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It’s hard to imagine that an essay containing only 5 paragraphs could possibly be at all useful, but teacher’s like to challenge students to writing 5 paragraph essays for many reasons. Notwithstanding the straightforward nature of the essay and the convenient length (perfect for timed essay tests), the 5 paragraph form can offer some benefits of its own for budding writers.

First, implicit in the 5 paragraph essay is ready-made organization. For long, sprawling essays, one of the most difficult challenges writers face is how to organize the work into readable form. With the shorter 5 paragraph essay, students can learn the importance of organization, without having to directly organize the piece themselves. Secondly, the essay provides benefit in teaching students how to think more clearly. By writing a short, guided essay, students can see the different mechanical parts of the essay, take them apart, and view how they fit together. Students learn the importance of a strong introdutory paragraph and thesis statement, as well as the necessity for compelling support paragraphs arguing or elucidating the introduction’s claims. Students can also see how a good conclusion can tie a piece together cogently, bringing the entire essay full circle. These are important lessons for any writer to learn, especially before heading off to college, where they are expected to be able to write academic essays that contain all of these different mechanics, just in larger form. The 5 paragraph form is a great starting point for students in learning how to write stronger and clearer.

Though it seems relatively simply to tell a student to “write an essay containing 5 paragraphs,” the thing itself can be tricky. As a student, it took me a while to really get a handle on how a 5 paragraph essay is supposed to look and sound. Here are 5 tips I’ve learned throughout my academic career that helped me master the 5 paragraph form.

5. Outline the essay before beginning, with points and subpoints.

Since the 5 paragraph essay is so structured already, it will really help in the writing process to have some sort of outline from which to work. I tend to structure mine like this:

I. Introductory paragraph with thesis

II. Supporting paragraph

A. Topic sentence

B. Supporting argument

C. Concluding argument

…

V. Concluding paragraph

4. Write a strong thesis and introduction that is arguable in a short length.

Don’t overload yourself with a difficult argument. You only have 5 paragraphs to work with so to thesis needs to be supportable in that length. Rather than talking about the literary topology or semiotics, try writing about something more manageable, like symbolism or foreshadowing for example.

3. Each support paragraph should have its own topic.

Think of each support paragraph as an argument that supports the thesis. Each paragraph should be a separate argument. Not only is this easier to follow and read for your teacher, but it’s also much more persuasive to see an argument that you can follow logically from point A to B to C.

2. Structure each support paragraph to contain a topic sentence and concluding sentence.

Just as the essay itself needs to be highly structured, so do individual paragraphs. The introduction and conclusion are your ‘creative’ paragraphs; you can target them in many different ways. Support paragraphs, however, leave less room for interpretation. The best way to tackle support paragraphs is to lead with a topic sentence or argument, then back it up throughout the rest of the paragraph, ending with a strong concluding sentence that leads into the next paragraph. Each support paragraph can be looked at like a ‘mini essay’ in and of itself.

1. The conclusion paragraph should not only reiterate the introduction, but must tie together the various supporting paragraphs.

Conclusions, however simple, are notoriously difficult to write. Writers want to make conclusions fun and interesting, not merely redundant or repetitive. The best way to think of a conclusion is that paragraph which ties the other ones together. Your clothing all contain finished hems – can you imagine if you stitched a pair of pants, only to leave the hem raw and unsewn? An essay is the same way. It’s not really completed until you conclude what you’ve been saying. Write a conclusion that reiterates strong points in your essay, and gives the reader a clear picture of what the overall essay was about. It should leave the reader with a sense of satisfaction and closure. In a conclusion, the last sentence is the most important. Here is your room to be creative! Think of a last sentence that leaves a good impression with the reader, like an aftertaste, that makes the rest of your essay all the more pleasurable to experience.

