A five paragraph essay is a standard essay which, once learned, serves as the foundation for all other forms of writing. This format is important to learn because it will help to structure nearly all academic writing assignments going forward.

To begin a five paragraph essay, you need a topic. In some cases, your teacher will give you one, in others they may allow you some leeway in the selection of your topic. With the topic in hand, you need to formulate a thesis statement. The thesis functions as a single statement which presents the purpose of your paper. It should be the first or last sentence in your introductory paragraph which is where you will introduce the points you are going to make in support of your thesis. There are three body paragraphs inside of which you can present three key components to support your thesis. If, for example, you are claiming that American culture has changes a lot, you must present three key findings each in a separate paragraph to support that idea. You might explain it on the example of music in the first paragraph, art in the second paragraph, and cinematography the third paragraph. The conclusion is the fifth and final paragraph where you remind the reader of the three points you made and what evidence you had to back them up….