Writing a
Five-Paragraph Essay
Writing essays or themes requires the author to follow a
predictable format.
The Completed Essay
 Four identifiable parts
 Title
 Introductory Paragraph
 Body or Detail Paragraphs (3+)
 Concluding Paragraph
The Working Essay
 The author will be similar to a chef creating a delicious
Italian grinder.
 First – find the recipe and gather ingredients
(brainstorming and pre-writing)
 Second – create the filling (the body paragraphs)
 Third – prepare the bun (intro and conclusion)
 Lastly – garnish the dish (title)
1a. The Recipe
 Find the topic = Renaissance
 Narrow the topic = People places, inventions, and ideas
helped make the Renaissance flourish in the countries of
Western Europe.
1b. The Ingredients
 Through outlining or webbing, the organization of the
essay is found.
 In our case, the graphic organizers or webs made of five
European countries will be used. Your job will be to
choose three of the five countries we studied.
One Secret Ingredient
 To receive a grade of an “A”
 For each of the three countries chosen, students must research
a new person, invention, or idea that has not been mentioned
in the textbook.
 Add this new addition to the graphic organizer IN RED INK.
 Be sure to add the important details about this person to the
graphic organizer.
 Use movie notes or Google. Be sure the dates match the
Renaissance period. (roughly from 1300 – 1600)
2. Let the writing begin.
 Excellent essays are written by authors who understand
writing is powerful when written OUT OF ORDER.
 Most authors of excellent essays write the body
paragraphs first, then the introduction, then the
conclusion, and finally the title.
 These parts are rearranged for the final essay
One Word of Caution
 Authors who write with knowledge and maturity tell
facts and information. They NEVER tell strategy!
 How do you reveal strategy?
 In this essay, I will write about….
 In this paragraph you will read about…
 This essay / paragraph is about…
 The most immature writing example: I hope you enjoyed my
essay about the Renaissance. / Thank you for reading my … / Now
you know about… /
 The words “I, me, or my” should not be used in this essay!
2. Body paragraph #1
 What country would be a good place to start?
 Now look at your web and decide what people,
inventions, or ideas need to be included in this
paragraph. Star them on your graphic organizer. You
want to choose three or four strong examples that help
the Renaissance to flourish in this country.
 Remember the secret ingredient in your three or four
choices.
2. Body Paragraph #1 has three parts.
 Topic sentence
 Detail sentences
 Clincher sentence
2. The topic sentence
 Is usually the first sentence
 Introduces the main idea
 Sometimes introduces the details
2. Types of topic sentences
 General topic sentence
 Clueing topic sentence
 Specific topic sentence
2. General Topic Sentence
 Names the main idea of the paragraph in an interesting
way
 Example: The Renaissance flourished in Italy which is
where the Renaissance began.
2. Clueing Topic Sentence
 Names the main idea
 Gives a clue about the details
 Examples:
 The Renaissance flourished in Italy because of several
people.
 The Renaissance flourished in Italy thanks to the
contributions of three people.
 The Renaissance, which began in Italy, was deeply
influenced by the work of artists and architects.
2. Specific Topic Sentence
 Names the main idea
 Names the specific details to be covered in order
 Example: The Renaissance flourished in Italy thanks to
the artist Leonardo de Vinci, the artist Michelangelo,
and the architect Filippo Brunelleschi.
Write
 Choose what type of topic sentence you want for this
first body paragraph, and write it.
 Remember this sentence is the first in the paragraph so
it will be indented. The detail sentences and the
clincher will also be part of this first body paragraph.
2. Detail Sentences
 Name 1-3 main ideas
 Should give reader interesting information about the
details
 Should contain related info.
 Be in logical order
 Includes transition words if new detail
2. Transitions
 One example / Another example / A further example /
 For example / For instance / Still another / In addition
/ Additionally /
 One / Another / A further / The last
 First / Second / Third / Last
2. Detail sentences
 Lead off
 Leads into a new detail
 Contains a transition
 Follow-up
 Provides more info. about the detail
Write
 Add on to the topic sentence you wrote for this
paragraph by adding on the three or four details.
2. Clincher Sentence
 Last sentence in the paragraph
 Closes the paragraph
 Renames the main idea of the paragraph
 Sometimes summarizes or names the details
 Different from the topic sentence
 May use concluding transition words that tell the reader
the paragraph is finished
2. General Clincher Sentence
 Only summarizes the main idea
 Example: As you can see, some of the most famous
people of history were found in Renaissance Italy.
2.Clueing Clincher Sentence
 Names the main idea
 Ties the details together with a clue word
 Example: To sum up, these three people truly added
to the ideas of the Renaissance in Spain.
2. Specific Clincher Sentence
 Names the main idea
 Names the specific details that were covered in the
paragraph in order
 Example: To summarize, the important people who
influenced the Renaissance in Italy were Leonardo de
Vinci, Michelangelo, and Brunelleschi.
Write
 Complete the first body paragraph by adding the
clincher sentence.
 Your rough draft sentences created in class should now
be word processed and saved.
 A student editor will check your paragraph
 First – for revisions
 Second – for editing
 You lose points if your paragraph is not ready for a student
editor!
Student Editor
 Topic Sentence – What kind?
 3-4 ideas in 3-8 Detail Sentences – Editor will write
down the three or four ideas and count the detail
sentences.
 Clincher – What kind?
 Transitions – How many?
 Does the paragraph make sense? Does the paragraph
flow? Does the writing show maturity? Are the sentences
constructed correctly?