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The five-paragraph essay is the basic essay format that you will write. It has five different paragraphs, these include the introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The introduction holds the your argument, known as the thesis, and gives a brief explanation of the topic. The body paragraphs are where you present evidence to support your argument. Finally, the conclusion is a summary of your arguments, but most importantly relating the arguments back to the thesis. Here is a deeper explanation of each section,

What is a thesis?

While at Bow Valley College, most essays will need you to have a thesis. To write an effective thesis, you must have a written statement about your opinion on a topic. This statement is referred as the “thesis statement” and must be in the introductory paragraph. A strong thesis statement is,

1. Clear, assertive, concise, and specific.

2. Relevant to the question or topic.

3. Debatable.

4. Stated in a single complete sentence.

How to write an introduction

A strong introduction is invaluable for you and your reader to understand the essay. It is an important part of an essay because it is the first impression the reader has of your essay. It must accomplish two goals. First, it should give the reader a sense of your topic and approach. Second, it should engage the reader and make them interested.

The acronym H.E.A.D. can help with organizing the introduction.

H → Hook

               A hook sentence is the “attention-grabber” beginning lines of the essay. This can be a quote, statistic, or a question.

E → Explain the hook

               Example the significance of the hook. Make a simple and brief explanation of the relevance to the topic and the importance to the essay.

A → Argument

               This is the thesis, vital to the overall quality of the essay.

D → Describe the defense of the thesis

               Explain the defense of the thesis and give a general sense of the organization of the discussion points in the body paragraphs.

How to write body paragraphs

Body paragraphs is where you support your thesis with examples or evidence. Each paragraph will contain one argument. While each paragraph contains a different ideas, they are often similar in structure. The P.E.E.L. acronym is a helpful tool to help you structure each paragraph,

P -> Point

Provide the point, or main idea, of the paragraph in a topic sentence.

E → Examples/Evidence

Give examples to support the topic sentence.

E → Explain

Give explanations to your examples and analyze them. Keep in mind that you are answering the question “so what? Why is this important?”

L → Link

Link the body paragraph to your thesis. Then provide a transition sentence to the next paragraph.

You can modify this tool if the body paragraph has more than piece of evidence or example by adding more “Examples/Explain.”

How to write a conclusion

The conclusion is more than a summary and restatement of your thesis. It should stress the importance of the thesis statement and provide a clear understanding of your position on the topic. It should demonstrate the connections between the essay and real life. It should answer the overall question of “so what? Why does the thesis matter? Why should the reader care?” Finally, the conclusion shows the reader how the body paragraphs fit together.

Citations and References

Remember, for most academic assignments, citations and references are necessary. They are used to ensure academic honesty for all information/evidence/examples used. Most students at Bow Valley College will be using APA citation style.