Essay:

An essay is a multi-paragraph writing which looks at one single

topic from a variety of perspectives. This means that in one
essay we have several main ideas.
How to Write a Standard five-Paragraph Essay
Instructions
1. Choose your topic. Unless you are assigned a topic, be sure
to pick something that interests you. You'll find it is much easier
to write an essay about a topic you know something about.
That way you won't have to engage in in-depth research.
2. Write a thesis statement. This should be the one sentence
that sums up your paper in its entirety. If you want to write a
paper about how birds migrate, your thesis statement might
read, "Birds have internal navigation senses that assist them
with their yearly migration."
3. Begin your introduction. Try to find an unusual aspect about
the topic or personal experience that draws readers in. Include
an organizational statement. This tells your readers what the
next three paragraphs of your five-paragraph essay are about.
For example, you might write: "Birds use visual orientation,
geographic landmarks and a variety of innate abilities to
migrate annually."
4. Begin the body of your paper. Make sure that you write your
second, third and fourth paragraphs in direct conjunction with
the topics listed in your organizational statement. If you start
out talking about geographic landmarks yet your sample
organizational statement lists that as the second topic, your
essay is out of alignment and you'll need to either alter your
organizational statement or switch the order of your
paragraphs. Begin the middle three paragraphs with topic
sentences and then support those sentences with factual
information.

5. Sum it all up. The conclusion is the fifth and last paragraph in
your five-paragraph essay. The conclusion will restate your
thesis statement and wrap up your topic. Although you should
never make the thesis statement either the first or last
sentence in an introduction, it is perfectly acceptable to do that
in the conclusion.
6. Proofread your essay. Make sure each of your paragraphs is
five to seven sentences long and that your spelling and
grammar are correct. Have a friend or family member look over
your work, too.
The structure of the five-paragraph essay:
1. An introductory paragraph (Introduction)
2. Supporting paragraphs (Body)
3. A concluding paragraph (Conclusion)

Outline of five paragraph essay

Outline 1:
Introductory Paragraph
First Body Paragraph

Motivator
Thesis Sentence
Topic Sentence
Specific Support
Specific Support
Specific Support

Second Body Paragraph Topic Sentence

Specific Support
Specific Support
Specific Support
Third Body Paragraph

Topic Sentence
Specific Support
Specific Support

Specific Support
Concluding Paragraph

Restatement of Thesis
Clincher

Structure of an Introductory Paragraph

Motivator: People are mistaken who believe the high Rockies
are hard to climb.
Thesis:
Climbing Colorado's fourteeners is hardly a rugged
experience...
Blueprint: ...most of them take only a day to climb, involve
only hiking and simple scrambling, and are
conquered by many people every year.
Introductory Paragraph
People are mistaken who believe the high Rockies are hard to
climb. To the traveler who has passed through the plains of
Kansas and eastern Colorado, the high Rockies might seem like
a beautiful but forbidding wilderness, approachable by only the
toughest mountaineers. It is true that the 53 peaks in the
Rockies that soar over 14,000 feet in elevation should only be
attempted by seasoned climbers. However, the peaks under
14,000 feet, the fourteeners, can be easily climbed by the
average person. Actually, climbing Colorado's fourteeners is
hardly a rugged experience because most of them take only a
day to climb, involve no more than hiking and simple
scrambling, and are conquered by many people each year.
First Body Paragraph
Topic Sentence A climb up one of Colorado's 14,000 foot
peaks rarely takes more than a day.
Specific
Old professor makes daily climbs.
Support
Specific
A friend climbed four in one day.
Support

Specific
Support

Colorado Mountain Club climbed most of the

state's fourteeners in a day to celebrate the
Bicentennial.

Surprisingly, unlike expeditions to Mt. McKinley or Mt. Everest, a

climb up one of Colorado's 14,000 foot peaks rarely takes more
than a day. Pike's Peak, with the state's greatest base-tosummit elevation gain, is admittedly a strenuous climb, yet a
retired college professor in his middle seventies makes the hike
every day in the summer. A friend of mine, Carson Black, in a
day, once climbed four fourteeners, three of which--Crestone
Peak, Crestone Needle, and Kit Carson Peak--are the most
challenging in the state. Even more revealing is the
Bicentennial celebration by the Colorado Mountain Club. It
planned to have members on the summit of every fourteener in
the state on July 4, 1976. Only a handful of ascents took more
than a day.
Second Body Paragraph
Topic Sentence Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks are easy to
climb.
Specific
The "knife-edge traverse" on Capitol Peak is
Support
a challenge, yet ropes aren't usually used.
Specific
The highest peak in the state, Mt. Elbert, is
Support
simple to climb..
Specific
I personally saw two motorcycles on the
Support
14,000-foot ridge.
Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks are also fairly easy to climb
because they require no special climbing techniques. The
"knife-edge traverse" on Capitol Peak is probably the most
infamous challenge, yet most hikers who carry ropes don't use
them when they see the ridge is not very intimidating. The
highest peak in the state, Mt. Elbert, is so simple to climb that a
jeep made it in 1949, and one man "rode a 24-year-old bicycle
to the summit in 1951" (Perry Eberhart and Philip Schmuck, The

