5 Paragraph Essay
1st Paragraph – Introduction paragraph. Last sentence of this paragraph is your thesis
statement.
2nd Paragraph – This paragraph defends the first point of your thesis statement.
3rd Paragraph – This paragraph defends the second point of your thesis statement.
4th Paragraph – This paragraph defends the third point of your thesis statement
5th Paragraph – Conclusion paragraph. This paragraph concludes and wraps up your
paper and sometimes restates your thesis statement.
Thesis Statement: In this sentence you state the three things you are going to be discussing
in your essay.
These are examples of what a thesis statement should look like:
The three major differences between the book The Outsiders and the movie version of
The Outsiders were the courtroom scene, Ponyboy’s sickness after the rumble, and Dally’s death.
Three of the major similarities between the book and movie version of The Outsiders
were the death of Bob, Johnny, and Dally.
The similarities between the book Holes and the movie Holes are the camp Stanley goes
to, the way he is treated at the camp, and the treasure Stanley and Zero find in the end.
Using this thesis as an example on the next page, I will show you what your essay should look
like:
Thesis: The similarities between the book Holes and the movie Holes are the camp Stanley goes
to, the way he is treated at the camp, and the treasure Stanley and Zero find in the end.
Adventure. Danger. Poisonous lizards? This and much more are included in the
exciting novel called Holes. The book is based on a character named Stanley and the camp he
goes to for getting in trouble. Disney released the movie version of Holes in 2003. The movie
was fairly similar to the book but there were some differences. I’m going to focus on the
similarities between the book and movie. The three main similarities between the book Holes
and the movie Holes are the camp Stanley goes to, the way he is treated at the camp, and the
treasure Stanley and Zero find in the end.
In the story, our main character Stanley gets in trouble for doing something he did not do.
He happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He is found guilty and sentenced to
spend time at a boy’s detention camp. In both the movie and the book the camp is portrayed in
the same way. The camp is out in the middle of what used to be a lake but is now a desert. The
camp has no walls. All the rules Stanley and the other inmates have to follow are the same in
both the movie and book. The people in charge at the camp are also the same in both book and
movie version of this story.
At camp, the other boys in both the book and movie version of the story give Stanley a
hard time. This is an evident similarity between the book and movie. The people that are in
charge of the boys in the detention camp are not the nicest of people and they are very strict with
the boys. They also make the boys dig a big hole everyday they are at the detention camp in
both versions of the story. Another way the boys are treated the same in both the book and
movie is in the end when the camp boss wants to leave Zero and Stanley out in the desert and not
report they are missing. In both versions the boys run away and the boss does not want to do the
right thing and report they are gone.
The third major similarity I noticed between the book and movie version of Holes was at
the end of the book when Stanley and Zero found the buried treasure. In the book it was in the
last place the boys dug holes. This was the same in the movie. Also in both versions, poisonous
lizards walk all over the two boys as they are holding the treasure. The movie was cool because
you could really see what it was like to have lizards crawling all over you. The actual treasure
that was found by both boys was the same in both book and movie.
The book was exciting how it kept going back and forth in time throughout the chapters.
In the movie, Disney decided to do the same thing and flash back into the past. This story is very
gripping and catches audiences right from the beginning. The movie was a great adaptation for
the book, it was very similar and I think that was a good choice. I’m glad that the movie kept the
camp, the people, and the treasure plotlines the same as they were presented in the book.