MASTER A SIMPLE FIVE PARAGRAPH ESSAY!
A Clear and Concise Format that Guarantees Good Organization
The five-paragraph essay is a special structural type of writing, the only peculiarity of which is the
precise structure that must be observed by the author. It must necessarily include an introduction, a
main body, consisting of three paragraphs, and a conclusion:
An introduction provides background for the writing, outlining the topic and evoking the reader’s
interest, presents thesis, a brief insight into the writer’s point of view and a transition to the first
paragraph.
The first paragraph must provide the reader with the strongest and most interesting argument,
supported by a good example. The first sentence of the paragraph must be a well-structured topic
sentence and the paragraph itself must necessarily contain a reference back to the introduction, the socalled “reverse transitional hook”. The last sentence of the paragraph is the transition to the second
paragraph of the main body. The second and the third paragraphs are organized in a similar way with
transitions between them and differ only in the value of the argument, as it must be weaker in each
consecutive paragraph.
The concluding paragraph is a summary, which must provide restatement of the initial thesis and the
supporting ideas. However, the restatement must be powerful and should not duplicate the above
mentioned information. It must also contain a hint, emphasizing the introduction and the final sentence,
which signals the end of the discussion. The conclusion must be written in a powerful way, as it is aimed
at influencing the reader’s idea or opinion.
The topics of five-paragraph essays vary considerably, as they are not confined to a definite sphere of
knowledge. So, in case you can choose a topic, write about something you know well, as it will give the
chance to focus on a complicated structure without being distracted by the aspects of meaning.
(Hey! Look, the above  is a five paragraph essay! Another example is below …)
Are We Alone in the Universe?
Throughout its history humankind asked itself this question and constantly tried to answer “no”. The idea of sentient
living beings who are not people is present in writings of historians, geographers and other scientists for as long as
the science itself exists. Mermaids, cynocephali, various bizarre species of beastmen, antipodes: all of them were
embodiments of this dream. In course of time, the limits of the known Universe expanded and it became known that
no such creatures existed. The only place to seek for non-human life now is other planets. Is there any hope for
finding it?
There are a great number of theories concerning extraterrestrial life. According to the “rare Earth hypothesis”, the
conditions on Earth are close to unique and the possibility of them taking place on any other planet is close to zero.
However, this theory takes it for granted that the appearance of life requires conditions identical to those on Earth.
But is it true? If life on other planets exists, it may be completely different from what we are used to not only in form,
but in fundamental principles as well.
Of all the chemical elements only carbon and silicon seem to be suitable for being the basis of life, although silicon
can form connections with far less other elements. Needless to say, we have never encountered silicon-based
lifeforms, but if they exist, they may have properties that have nothing in common with what we used to associate
life with.
According to another theory, life may be a rather common thing in the Universe; even in our Solar system at least
several planets (Venus, Mars, Titan, Ganymede, Europa) in addition to Earth show signs of having atmosphere and
in theory may host some primitive lifeforms. All in all, taking into account the vastness of Universe and the
minuteness of our knowledge of it, it is very improbable that life doesn’t exist anywhere at all.
Of course, there is no definite answer to the question I used as a title. Nobody can say for sure that extraterrestrial
life exists or not exists for the sheer fact that the part of the Universe we know is less than negligible. In my opinion,
life may exist on other planets, but we are not going to find it very soon. And of course, if we find it, it will become
the most important discovery humankind has ever made.