Fourteeners, p. 38). I personally saw two motorcycles on the

14,000-foot bridge between Mt. Democrat and Mt. Lincoln.
Third Body Paragraph
Topic Sentence Many climb peaks each year.
Specific Support I saw over seventy cars in the parking lotof
Torrey's Peak
Specific Support I passed fifty people climbing Mt. Elbert.
Specific Support In 1968, 4226 people climbed Longs Peak.
Another indication that climbing Colorado's highest peaks is not
very difficult is the sheer number of people who succeed each
summer. After descending from Torrey's Peak one weekend in
August, I counted over seventy cars in the parking lot. On a
week the previous August, I passed fifty people in various
stages of climbing Mt. Elbert. Even years ago--in 1968--4226
people climbed Longs Peak (Paul W. Nesbit, Longs Peak, p. 68).
Its parking lot today, to accommodate the number of climbers,
is about a quarter-mile long.
Concluding Paragraph
Restatement of Thesis I've probably shattered your belief
that Colorado's peaks are the domain
of only bears and mountain men who
look like bears
Clincher
Zebulon Pike would be surprised
today.
If I've shattered your belief that Colorado's peaks are the
domain of only bears and mountain men who look like bears,
consider how Zebulon Pike might feel about Pikes Peak today.
In 1806, he "predicted that the mountain would never be
climbed" (Eberhart and Schmuck, p. 6). Now, via the cog
railway or the toll highway, he could reach the summit without
moving his legs.

Completed essay:
People are mistaken who believe the high Rockies are hard to
climb. To the traveler who has passed through the plains of
Kansas and eastern Colorado, the high Rockies might seem like
a beautiful but forbidding wilderness, approachable by only the
toughest mountaineers. It is true that the 53 peaks in the
Rockies that soar over 14,000 feet in elevation should only be
attempted by seasoned climbers. However, the peaks under
14,000 feet, the fourteeners, can be easily climbed by the
average person. Actually, climbing Colorado's fourteeners is
hardly a rugged experience because most of them take only a
day to climb, involve no more than hiking and simple
scrambling, and are conquered by many people each year. Click
on
the
arrows
to
see
a detailed explanation.
Surprisingly, unlike expeditions to Mt. McKinley or Mt. Everest, a
climb up one of Colorado's 14,000 foot peaks rarely takes more
than a day. Pike's Peak, with the state's greatest base-tosummit elevation gain, is admittedly a strenuous climb, yet a
retired college professor in his middle seventies makes the hike
every day in the summer. A friend of mine, Carson Black, in a
day, once climbed four fourteeners, three of which--Crestone
Peak, Crestone Needle, and Kit Carson Peak--are the most
challenging in the state. Even more revealing is the
Bicentennial celebration by the Colorado Mountain Club. It
planned to have members on the summit of every fourteener in
the state on July 4, 1976. Only a handful of ascents took more
than a day.
Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks are also fairly easy to climb
because they require no special climbing techniques. The
"knife-edge traverse" on Capitol Peak is probably the most
infamous challenge, yet most hikers who carry ropes don't use
them when they see the ridge is not very intimidating. The
highest peak in the state, Mt. Elbert, is so simple to climb that a
jeep made it in 1949, and one man "rode a 24-year-old bicycle

to the summit in 1951" (Perry Eberhart and Philip Schmuck, The

Fourteeners, p. 38). I personally saw two motorcycles on the
14,000-foot bridge between Mt. Democrat and Mt. Lincoln.
Another indication that climbing Colorado's highest peaks is not
very difficult is the sheer number of people who succeed each
summer. After descending from Torrey's Peak one weekend in
August, I counted over seventy cars in the parking lot. On a
week the previous August, I passed fifty people in various
stages of climbing Mt. Elbert. Even years ago--in 1968--4226
people climbed Longs Peak (Paul W. Nesbit, Longs Peak, p. 68).
Its parking lot today, to accommodate the number of climbers,
is about a quarter-mile long.
If I've shattered your belief that Colorado's peaks are the
domain of only bears and mountain men who look like bears,
consider how Zebulon Pike might feel about Pikes Peak today.
In 1806, he "predicted that the mountain would never be
climbed" (Eberhart and Schmuck, p. 6). Now, via the cog
railway or the toll highway, he could reach the summit without
moving his legs.

Outline 2:
I. Introduction
The introduction introduces the topic and the main ideas.
a) Warm up = motivator: you give some general and
interesting information which can be motivating the reader to
follow your ideas.
Smokers believe that smoking is cool and relaxing. It helps
them concentrate better and lets them forget about their
problems.
b) Thesis statement: it has the same job as the topic
sentence in the paragraph (introducing the main ideas). This

statement can be one or more than one sentence. You should

not go into any details of the main ideas.

