Three-point, Five-paragraph Essay
Paragraph One Contains
a sentence to introduce the subject of the essay
a sentence to provide any background information needed to
understand the focus of the essay
a thesis statement to explain the 3 main ideas of the essay
Paragraph Two Contains
a topic sentence to introduce the first main idea of the thesis
sentence
sentences that develop the first idea
sentences that give specific examples of the main idea
quotations from the text
Paragraph Three Contains
a topic sentence to introduce the second main idea of the thesis
sentence
sentences that develop the second idea
sentences that give specific examples of the main idea
quotations from the text
Paragraph Four Contains
a topic sentence to introduce the third main idea of the thesis
sentence
sentences that develop the third idea
sentences that give specific examples of the main idea
quotations from the text
Paragraph Five Contains
a sentence to summarize or restate the thesis of the essay
sentences about the significance of the main idea—so what?
The writer’s personal opinion or thoughts concerning the main idea of
the essay.