How to Write a 5 Paragraph Essay: Outline, Example

A five-paragraph essay is a popular format often used in high school and college due to its simplicity and easy-to-follow structure. If you’re new to writing, learning how to write a 5 paragraph essay will help build your skills and set a foundation before moving to more complex projects. Composing an essay that consists of five paragraphs requires topic selection, outlining the main points, writing the text (and properly distributing it among 5 paragraphs), and checking your piece. 

So, in this guide, we’ll cover the basics like structure and formatting guidelines and provide a 5 paragraph essay example to boost your writing.

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What Is a 5 Paragraph Essay?

A 5-paragraph essay is a beginner-friendly format that consists of an introduction, a body (the first, second, and third paragraphs laying out the arguments), and a conclusion. The introduction illustrates the topic and presents a thesis, which succinctly outlines the arguments that you will examine further in the essay.

Mastering the five-paragraph formula is essential for crafting well-structured essays for high school projects, college assignments, and scholarship drafts. Still, the rigid 5 paragraph essay format has its downsides. While it provides students with a neat way to structure their ideas, it also constrains creativity and limits the quality of the writing.

How to Start a 5 Paragraph Essay?

Start with formulating the thesis, a single sentence that sums up the main idea of an essay and appears at the end of the introduction section. Asking the right question is often more challenging than figuring out the correct answer. The thesis statement is an assertion you will defend or expand upon through the following three paragraphs. If the topic isn’t specified in the assignment, choose one you know well or have sufficient content to support your thesis statement.

After selecting a topic, it’s time to pen a brief outline. This crucial step in the writing process helps brainstorm and establish a logical sequence of your ideas. When writing a 5 paragraph essay outline, follow the structure (introduction, body, and conclusion) and list the main points and facts you want to cover in each section. It’s an informal foundation upon which you’ll later expand your thoughts and insights into a full-blown essay and a great way to ensure you won’t miss out on any critical argument. After all, submitting an outline is a common practice as it’s an excellent way for professors to ensure students stay on track.

How to Write a 5 Paragraph Essay?

Although five-paragraph essays are among the most beginner-friendly assignments, they still require preparation. After writing a five paragraph essay outline, use some tips and tricks to submit a well-crafted assignment.

1. Use Transition Words

One of the biggest challenges you’ll encounter in this format is the transition between paragraphs. Transition words create a more cohesive and fluid text with contrast, similarity, and sequence when presenting new ideas without sounding abrupt. This smooth flow helps keep the reader’s interest and follow your arguments.

Example: On the other hand/Furthermore/In conclusion/However/Moreover

2. Provide Evidence

Your ideas and conclusions should be based on facts. When writing a 5 paragraph essay, it’s integral to provide examples, quotes, and provable facts to substantiate your arguments and present a stronger case for your essay. Relevant facts make arguments more compelling and provide support for the presented ideas. Finding credible sources is a topic for a separate article. Still, you should strive to use information from scholarly journals, government websites, academic search engines (e.g., Google Scholar, PubMed, JSTOR), and digital libraries. Wikipedia may be a good starting point, but with the increasing politicization of the platform, it’s worthwhile taking everything written with a grain of salt.

Example: “According to the World Meteorological Organization, the carbon dioxide (CO2) accumulates in the atmosphere faster than any time experienced during human existence, rising by more than 10% in just two decades.”

3. Use Different Sentence Length

It’s hardly surprising that shorter sentences increase understanding, while longer ones are harder to digest. Using only short sentences will leave you with choppy and abrupt text, while relying solely on medium-length sentences will result in a monotonous read. Instead, combine long and short sentences to create a more dynamic essay. Remember that the recommended maximum length of a sentence is 25 words.

Example: Compare long sentences in the first paragraph with slightly shorter ones in the second.

“Endnotes are consecutively numbered notations at the end of a section, chapter, paper, or book that don’t disrupt the reading experience and provide additional information and supplementary references. Their placement at the end is crucial for streamlining the reading experience without cluttering a page with extensive commentary.”

“Endnotes are short notations at the end of the section, chapter, paper, or entire book. These consecutively numbered notes don’t disrupt the reading experience. However, they provide additional information and supplementary references. Placement at the end is crucial for streamlining the reading experience without cluttering a page with extensive commentary.”

Although both sections convey the same message, the second one is easier to understand.

4. Proofread

Before submitting your essay, you should proofread it and run it through AI-powered grammar checkers to weed out spelling and grammar mistakes. Edit unclear sentences, check the structure, and ensure it’s cohesive and concise. If you have trouble revising your text, leave it be for some time and return later with a clear head.

5 Paragraph Essay Outline

Don’t know the 5 paragraph essay structure? It’s pretty simple. Here’s the basic outline you should follow:

Now let’s discuss what should go in each paragraph. The following 5 paragraph essay template by our service should tell you exactly what you need to do to complete your assignment.

Paragraph 1: Introduction

In the introduction, you should provide background information on your topic. Usually, this information should be factual, especially for a history paper, but you can be creative in how you present it. The key is that you want to intrigue the reader. You want to draw the reader into your topic by creating a natural curiosity about it.

