February 10, 2009 – WRITING – Model Essay Structure
NAME: ________________
Making It or Breaking It: The Causes of Divorce
Nearly 50% of marriages in America eventually end in divorce, according to statistics from the
US Census Bureau. This is a shocking statistic, but when you look around—at your coworkers and
your neighbors—this number becomes believable. Dan in the office next door left his wife after
discovering that she was having an affair. Mrs. Jones across the street became divorced after fifty
years of marriage. Divorce has become an epidemic in this country. Just like with a disease, we must
investigate the causes of this flood of divorces if we hope to reduce the number of crumbling
marriages. The most prevalent causes of divorce are getting married too young, having an affair, and
failing to make the marriage a priority.
For many people, marriage right after high school is acceptable and even normal. However,
when people marry young, the chance of divorce becomes very high. For example, 75% of the girls
graduating from the  sorority at the University of Oklahoma in 2002, got engaged or married
when they received their diplomas. After less than three years, half of them became divorced or
broken off their engagements. Although each couple broke up for a different reason, the overall
cause was the same: they were too young when they committed themselves for life. Without a
strong career, solid finances, or even an established identity, these young couples were bound for
failure. They grew apart, faced too much conflict, and simply could not hold their marriages together.
Even couples who marry at a more mature age often fall prey to another cause of divorce:
affairs. In the movie Loving Frank, a man named Edwin Cheney gets his beautiful wife to convince a
famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, to design and build their house. Wright agrees to build the
house but then woos Cheney’s wife into an affair which eventually causes her to leave her husband.
Mr. Cheney gained his house, but lost his wife! Hollywood movies like Loving Frank provide us with
captivating entertainment by showing affairs like these; however, in real life, we don’t get to walk out
of the theater at the end of the affair and move on without consequences. The emotional damage
and conflict caused by affairs are serious, real life problem that lead to divorce everyday.
Though affairs involve making choices that are obviously harmful to one’s marriage, many
divorces are caused by far more subtle mistakes, such as failing to make one’s marriage a priority. In
a world where men and women work 50, 60, even 70 hour weeks, life at home often comes second.
When life becomes working all day and taking care of children all night, marriages suffer, sometimes
ending in divorce. In the movie Baby Boom, a couple focuses completely on their careers and making
money; every night they watch the financial news in bed instead of snuggling and every morning they
read the Wall Street Journal over breakfast instead of talking. Because they spend all their attention,
energy, and emotion on their jobs, they give nothing left to nurture their marriage. If the couple had
paid as much attention to each other as they do their finances, they would probably still be married.
Instead, like many couples today, they put their jobs before their marriage and as a result, end by
filing divorce papers.
With the huge number of divorce lawyers out there trying to make a buck off people’s failing
marriages, you would expect couples to think twice before marrying, but, no, more couples are tying
the knot than ever before. Personally, before I speak the words “til death do us part”, I will
reexamine and avoid the main causes of divorce including marrying too young, having affairs, and
failing to prioritize their marriage. You should, too, if you want your marriage to be one in a million
instead of one of those failed 50%!
Introduction:
What does this essay do to grab your attention?
Do you think that it is interesting? If yes, why? If no, what would you do? (Be specific!)
Supporting Paragraph #1
Main idea: _________________________________________________________________________
Example: __________________________________________________________________________
Explain how the example shows the main idea?
Supporting Paragraph #2
Main idea: _________________________________________________________________________
Example: __________________________________________________________________________
Explain how the example shows the main idea?
Supporting Paragraph #3
Main idea: _________________________________________________________________________
Example: __________________________________________________________________________
Explain how the example shows the main idea?
Why did the author put their supporting paragraphs in this idea?
Which supporting paragraph do you think proved its point BEST? Please give 3 specific reasons
it was best.