The Keyhole Model
When you complete a draft of an essay, you should go back and read your essay from
beginning to end to see if you have actually introduced a main idea and that you have
stated the main idea clearly so that it expresses your attitude or point of view about your
subject. You should also make sure that each paragraph clearly explains or supports your
thesis. Finally, you should make sure that your conclusion clearly emphasizes your thesis
and gives a sense of completion to your essay. It is easy to stray from your subject and
thesis when you write, just as it is easy to stray in conversation. In writing, however, you
can always return to your writing, look at it in a new way, and change it so that each
paragraph in the body clearly supports and explains the thesis.
The Keyhole Essay
One way to write an effective essay is to begin with a picture in your mind: an oldfashioned keyhole — a large, round center with a funnel shape on top and an inverted
funnel shape on the bottom. This keyhole illustrates the relationship of the three major
divisions of the expository essay: the introduction (funnel shape on the top), the body
(round center), and the conclusion (the inverted funnel shape on the bottom). By
analyzing the introduction, the body, and the conclusion, you can better understand the
three parts of the five-paragraph expository "keyhole" essay and how those parts work
together effectively to communicate a writer's ideas.
The Introduction
The first section of the essay, the introduction, consists of a single introductory
"funnel" paragraph which presents the subject of the essay first and then, gradually,
narrows that subject before introducing the thesis statement — the essay's controlling
idea — near the end of the paragraph. The thesis presents an attitude toward the subject
and, ideally, a three-part plan of development. The subject of the essay should be fairly
narrow even as it is introduced. If the topic involved "Unusual Pets," for example, then
the paragraph could begin with a statement such as, "Many people, maybe most people,
would agree that having a bear as a pet surely presents many interesting problems for the
owner." The paragraph would not begin with the general subject of "pets" or with
"bears." The sentences following this opening statement would then, gradually, narrow
the discussion before presenting a thesis statement at or near the end of the introduction.
An appropriate thesis on this same subject of "unusual pets" might be, "Bears make
horrible pets because they are loud, dirty, and dangerous." This thesis presents the subject
(bears as pets) and an attitude toward that subject (that they are horrible pets); it also
adds, significantly, a three-part plan of development — the climactic order of "loud"
(important), "dirty" (more important), and "dangerous" (most important). After the
presentation of the thesis at the end of the introduction, the first body paragraph follows.
The Body
Section two of the essay, the body, consists of at least two "well-rounded" (welldeveloped) paragraphs, each beginning with its own topic sentence that, ideally, reveals
the organization not only of the essay and but also of the paragraph it introduces;
development of the body paragraphs should be organized, thorough, and unified. The first
body paragraph of the "Bears" essay would begin with a topic sentence such as, "One
important reason that bears are horrible pets is that they are dirty." This topic sentence
reveals its connection (unity) with the essay's thesis and it reveals the body section's
organization (climactic order). The topic sentences of the following body paragraphs
would reveal similar aspects of unity and order; ideally, they could also reveal the order
of the paragraphs that they introduce. For example, the topic sentence of the third body
paragraph might read, "However, the most important reason that bears make horrible pets
is that as they grow larger, they present an increasing danger to their owners." Such a
body paragraph would be developed and organized according to examples that follow a
chronological pattern. In addition to being well-organized, each of the body paragraphs
must contain facts, details, and examples that adequately develop the subject introduced
in the topic sentence. Of course, unity is a must in the body paragraphs: no information
should be introduced in the paragraph unless it directly supports the paragraph's topic
sentence. After the final body paragraph, the writer is ready to conclude the essay with an
"inverted-funnel" paragraph.
The Conclusion
The essay's third and final section, the conclusion, essentially reverses the process
followed in the introduction; the conclusion consists, first, of a restated thesis statement
and, second, of sentences following the restated thesis which present a broadening
discussion of the subject of the essay before a closing statement is written. By restating
the thesis, the conclusion presents once again the essay's subject: it brings the subject
"full-circle" — just as the keyhole image suggests. In this way, the reader is reminded of
the essay's controlling idea, what the writer has been trying to inform or to persuade the
reader about. Again, as if the introduction were turned upside down, the conclusion ends
in the same way that the introduction began: with a gradually "generalized" presentation
of the essay's subject. A closing statement might read, "Bears, then, are not only unusual
pets to have, but their three outstanding attributes would probably place them at the
bottom of the list of unusual pets to own."
The introduction, the body, and the conclusion of an expository "keyhole" essay work
together effectively to communicate a writer's ideas. The image of the keyhole can
remind the writer about the relationship that the three major parts of the essay share. By
adhering closely to the Keyhole Method at first, you will lay a solid foundation from
which to build more creative expository essays. The Keyhole Method will help you
achieve the basic elements of sound essay writing: unity, coherence (logical
organization), and development (explanation or support of your main idea with reasons
and examples).