WRITING A FIVE PARAGRAPH
ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY
WHAT ARE THE KEY
COMPONENTS OF AN ESSAY ?
1. Introduction
2. 3 Body Paragraphs
3. Conclusion
WHAT ARE THE KEY COMPONENTS
OF AN INTRODUCTION
1.
2.
3.
Opening sentences: set the tone of what is to come. The opening
sentences should grab the readers attention, giving them a reason to want
to read on. This is also a good place to provide any back ground
information that may be important to the reader like title(s) and author(s)
of a text that is being written about.
Thesis statement: a clearly worded answer to a question and/or a clearly
worded declaration of the view(s)/idea(s) a writer will support, assert, or
prove in a paper. This thesis statement focuses the essay towards an
insight or position that is unique to the writer in one and on some
occasions two precise sentences.
Forecast: delineates the subtopics/claims of support that will follow in
the essay and does so in the order in which they will appear.
BODY PARAGRAPHS
Body paragraphs develop a convincing case to prove the claim advanced in the
thesis. They explore the ideas relevant to the thesis; evidence is presented in a
logical fashion, and is interpreted (elaborated on) in ways that clearly support
the thesis. Body paragraphs are made up of the following elements:
TOPIC SENTENCE
The topic sentence of each body paragraph introduces some element of the
thesis that will become the subject of the paragraph. These should draw on
the thesis and/or the forecast ideas and wording to keep the central argument
actively in play for the readers.
Strong topic sentences do not just repeat the thesis or forecast, but rather
develop an aspect, or “chunk” of the thesis or forecast that will be further
expanded in the paragraph.
ANALYSIS
Analysis is a sentence that follows the topic sentence and extends the idea and
gives readers the time to absorb the idea before shifting into the specific
evidence that will be used to prove it.
EVIDENCE
Like the evidence presented in a legal case, the evidence presented in an essay
should persuade readers that a writer’s point of view is worth considering.
Every bit of evidence in an essay should point toward the validity (the truth)
of the thesis. Each paragraph should have it’s own evidentiary citations.
This evidence should also come from a reliable source. Where the evidence
comes from is almost as important as the evidence itself. A few examples of
reliable sources are: newspapers, magazines, and expert testimony. GOOGLE
IS NOT A SOURCE. Google is a search engine that can lead you to a source.
ELABORATION
/INTERPRETATION
All evidence must be elaborated/interpreted and linked to the point being
proven. In an essay, it is the job of the writer to provide this elaboration for
the reader: readers should not be expected to elaborate/interpret the evidence
presented or required to make the link between evidence and the thesis
ANCHOR
The final component of a body paragraph, does as it’s name suggests: it
anchors the evidence and elaboration/interpretation presented in the body
paragraph to the overall claim of the paper and reminds readers of the overall
purpose of the paper. In addition, the anchor of a body paragraph allows for
a clear connection between paragraphs, serving as a transition to the next idea.
Keep in mind that the challenge of writing a strong anchor is refraining from
allowing them to become repetitive by simply repeating the thesis or topic
sentence.
CONCLUSION
The final section of the essay, the conclusion is often the most difficult to
write. The conclusion of an essay should bring the writer and readers back
into agreement about what the essay set out to prove and reemphasize the
value of the argument. There are two elements in a conclusion:
SUMMARY
Without simply repeating the thesis, the conclusion should contain a reminder
of the primary claim of the paper. In addition, without simply listing
evidence, the conclusion should refer to the significant point which were
offered as proof of the thesis.
INTENSIFIED INSIGHT
In addition to reviewing the essence of an essay, the conclusion should
provide insight that deepens or intensifies the significance of the claim stated
in the thesis. The challenge is to phrase an insight, which intensifies the claim
without introducing a new argument to requires additional proof. While
readers may look for broader or deeper meaning in a conclusion, they are not
willing to accept assertions that are not supported by the essay itself. The
writer must also avoid clichés, statements or ideas that have been overused
and have lost their originality, and generalizations that oversimplify the
significance of the essay.