However, these people are not aware of the problems that they
might face in their life. It seems that smokers can face health
problems, financial problems, and social problems which are
the result of their smoking.
First of all, smokers may face serious health problems. In
addition, they have to spend/waste lots of money on this
behavior. Finally, smoking can affect their social relationships
as well.

II. Body
In this part we support every main idea we introduced in the
introductory paragraph. The number of paragraphs depends on
the number of main ideas we introduced in the introduction. In
this example, we are going to have three paragraphs. Here,
each paragraph must have a clearly specified topic
sentence followed by supporting sentences ending with a
concluding sentence.
Body paragraph1:
First of all, smoking can result in certain health
problems, such as different kinds of cancer and
respiratory problems.For example, 85% of patients
suffering from lung cancer are reported to be smokers.
In fact, medical doctors believe that smoking is the
number one cause of lung cancer and one of the most
important reasons of some other types of cancer, such
as tongue and throat cancer. In addition to cancers,
smokers may face certain respiratory problems, such as
asthma. It is seen that most smokers have chronic
coughs, which can be due to this behavior.As a result, it

is believed that health is the most important target of

smoking.
Body paragraph 2:
In addition to health problems, smokers have to spend
lots of money on their smoking, which causes many
financial problems for themselves as well as the
government.For example, every year they have to spend
millions on buying hundreds of packs of cigarettes.
Furthermore, they will have to visit dentists for
whitening their teeth more frequently than nonsmokers, which is one of the most expensive types of
visit to a dentist. In cases when these people get
diseases such as cancer, the government will have to
spend lots of money on their treatment as well.As can
be seen, every year millions of dollars are spent which is
because of using cigarettes.
Body paragraph 3:
The last effect of smoking on smokers' life is the
problems these people might have in their social
relationships.For example, their spouse may divorce
them, especially if one of them starts smoking. In
addition to family problems, these people may have
some limitations in making new friends. Not many
people would like to have smoker friends, which causes
some problems for making new friends for smokers.In
conclusion, as a result of their smoking, smokers can
face social problems in their family and among their
friends.

III. Conclusion
It is the last paragraph of the essay which gives a conclusion to
what you mentioned in the essay. It has two parts:
a) Restatement of the thesis statement:

In this part, you restate what you said as the topic sentence. Be
careful NOT to copy the thesis statement. Try to use different
wording and paraphrasing.
As seems obvious, health problems along with financial
problems and social problems are the most important effects of
smoking on those people who have adopted this behavior.
b) Clincher:
This part answers the "So what?" question. In other words, the
writer will give his/her personal impression, idea and comment
onthe issue talked about in the essay. In fact, this part is the
general conclusion of the essay from the writer's point of view.
In order to have a healthier life, smokers need to quit their
smoking. In addition, the government needs to start plans in
order to encourage smokers to stop smoking. Finally, families
need to be more careful with their children and try to
discourage them from smoking.

The structure of a typical five paragraph essay:

Smokers believe that smoking is cool and relaxing. It
helps them concentrate better and lets them forget
about their problems.However, these people are not
aware of the problems that they might face in their
life.First of all, smokers may face serious health
problems. In addition, they have to spend/waste lots of
money on this behavior. Finally, smoking can affect their
social relationships as well.
First of all, smoking can result in certain health
problems, such as different kinds of cancer and
respiratory problems.For example, 85% of patients
suffering from lung cancer are reported to be smokers.
In fact, medical doctors believe that smoking is the
number one cause of lung cancer and one of the most
important reasons of some other types of cancer, such
as tongue and throat cancer. In addition to cancers,
smokers may face certain respiratory problems, such as
asthma. It is seen that most smokers have chronic
coughs, which can be due to this behavior.As a result, it
is believed that health is the most important target of
smoking.
In addition to health problems, smokers have to spend
lots of money on their smoking, which causes many
financial problems for themselves as well as the
government.For example, every year they have to spend
millions on buying hundreds of packs of cigarettes.
Furthermore, they will have to visit dentists for
whitening their teeth more frequently than nonsmokers, which is one of the most expensive types of
visit to a dentist. In cases when these people get
diseases such as cancer, the government will have to
spend lots of money on their treatment as well.As can
be seen, every year millions of dollars are spent which is
because of using cigarettes.

The last effect of smoking on smokers' life is the

problems these people might have in their social
relationships.For example, their spouse may divorce
them, especially if one of them starts smoking. In
addition to family problems, these people may have
some limitations in making new friends. Not many
people would like to have smoker friends, which causes
some problems for making new friends for smokers.In
conclusion, as a result of their smoking, smokers can
face social problems in their family and among their
friends.
As seems obvious, health problems along with financial
problems and social problems are the most important
effects of smoking on those people who have adopted
this behavior.In order to have a healthier life, smokers
need to quit their smoking. In addition, the government
needs to start plans in order to encourage smokers to
stop smoking. Finally, families need to be more careful
with their children and try to discourage them from
smoking.