5 PARAGRAPH ESSAY A Review on Essay Writing

T HE B ODY P ARAGRAPH Topic Sentence Background/Summary Quote/Specific Example Quote/Example Analysis (Explanation) REPEAT!! Transition  This is Kendra. She’s going to be your tour guide today!

A Q UICK WORD ABOUT … ORGANIZATION FROM K ENDRA Organization is the MEANINGFUL arrangement of content Throwing Info = Throwing Paragraphs You don’t want to zig zag your way to your destination. You want to go in a nice straight-line! You need to think about the organization of your paragraphs. What topic should be first? Why? Should it go in chronological order or order of importance ? These are questions you need to consider as you write your paper! Your reader will appreciate it!

T OPIC S ENTENCE Purpose Links the thesis to its support and acts like a mini-paragraph thesis; it’s the umbrella idea! It is not… A background statement or plot summary A question It does include… The paragraph topic The paper topic taken from the thesis Sometimes it also includes the paper subject, like a character’s name

E XAMPLE Intelligence makes Ulysses rise from his pedestal of small idol to powerful hero. Adeline’s intelligence allows her to grow beyond her parents’ restrictions and expectations, eventually resulting in her success as a doctor.

B ODY P ARAGRAPH B ACKGROUND Purpose To provide the reader context for the quote/example Should be a concise summary of the plot surrounding the quote/example Remember, you are your reader’s tour guide. You need to give them all necessary information. What if you were abroad and Kendra took you by the most amazing building and told you it had the most fascinating story, but then she didn’t tell you the story?! You wouldn’t give her a good review… Can be more than one sentence Introduces characters or other important information

Q UOTES Purpose To legitimize your argument with a primary source THE FOUR Ps! POWERPOINT Distribute handout MUST be: LEAD INTO CITED CORRECTLY COPIED CORRECTLY

E XAMPLE Despite the pressure of the situation, Ulysses quickly devises that the men should “swing under the bellies of the rams” (24). Jack says, “‘you smell’ and Ralph responds, ‘no, I don’t’”(134).

DOES YOUR READER UNDERSTAND THE QUOTE? QUOTE ANALYSIS (Explanation) SECTION Purpose: To break down the thought process of your argument Should: Be two or MORE sentences Address the questions presented Be thorough Remember, you are the tour guide! You need to be specific and direct. You are introducing your reader to this brand new thing (thought), so you need to explain it to them. What is being said in the quote/example? Why is this quote/example significant? What does it show? How does it show it?

T RANSITION Again, picture you are the tour guide to your paper. You are briefly reviewing what your patrons just saw and informing them of what’s to come! Try not to steal from your topic sentence! Use transitional phrases (Therefore, however, conversely, nonetheless etc.)

E XAMPLE Zeus’ confidence may seem like the strongest example of similarity between the gods and humans, until one hears about Ares’ desire to wage war.

T HAT ’ S ALL FOR TODAY !