BCCC Tutoring Center Outline for a Five （BCCC辅导中心轮廓为五）.pdf

BCCC Tutoring Center Outline for a Five-Paragraph Essay Paragraph 1: Introduction The introductory paragraph should include the following elements: Background information: Enough information necessary for your reader to understand your topic Thesis statement: Indicates your paper’s topic, makes your paper’s purpose clear, and provides an overview of the three main supporting points that will unify the essay. The thesis statement is typically the last sentence. If you are writing in response to a text, the introduction should include the title, author, and genre of that piece. Paragraph 2: Body Paragraph Begins with a topic sentence that identifies one main idea that will be discussed as support or proof for the thesis statement Supporting sentences use specific details, demonstrated through closely related examples or evidence, to expand and explain the main idea. Generally, a well-developed paragraph has at least five to eight sentences. Paragraph unity means that all ideas in a paragraph are closely related to its topic sentence and further develop that topic sentence. That is, all sentences in a single paragraph must be unified around a central point or idea. Paragraph 3: Body Paragraph This paragraph, and any subsequent body paragraph, should begin with a topic sentence that signals the reader that a new idea or point is being introduced. As you organize your essay, keep in mind its coherence. Coherence refers to connections among paragraphs and ideas—the logical sequence of your thoughts. o Use transition words or phrases at the outset of your body paragraphs and to move from one idea to another within your paragraphs. o Have you transitioned logically from the main idea in the previous paragraph to this one?