Somewhere in the middle of your introduction, you need to present the 3 main points you will discuss in your 5 paragraph essay. These 3 points are crucial for the basic essay, as you need to ensure you have enough to talk about, and it’s best to introduce them in the first paragraph. However, keep in mind that as your essays get longer, you may need to use more than 3 main points. That’s not something you should worry about now, though.

In any essay, your introductory paragraph should end with a strong thesis statement that tells readers exactly what you aim to prove. If the essay is meant only to inform, the thesis statement should clarify to readers exactly what you’re going to inform them of.

Paragraph 2: First Main Point

The second paragraph is where you begin laying out the 3 main points that you promised in your introduction. In this paragraph, the first sentence should transition from the previous paragraph to the current one. It should also clearly introduce the topic, your first main point.

The sentences that follow should provide examples and support, or evidence, for your topic. Readers should see that every example and every piece of support you provide (e.g., quotes, graphs, paraphrased information) is connected to your topic. They should never be left wondering why you included something.

Paragraph 3: Second Main Point

The third paragraph of your 5 paragraph essay is where you lay out the second main point. As the previous paragraph, it should begin with a transition and a description of the topic you’re about to discuss. Any examples or support you provide should be related to the topic at hand.

Paragraph 4: Third Main Point

The fourth paragraph is where you lay out the third main point that you promised in your essay’s introduction. Like any paragraph, it should have a transition and a topic sentence, and any examples or support should be related and interesting.

Paragraph 5: Conclusion

The last paragraph of a 5 paragraph essay — or any length should be a conclusion. It should not present new information, but it should always wrap up your discussion. One way to conclude is to summarize your 3 main points and then leave the reader with some key takeaways or a final thought about your thesis that drives your essay home.

However, your essay should not end with a cliffhanger. Remember that idea of cohesion? When the reader finishes your essay, he or she should feel like the information or argument is complete and fascinating.

Types of 5 Paragraph Essays

Different types of five-paragraph essays are designed for distinct goals. Here are some of the most common essays:

1. Narrative Essay

A narrative five-paragraph essay revolves around the writer. The introduction recounts a personal experience to get the reader involved, while the body section includes chronological events and details. The conclusion involves reflections on what the author learned from the experience.

2. Descriptive Essay

A descriptive essay's main aim is not an argument but an attempt to evoke feelings through rich expositions that appeal to the reader’s senses. The employment of sensory language, that is, words that pertain to sight, taste, smell, touch, and sound, helps describe a place, thing, or person. The intro identifies the subject, while the following paragraphs contain details.

3. Expository Essay

An expository essay offers a factual explanation with details. The concise introduction presents a topic, the body explains different aspects and provides evidence, and the last paragraph summarizes pivotal points. This essay states the facts but doesn’t try to persuade the reader.

5 Paragraph Essay Example

Here’s an example of a five-paragraph essay demonstrating the structure and rules to help you craft your essay better. 

The Role of Technology in Foreign Language Acquisition

The Role of Technology in Foreign Language Acquisition

The 5 Paragraph Essay Rubric

If you’re wondering how your essay will be graded, you’re not alone. While the exact rubric your teacher uses will vary, here’s a basic one that may help you see what’s expected in your essay.

Grade A: Excellent

• Both introduction and thesis are strong.
• Details and examples are strong and well organized.
• The conclusion is strong enough.
• Grammar is correct.

Grade B: Good

• Both introduction and thesis are strong.
• Details and examples are strong and well organized.
• The conclusion is strong enough.
• Has some spelling and grammar errors.

Grade C: Fair

• The introduction is good, but the thesis is weak.
• Examples used are weak.
• The conclusion is weak.
• Has major spelling and grammar errors.

Grade D: Poor

• Introduction and thesis are weak.
• Details and examples are weak and somewhat unorganized.
• Details or examples are few.
• Does not have a conclusion.
• Has serious spelling and grammar errors.

Grade F: Unsatisfactory

• Does not contain a thesis, and introduction is weak.
• Details and examples are weak and have no clear organization, or there are none at all.
• Does not have a conclusion.
• Has serious spelling and grammar errors.
• Illegible.

In some cases, your teacher may give you a rubric before you start your essay. If so, make sure you read it carefully and don’t be afraid to ask questions if you don’t understand something. The rubric should tell you exactly what the teacher is looking for, whether it’s a 5 paragraph essay or something much longer. To succeed with your task, please find some essay writing tips.

Final Thoughts

A 5 paragraph essay may be a simple format, but it still requires adherence to the guidelines. First, choose the topic, formulate the thesis, and pen a brief outline. This preliminary step will allow you to establish the logical sequence of your ideas. Second, craft an essay sticking to the rigid structure: introduction, body, and conclusion. Finish off by weeding out grammar mistakes, spelling errors, and unclear sentences.

Although writing a five-paragraph essay is not among the most complicated composition assignments, it still requires time and effort. If you want to skip forward to having a completed essay on your hands, get in touch with EssayService. The company employs a team of professional writers who will help boost your performance with undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate projects.