It’s important to understand the basics of an essay. Knowing what to have for each section is essential in writing a good essay. The Scoop sat down with Topi Alahuhta to ask him for suggestions on how to write a five-paragraph essay. Alahuhta is a student at Drury University and works as a writing tutor for Greene County. He is an English education major and is also involved in the cross-country team at Drury.
Topi Alahuhta. (Photo Courtesy of Alahuta)
Step 1: Establishing the main point/thesis in the introduction
“It important to establish what you’re writing about. In the first few sentences of the introduction, you need to establish the topic. What are trying to argue? Then turn that into your thesis (main point of the essay). Your thesis should include what the argument is.”
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“It important to establish what you’re writing about. In the first few sentences of the introduction, you need to establish the topic. What are trying to argue? Then turn that into your thesis (main point of the essay). Your thesis should include what the argument is.”
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Step 2: Creating three strong body paragraphs
The biggest chunk of someone’s essay is the body paragraphs. Each of the three body paragraphs need to include a main idea that backs up your thesis from the introduction.
“The body paragraphs serve as evidence for your thesis or points of evidence. Your body paragraph should first establish the link between your evidence and your thesis and then explain why your evidence strengthens your thesis. Explain why it’s important, then you’ve got a strong body paragraph.”
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Step 3: Ending with a strong conclusion
One of the most important parts of an essay is the end. Knowing how to end an essay is important to continue to reinforce the main point.
“Start with a quick summary of your main points. So, a quick, almost rehash of your thesis and your main points that back it up. Then end the essay with answering the question why does this matter? Why does it matter to know this? Then your reader is left with understanding of why this is significant.”
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Step 4: Revise and Review
One of the biggest things with any piece of writing once you’re done, is going over and editing what you have written.
“The first step is to go back and make sure the thesis is strong, and then if the thesis is strong, make sure your evidence is applicable and related to your thesis. After that, make sure that it is good, and you explain your evidence well. Going back and correcting grammatical errors is also a big part of this process. Going bit by bit and making sure your portions are correct and then doing a full read through and looking for the smaller errors after that to kind of polish it up.”
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