The Traditional Five – Paragraph Essay The Three Main Sections: Introduction, Body, and Conclusion

OVERALL STRUCTURE OF THE FIVE-PARAGRAPH ESSAY Introduction: Tell them what you’re going to tell them. Body: Tell them. Conclusion: Tell them what you’ve told them.

I. Introduction:The First Paragraph of the Essay The first paragraph of the five – paragraph essay is called the introduction. In an analytical essay, it is typically five to seven sentences long. These sentences make up the three main parts of the introduction. The three main parts of the introductory paragraph are named as follows: Hook/Lead, Organizers thesis statement. They may be explained as follows:

The Hook/Lead: This sentence should capture a reader’s attention and focus it on a topic. 1. Example: “I do not remember when and why my father disappeared from our life, but I do remember that we have never felt his absence because my mother was always there for us through the good times and the bad.”

Transition to Organizers: A Slightly more specific focus sentence or sentences that identifies the particular aspect of the topic that will be discussed in the essay. In other words, the transition narrows the topic. 1. Example: “My mother, Enriqueta F. Garcia has three children. Throughout our formative years she has been the source of love, inspiration and strength for us all.” 2. The particular aspect identified is that her mother has been a, “source of love, inspiration and strength…” for her daughters.

Organizers/Thesis Statement The organizers are the three main ideas that will be developed in the Body Paragraphs: in this essay, they are: performs the double role of a mother and a father holds a full-time job still manages to tend to all her daughters’ needs. The Thesis Statement is the main idea of the entire essay. In this case, the Thesis Statement should express that the author’s mother is an amazing woman. Having to act as both parental units while providing for the economic and emotional needs of her family is what makes my mom an amazing woman.

II. The Body Paragraph: Three Main Components A. Topic Sentence. 1 II. The Body Paragraph: Three Main Components A. Topic Sentence 1. The topic sentence is the sentence that expresses the main idea of the body paragraph, which is one of the three main supporting ideas presented in the Essay Map. a. Example: My mother has always been both a Mom and a Dad to us since we were little.

Supporting Details 1. The supporting details are the specific pieces of information that clarify, explain, illustrate and develop the main idea expressed in the Topic Sentence. A. Example: “Like a father, she 1brings in the money, 2pays the bills, 3sets the rules, and 4disciplines us whenever it is needed. Even though she is 5rough and tough, she 6has a loving and tender heart. As is the case with all mothers, she 7bandages our wounds, 8gives us kisses,9talks “girl talk” to us, and10simply holds us when we want to be held.”

C. Concluding Sentence The concluding sentence gives closure to the C. Concluding Sentence The concluding sentence gives closure to the paragraph by paraphrasing the Topic Sentence. Example: “In short, despite the absence of my father, we have never felt that emotional void because my mother has been doing an outstanding job of filling both a mother’s and a father’s role.”

III. The Concluding Paragraph: Four Main Components A. Paraphrase of the Lead-In 1. Example: Thanks to our mother, our father’s absence from our world was never a painful issue for my sisters and me. B. Paraphrase of the Transition 2. Example: My mother is a strong, loving woman

Paraphrase of Thesis Statement and Essay Map 1. Example: Amazingly, our mother has been both a Mom and a Dad to us as well as being a competent accountant and compassionate caregiver.

Thought Provoking Statement emphasizing and expanding the importance of the topic 1. Example: Her giving spirit and dedication to her work and family have been an inspiration to us, and we will try our very best to be just like her so that we can instill those values in our own children.