The Good Old Reliable Three- Point Essay

Does your mind go blank when you have to prepare a speech or write an English assignment? Do you stare at your notebook, chew your pen, and ask yourself helplessly, "What can I write about?" or "What can I say?"

If so, there is an easy solution to your problem - a solution that preachers, politicians, and commencement speakers have known about for years

All you have to do is pick a topic - any topic - and say three things about it.

Give three examples of good sportsmanship, three reasons why your school should abolish tardies, three qualities that make a perfect football player, three results of poor study habits, three things you hate about worms.

In the study of composition, such an essay is called a three-point enumeration

The three-point essay is: short, easy to organize, easy to prepare, and easy for a reader or listener to remember.

For a student, the best way to organize a three-point essay is to plan five paragraphs.

In the first paragraph, you should introduce your subject and indicate what your approach will be, perhaps even listing your three points.

Avoid boring introductions such as "in this paper I will try to explain three results of poor study habits." Instead, you might begin like this:

Brrrrrrring! The alarm clock sounds in my ear. I grab the clock and throw it against the wall, and let out a loud groan. Another Monday morning has arrived, and I never opened a book all weekend. What if Mr. Johnson gives another one of his diabolical pop tests today? Suddenly I feel too sick to eat breakfast. My poor study habits are giving me nervous indigestion, ruining my self-confidence, and destroying my hopes for a college scholarship.

Brrrrrrring! The alarm clock sounds in my ear. I grab the clock and throw it against the wall, and let out a loud groan. Another Monday morning has arrived, and I never opened a book all weekend. What if Mr. Johnson gives another one of his diabolical pop tests today? Suddenly I feel too sick to eat breakfast. My poor study habits are (1) giving me nervous indigestion, (2)ruining my self-confidence, and (3) destroying my hopes for a college scholarship.

The next three paragraphs should cover the three main points: - a paragraph about indigestion, - a paragraph about self-confidence, - and a final, perhaps longer, paragraph about college and scholarships. * Be sure to save your most important and interesting point until this fourth paragraph.

Your fifth paragraph should be a conclusion in which you summarize or perhaps suggest some kind of action. But I refuse to give up. I'm tired of being sick to my stomach, tired of feeling guilty, tired of worrying about college. Starting today, I'm going to use the study hall and the library for studying instead of daydreaming. Starting tonight, I'll finish my homework before I watch television. University of Chicago, Here I come!

You may be wondering whether it is necessary to limit yourself to three points. Why not four or seven or nineteen? There's no magic in the number three, but a good writer or speaker will be wary of boring or confusing his readers or audience. For example..

I want to say three things about freedom… …the Mayor of Springfield begins his speech at the annual Fourth of July picnic. He might also say four or five things about freedom and still keep everyone's attention.

But if he says seven things about freedom, he's flirting with trouble, And if he says 29 things about freedom, his speech will be a disaster, even if he somehow manages to keep it down to fifteen minutes. Half of the audience will be snickering, the other half will be grinding their teeth, and no one will remember any of the 29 points. Shakespeare said “Brevity (shortness) is the soul of wit (intelligence).” He was right! (to a point). Too long, you bore your audience. Too short, you won’t have an effective paper. Three main points is juuuuuust right!

The End NOW A Little Refresher!

Body Paragraphs – The Basic Building Block Topic Sentence First Sentence of proof  Second sentence of proof  Third Sentence of proof  Concluding Sentence Now, if you can string five of these paragraphs together…. 

ParagraphMulti-Paragraph Topic Sentence First Sentence of proof  Second sentence of proof  Third Sentence of proof  Concluding Sentence Introductory Paragraph First paragraph of proof Second paragraph of proof Third paragraph of proof Concluding Paragraph

Review: Three Points, Five Paragraphs Introduction Thesis Statement: My poor study habits are giving me nervous indigestion, ruining my self-confidence, and destroying my hopes for a college scholarship. ¶ 1 A paragraph about indigestion A paragraph about self- confidence A paragraph about college and scholarships Conclusion & Call to Action May restate thesis in different words Sick to my stomach Feeling guiltyWorrying about college ¶ 2 ¶ 3 ¶ 4 ¶ 5

Review: Three Points, Five Paragraphs Introduction Thesis Statement: May list the three points ¶ 1 A paragraph about point one A paragraph about point two A paragraph about point three Conclusion & Call to Action May restate thesis in different words ¶ 2 ¶ 3 ¶ 4 ¶ 5

DOING THE MATH Introduction Thesis Statement: May list the three points ¶ 1 A paragraph about point one A paragraph about point two A paragraph about point three Conclusion & Call to Action May restate thesis in different words ¶ 2 ¶ 3¶ 4 ¶ sentences or more 5 sentences or more 3-5 sentences or more TOTAL: sentences or more

What To Remember (Write this Down) -You should have one introductory paragraph. -You should have at least 3 body paragraphs. -You should have one concluding paragraph. -That’s five paragraphs total. -Each of the body paragraphs should have at least five to seven sentences. -The introduction and conclusion should have three to five sentences.

What To Remember (Write this Down) -Your introduction should do three things: -1. Have some attention grabbing sentence or two to begin the paragraph. -2. Present the issue in the second or third sentence. -3. Present your thesis (what you’re going to prove) in the third, fourth, or fifth sentence. -Your introduction should not do these things: -1. Say “In this paper…” -2. Say “I’m going to prove…

What To Remember (Write this Down) -Your body paragraphs should do the following: -1. Have a topic sentence. -2. Have three to five supporting sentences. -3. Have a concluding sentence. -Your conclusion should do the following: -Have an attention grabbing first sentence. -Restate the thesis in the second sentence. -Sum up the entire piece in the third sentence or have a call to action for the audience (i.e. tell them what you want them to do).

Making it Quality (write this down) Things to Avoid: Saying “I, me, or we” * Saying “you or your” * Using emotional appeals Stating opinions as facts Restate the same evidence in more than one paragraph Things to Do: Use “one” or “many” instead of I, me, you, or we * Provide real world examples Appeal to logic Quote an expert Include a counter-argument and refute it * unless the prompt asks you to write a personal piece.

THE END Now you try!