Elements of a 5 Paragraph Essay

Heading Student’s Name Teacher’s Name Class – Period Date Jim Smith Mr. Russo English 9 – 1 14 January 2014

Title Capitalize the first word, the last word, and all principal words, including those that follow hyphens in compound terms. Ex. Vampire or Werewolf, Who Would You Rather be Stuck in a Room With?

Header Appears at the top right corner of every page Consists of your last name and current page number

Format/Layout Paragraph 1 – Introduction Paragraph st Body Paragraph (1 st Reason) Paragraph 3 – 2 nd Body Paragraph (2 nd Reason) Paragraph 4 – 3 rd Body Paragraph (3 rd Reason) Paragraph 5 - Conclusion

Introductions Start off general and end specific First part draws your reader into your paper and is called the attention getter (Anecdote, thought-provoking question, facts, quote, hypothetical situation) Last part states the point of your paper/what your paper is about and is called the thesis statement

Ineffective Introduction Should we have random locker/book bag searches at TF North? Do you think we should have random locker and book bag searches? I think we should have random locker and book bag searches. The reason I say this is because it would make everybody safer at TF North.

Effective Introduction On April 20, 1999, parents, students, faculty and staff mourned the deaths of 12 students and one teacher at Columbine High School in Jefferson County, Colorado. Eight years later, Seung-Hui Cho, a student at Virginia Tech, killed 32 people and wounded 25 others before committing suicide. Although schools are considered to be a safe place for students to learn, these two examples prove otherwise. How to keep schools safe has always been a highly debated topic. How can we keep our schools safe? Random locker and book bag searches. TF North should have random locker and book bag searches because …

Body Paragraphs Topic Sentence (tells your reader what your paragraph is about) Main Point/Assertion (Gives a brief summary/synopsis of the main issue of the paragraph) Example/Evidence (give an example from the text to support your argument/topic sentence) Explanation/Elaboration (discuss how your quote shows or is a good example of what you are trying to prove in your topic sentence) Concluding Sentence (Sums up paragraph in one sentence

Effective Body Paragraph From Danville to other cities across America, Phineas and Ferb are the most creative kids on television. For example, on an episode entitled “Flop Starz” Phineas and Ferb learn what a one hit wonder is. The boys decide that they would like to be one hit wonders as well. The boys take the morning to create the smash hit single “Gitchee Gitchee Goo”. They then receive a record deal, which they decline, thus making them one hit wonders. Creating a hit song is a feat that many will never accomplish. Many successful artists take years to create a song that people would not only listen to but enjoy as well. By creating a hit song in just one morning, and getting a record deal on top of that, shows that Phineas and Ferb are creative.

Body Paragraphs Topic Sentence (tells your reader what your paragraph is about) Example: Romeo, an emotional character, is fueled by revenge in Romeo and Juliet.

Main Point/Assertion Main Point/Assertion (Gives a brief summary/synopsis of the main issue of the paragraph) Example: When Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeo becomes so enraged, he vows to avenge his friend’s death. Romeo, an emotional character, is fueled by revenge in Romeo and Juliet. When Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeo becomes so enraged, he vows to avenge his friend’s death.

Example/Evidence Example/Evidence (give an example from the text to support your argument/topic sentence) Example: He looks at Tybalt and says, “Either thou or I, or both must go with him” (Shakespeare III.i.120). Romeo, an emotional character, is fueled by revenge in Romeo and Juliet. When Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeo becomes so enraged, he vows to avenge his friend’s death. He looks at Tybalt and says, “Either thou or I, or both must go with him” (Shakespeare III.i.120).

Explanation/Elaboration Explanation/Elaboration (discuss how your quote shows or is a good example of what you are trying to prove in your topic sentence) Example: Romeo is challenging Tybalt to a duel and is willing to die, if necessary, trying to right his wrong. His rage is motivated by revenge because he is hoping to kill Tybalt for slaying his best friend. He gets his revenge when he stabs Tybalt, causing him to die.

Explanation/Elaboration Romeo, an emotional character, is fueled by revenge in Romeo and Juliet. When Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeo becomes so enraged, he vows to avenge his friend’s death. He looks at Tybalt and says, “Either thou or I, or both must go with him” (Shakespeare III.i.120). Romeo is challenging Tybalt to a duel and is willing to die, if necessary, trying to right his wrong. His rage is motivated by revenge because he is hoping to kill Tybalt for slaying his best friend. He gets his revenge when he stabs Tybalt, causing him to die.

Concluding Sentence Purpose: To sum up the entire paragraph in one sentence. Example: Because Romeo kills Tybalt for killing Mercutio, Romeo can be considered a vengeful character. Romeo, an emotional character, is fueled by revenge. When Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeo becomes so enraged, he vows to avenge his friend’s death. He looks at Tybalt and says, “Either thou or I, or both must go with him” (Shakespeare III.i.120). Here, Romeo is challenging Tybalt to a duel and is willing to die, if necessary, trying to right his wrong. His rage is motivated by revenge because he is hoping to kill Tybalt for slaying his best friend. He gets his revenge when he stabs Tybalt, causing him to die. Because Romeo kills Tybalt for killing Mercutio, Romeo can be considered a vengeful character.

Conclusions A conclusion should: Stress the importance of the thesis statement Give the essay a sense of completeness Leave a final impression on the reader

Restate Thesis The main ideas are summed up again into one sentence. It is important that this thesis follows the exact order as the thesis in the introduction paragraph It cannot be a word-for-word replica of that thesis (Slightly change the language)

Restate Thesis THESIS IN INTRODUCTION: Romeo decides to marry his enemy in secret, murder two men, and ultimately commit suicide. THESIS IN CONCLUSION: Romeo chooses to make himself “fortune’s fool” by acting emotionally, impulsively and foolishly throughout the play.

Summary This is where the reader is told what they learned and why it is significant Had Romeo calmed his emotions, he might have been able to make his marriage to Juliet work over time. Had he thought about the consequences of killing Tybalt before acting, he might not have been banished from Verona, or had he taken responsibility for the choices that he made, he might have begun changing the way he reacted in situations, which would have kept him from committing suicide.

Final Thought This is the final thought, the final chance to leave the reader with something to think about. It should be a bold statement that cements the essays message in the mind of the reader. However, Shakespeare created Romeo’s character to serve a purpose. If Romeo had behaved differently, this story would not have been the famous, shocking tragedy we cherish today. The story would have just been another love story placed on a shelf, and lost in the dust.

Conclusion Romeo chooses to make himself “fortune’s fool” by acting emotionally, impulsively and foolishly throughout the play. Had Romeo calmed his emotions, he might have been able to make his marriage to Juliet work over time. Had he thought about the consequences of killing Tybalt before acting, he might not have been banished from Verona, or had he taken responsibility for the choices that he made, he might have begun changing the way he reacted in situations, which would have kept him from committing suicide. However, Shakespeare created Romeo’s character to serve a purpose. If Romeo had behaved differently, this story would not have been the famous, shocking tragedy we cherish today. The story would have just been another love story placed on a shelf, and lost in the dust.

Suggestions Answer the question "So What?" Show your readers why this paper was important. Show them that your paper was meaningful and useful. Synthesize, don't summarize Don't simply repeat things that were in your paper. They have read it. Show them how the points you made and the support and examples you used were not random, but fit together. Redirect your readers Give your reader something to think about, perhaps a way to use your paper in the "real" world. If your introduction went from general to specific, make your conclusion go from specific to general. Think globally.