5 PARAGRAPH ESSAY WRITING GUIDE
The 5-paragraph essay is a type of organization frequently taught in writing classes:
Introduction - Thesis and three reasons
Body Paragraph One - Discuss reason number one
Body Paragraph Two - Discuss reason number two
Body Paragraph Three - Discuss reason number three
Conclusion: Summarize
The 5-paragraph essay format does provide a basic organization structure; however, there are many potential problems:
Though the 5-paragraph essay may be used as a foundation for developing writers, it is important for students to understand that essays (even academic essays) are not required to contain only five paragraphs.
Paragraph divisions help the reader understand the text by organizing it into groups of ideas that work together, and they help the eye return to the proper place in the text after looking away for a brief moment. A text without enough breaks is difficult to read because it's hard to keep track of your place.
How many paragraphs you have should depend on how much you have to say, and it should depend on what you have to say.
Think of the college essay as an intellectual journey, a journey you want the reader to take.
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