The Five-Paragraph Essay

We write for fun. We write letters, stories, jokes, and to share information with our family or friends.
Most school writing, however, is expository writing and fits into a different category.
Different Kinds of Writing

Expository Writing
Gives information about a topic
Explains ideas
Gives directions
Shows how to do something
The purpose of most expository writing is to communicate ideas or answer questions.

Expository Writing Uses Transitions
Writer’s Express says:
“Expository writing uses transition words (such as first, second, and most importantly). These words help guide the reader through the explanation.”
Writer’s Express - A Handbook for Young Writers, Thinkers, and Learners ©1995

So, your teacher gives you a prompt and tells you to write an expository essay:
What do you do???
Don’t panic.
Follow this plan…
(Watch for the color-coding, it will help you organize your ideas.)
“Write about your favorite pet.”

It’s Easy!
You ONLY Need Three Ideas...
Start with your main idea or topic.
(use key words from the prompt)
Three reasons that show your topic sentence is true
And three examples for each of your reasons (Remember to show, not tell.)
That’s all you need for the start of a great essay!!!

Use Correct
Paragraph Form
Topic Sentence
Three Examples
Conclusion
No paragraph should be less
than five sentences.
Each paragraph must include:

Start with a topic sentence that uses the key words from the prompt. Then write three reasons that prove the topic sentence is true.
My favorite pet is my dog, Romeo. He is beautiful and easy to care for. Playing with him is lots of fun. He always takes care of me.
The Beginning -
Your First Sentences

Now end with a conclusion:
Remember, each paragraph must have a concluding sentence.
Finish with a sentence that restates your topic sentence “My favorite pet is my dog, Romeo.” using different words.
I have never had a better pet.

You already have your
first paragraph done!
Pretty easy, huh?
To make it even easier look at this organizational plan using color-coding.

Paragraph 1: The Introduction
Introduction or Topic Sentence (Use key words from the prompt)
First Subtopic (A “Showing” Example)
Second Subtopic (A “Showing” Example)
Third Subtopic (A “Showing” Example)
Conclusion (Restates Introduction)

Paragraph 1: Example
My favorite pet is my dog, Romeo. He is beautiful and easy to care for. Playing with him is lots of fun. He always takes care of me. I have never had a better pet.

Restate each subtopic as the topic sentence for each of the next three paragraphs.
First Subtopic (Example #1)
“He is beautiful and easy to care for.” is the topic sentence you will restate for your next paragraph.

Paragraph 2: Example #1
Topic Sentence (Restates Example #1 from the Introduction “He is beautiful and easy to care for.” )
3 Example Sentences (Prove your Topic Sentence)
Concluding Sentence (Restates Topic Sentence from Example #1)

Paragraph 2: Example #1
Romeo is beautiful and easy to care for. He is a tricolor Sheltie, mostly black with white and a bit of brown. Caring for him is easy because I simply have to make sure he has fresh water and food every day. I exercise him by throwing his toys. Because he is good looking and doesn’t require much care Romeo is a good pet.

Restate the second subtopic as the topic sentence for the next paragraph.
Second Subtopic (Example #2)
“Playing with him is lots of fun.” is the topic sentence you will restate for your next paragraph.

Paragraph 3: Example #2
Topic Sentence (Restate Example #2 from the Introduction “Playing with him is lots of fun.”)
3 Example Sentences (Prove your Topic Sentence)
Concluding Sentence (Restates Topic Sentence from Example #2)

Paragraph 3: Example #2
Romeo is lots of fun to play with. He loves to play catch. He follows me around the house with a toy and drops it on my foot so I will toss it. He can catch just about anything, but his favorite is chasing a Frisbee. I really have fun playing with Romeo.

Use the third subtopic (example) as the topic sentence for the next paragraph.
Third Subtopic (Example #3)
“He always takes care of me.”
is the topic sentence for your next paragraph.

Paragraph 4: Example #3
Topic Sentence (Restates Example #3 from the Introduction “Romeo takes care of me.”)
3 Example Sentences (That prove your Topic Sentence)
Concluding Sentence (Restates Topic Sentence from Example #3)

Paragraph 4: Example #3
Romeo takes care of me. He always follows me when I leave a room. When I am sitting on a couch he plops down right beside me. On sunny days when we are hiking in the woods he always makes sure that I keep up with the rest of the family. He always watches out for me.

Paragraph 5: Conclusion
(Restates Paragraph 1: Introduction)
Introduction
First Subtopic (Example)
Second Subtopic (Example)
Third Sentence (Example)
Conclusion

Paragraph 5: Conclusion
(Restates Paragraph 1: Introduction)
As you can see, Romeo is a great pet. I am proud of him and he doesn’t require much care. Playing with him is very pleasurable. I am always safe because he watches over me. Romeo is a wonderful pet.

There you have it!
Expository writing isn’t that difficult when you have a plan. To make it even easier you may want to use a graphic organizer like the following ones to organize your thoughts.