Write an essay about your favorite thing.

Begin the essay the same way you begin a paragraph: with a topic sentence. “My favorite thing is ice cream.”

Next write 3 reasons for the topic sentence being true: Ice cream has many different flavors. It cools me off on hot days. It reminds me of when I was young.

Now you simply fill in three specific examples (significant) to prove each of your topic sentences AND add transitions.

Now, you essay needs a Conclusion! “These are just three of the many reasons why I like ice cream.”

INTRODUCTION FIRST TOPIC SECOND TOPIC THIRD TOPIC CONCLUSION

My favorite thing, and probably my number one guilty pleasure, is ice cream. To be honest, I could eat ice cream every day. Ice cream comes in many flavors, it cools me off on hot days, and it reminds me of when I was young.

Ice cream has many different flavors. Chocolate is one of my favorites because it is very sweet and I love sweet things. Rocky Road is yet another great flavor. The nuts add a terrific chewiness to the sweet chocolate. A third great flavor is Superman ice cream which mixes all the colors of Superman’s costume into a tutti-frutti mixture that tastes as good as it looks. These are just a few of the many terrific flavors I like in ice cream.

Furthermore, ice cream cools me off on hot days. Once, when it was 110 degrees in the shade, I had a vanilla shake and felt very cool. Another time, it was so hot, we got cool just standing around the ice cream truck and enjoying the cool breeze that came from the refrigerant. Last week, the beach was so hot, I burned my feet in the sand. I got some ice cream and put a little on my feet to soothe them and cool them off. Whenever I have needed cooling down, I could always turn to ice cream.

In addition, ice cream reminds me of my youth. Every time I have an ice cream cone, I remember the fun I had when I was 14 and I spilled my cone down on my dad’s bald head. Everyone laughed when he ran screaming down the beach. Ice cream also reminds me of the many great times we had at John’s Ice Cream Parlor when I was younger, ordering huge banana splits. Just hearing the sound of an ice cream truck brings back good memories of sitting under the tree on my lawn waiting for the Good Humor Man. In fact, my dog used to get a Dixie Cup. Ice cream today always brings back great recollections.

Your specific examples not only prove the topic sentence of the paragraph in which they occur, but also attempt to prove the topic of your entire essay.

The last paragraph is the easiest. Simply restate your arguments by rewriting the introduction.

To sum up, ice cream is an amazing invention and one of my favorite things. It comes in many great flavors and it cools me off when I’m hot. It’s a tasty way to remember being young. Feel free to WOW me

You did it! You wrote an introduction with three proofs, three detailed body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You used great examples and tied everything back to the main topic sentence.

Here is your assigned topic: Write an essay about your favorite thing Or your 3 favorite holiday traditions. TEST GRADE. DUE TOMORROW