Using bad grammar in class, at work, in your writing, and in your general life, is the quickest way to make people think you’re stupid. Luckily, grammar can be learned with practice and dedication, even to those for whom it does not come naturally. By recognizing common grammar mistakes, you can make a greater effort to avoid them and to begin writer clearer, more precisely, and more intelligently. Students, here are 5 common grammar mistakes to avoid:

5. Dangling participle.

“After rotting in the cellar for weeks, my brother brought up some oranges.” -Tom Sant, Persuasive Business Proposals

Unless you are interested in rotting brothers, this sentence will make no sense to you. First of all, decomposing people have no business bringing anyone oranges and, secondly, dangling participles are some of the most egregious errors you can make while writing. The dangling participle, also called a dangling modifier, “attaches itself to a word different from the one the writer apparently meant. It may be intended to modify the subject f a sentence, but due to word order seems to modify an object instead.” In plain English, a dangling participle doesn’t modify what it should. If you write, “After having paid for my groceries, the cashier bagged them for me,” what you are actually saying is that the grocery cashier paid for your groceries, because the participle (the clause at the beginning of the sentence) is grammatically modifying “cashier” rather than the intended subject.

4. Double negatives.

Many languages allow for double negatives, but English is one that does not. While to say that you “don’t know nothing” would mean, at literal face value, that you do know something, using it actually reveals that there is, in fact, nothing you know – about grammar, that is! Rather than using a double negative, what you need to use in a negation sentence is a negative adverb or a noun of negation. Negative adverb: I do not know anything. Noun of negation: I know nothing.

3. i.e. versus e.g.

This is a huge pet peeve of mine, because it seems that even successful journalists and other career writers get confused between i.e. and e.g.! E.g. means Exempli gratia, or “example given”. I.e., on the other hand, means id est, or “that is”. Sometimes, however, i.e. and e.g. are actually interchangeable, but only if you are using them in the context of a finite versus non-finite list. So if I were to say, “I love medical shows on television, i.e. House MD, Grey’s Anatomy, and Scrubs,” what I mean is that these are the only medical television shows I love. If I were to say “I love medical shows on television, e.g. House MD, Grey’s Anatomy, and Scrubs,” what I mean is that I truly love medical TV shows and that these are an example of some I like (but by no means a finite list).

2. Split infinitives.

The split infinitive, while technically incorrect in grammar, is always used. “To boldly go where no man has gone before,” the famous opener from Star Trek, is just one example. But in proper grammar usage, the adverb (boldly) ought to go after the verb (go). Proper English would have Star Trek announce “To go boldly where no man has gone before”. Many people see nothing wrong with using the split infinitive, but I had an English teacher in high school whose very reason to get out of bed in the morning was to wage war against it, so I would use at your own peril. Especially in English class.

1. Mistaken apostrophes.

Mistaken apostrophes annoy grammarians more than anything. Though this is something we all should have learned in grade school, it really hasn’t sunk in with everyone. The general rule follows: use the apostrophe and s in singular noun constructions to make the meaning possessive (”Sally’s dog is cute.”). For plural possessives, use the apostrophe after the letter s, unless two s sounds are pronounced (”The twins’ dog is cute, but Carlos’ dog is cuter”). With biblical names, out of tradition, we always use the apostrphe s rule (”Jesus’s birthday is on Christmas”).

Proofreading, like many things, has never been my strong suit. Over the years, however, I’ve picked up some tricks on how to proofread more effectively. By no means a professional editor, I still occasionally gloss over and miss errors in my writing from time to time. But the tricks I picked up really help me in my writing, whether in finding spelling errors that spellcheck doesn’t pick up (like quickly typing “by no means a professional dieter” instead of “by no means a professional editor”) or in correcting grammatical construction or in simply rephrasing sentences to make them sound better the second time around.

Hemingway once advised writers to write drunk and edit sober. While I don’t advise anyone to imbibe whilst writing (especially you underage students), I see some wisdom in that remark. Write with an open mind and a creative spirit, without too much thought to making things 100% perfect. Unplug yourself from doubt and fear and engage in some stream-of-consciousness freedom! That way, you stay as creative as possible. The real work comes afterwards, after you already have your thoughts on paper. Proofreading and editing is when you turn your thoughts in writing. Proofreading is that crucial step in transforming everything you’ve thought of and everything you’ve written down into something legible that makes it fun for readers to read.

Here are my 5 tips for proofreading most effectively.

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