The word essay derives from the title of a 1580 collection of writings by the Frenchman Michel de Montaigne. In his Essays, Montaigne set down his thoughts on whatever subject snared his ...

In especially long essays (20-plus pages), this outline of the essay’s structure may demand a paragraph of its own (usually the second paragraph). Example Introduction Paragraph. Here is an example of ...

In writing a concluding paragraph, one typically begins with a transition, which alerts the reader to a statement summarizing the main topic or subpoints of the essay.The goal now is to lead the ...

Useful Resources. Explore these self-study materials on building an argument and pay particular attention to section 7 - paragraph structure. Access the Building an Argument ResourceWatch this short ...

Structure of Each Paragraph: Topic Sentence: Introduce the main idea of the paragraph. Supporting Details: Use facts, ...

You would not use a five-paragraph essay to structure a book review or a work memorandum. “To teach it extensively I think undermines the whole point of writing,” she said.

The writing guide takes a sharp stance against the five-paragraph essay, claiming that its “rigid, arbitrary, and mechanical organizational scheme values structure over just about everything ...

He contends that the five-paragraph essay may be dead in the literal sense because instructors of college composition classes don’t assign it, but he believes its structure is still around. “I think a ...

Op-eds don’t follow the five-paragraph structure. Most college students write in the vicinity of 1,500- to 2,000-word essays with sophisticated reasoning that supports an argument with varying ...