5 Paragraph Essay Outline Graphic Organizer

5 Paragraph Essay Outline Graphic Organizer

A 5 paragraph essay outline graphic organizer is a visual tool that is designed to help you in focusing your thoughts so that you can put them into perspective or order in writing. Its purpose is to help you in breaking down your essay into smaller and easier steps. A graphic organizer can make writing any essay or a paper easier- understood.org. With an outline graphic organizer for a 5 paragraph essay, a paragraph is seen as a writing unit that has one or several sentences whose focus is on a single topic or idea.

Content of a paragraph in a 5 paragraph essay outline graphic organizer

In an outline graphic organizer, a paragraph should basically have:

  • A topic sentence: This is a sentence that outlines the major idea that the paragraph will present. It is like a sub-topic that supports the main topic of the essay.
  • Supporting details: These are the details, examples, facts, arguments and quotes that support the presented idea. They also support the thesis statement of the essay.
  • Conclusion sentence: This is a sentence that summarizes the idea that was presented. This sentence can also lead readers to the next paragraph. It is also a transition phrase or sentence.

Types of paragraphs in a 5 paragraph essay graphic organizer

There are different categories of paragraphs whose points can be included in a 5 paragraph essay outline depending on the type of an essay that you are writing.

They include:

  • Narrative paragraph: This is a paragraph that tells readers a story or describes a specific event chronologically. For example, you can write points of a narrative paragraph that gives the details of your first day at school, your experiences and challenges.
  • Persuasive paragraph: This is a paragraph that attempts to convince readers to agree with the writer on something. For instance, you can write a persuasive paragraph trying to convince readers or other students to vote for you as a candidate for an elective post.
  • Expository paragraph: This is a paragraph that explains a particular idea. It is also known as an information paragraph. For instance, it can be a paragraph on the steps of making a chocolate chip.
  • Descriptive paragraph: This is a paragraph that describes someone or something. For instance, this paragraph can be a description of one of your close friends.

Basically, an outline graphic organizer for a 5 paragraphs essay provides a visual presentation of concepts, ideas or information that will be presented in the essay and how it will be presented- educationandbehavior.com. Using an outline graphic organizer will enable you to organize information in your essay. It is an ideal tool for you especially if you find writing essays difficult because it will enable you to present information in a more concrete way.

Types of outline graphic organizers

There are different types of outline graphic organizers but they are all aimed at helping students organize ideas and have fun while writing essays. There are graphic organizers that have box design, cartoon sandwich design, spider or clown designs. Regardless of the design that you choose, it is important that you know how to organize ideas or information of your essay in the outline graphic organizer.

Coming up with a 5 paragraph essay outline graphic organizer

As stated earlier, an outline graphic organizer should be a tool that enables you to put your ideas down on a paper in writing. Therefore, when writing your graphic organizer you can analyze and move your ideas the way you want before you start writing the essay. To write your outline graphic organizer, you should start with a general, broad topic. In this section, list ideas for the thesis statement. You can also include fragmented sentences. You do not have to be thorough.

After writing the introduction section, branch out to sub-topics, ideas or categories in the other paragraphs. Remember that each paragraph should be highlighted as a unit by a topic sentence that is supported by evidence. The main ideas or sub-topics and the presented evidence should support your thesis. Remember that you are writing a 5 paragraph essay. Therefore, come up with five paragraphs including the body and the conclusion.

Include relevant evidence

A good outline graphic organizer should have relevant points for major information or evidence to support the main ideas, categories or sub-topics. The evidence could be information from a survey or research and it should be gathered before writing the outline to make the writing process easy. This makes turning ideas, evidence and thoughts into an outline graphic organizer easier.

If you have a section of the graphic organizer that has more information, split it into two topics or paragraphs. If you realize that you do not have adequate information for a section of a graphic organizer, leave it or conduct further research to get more evidence for that sub-topic. Writing a graphic organizer will enable you to see your ideas before you seat down to write the essay- Click here to view more..

Basic boxes/units of a 5 paragraph essay outline graphic organizer

An outline graphic organizer of a 5 paragraph essay should have five basic boxes. This implies that each paragraph should have a box of its own.

The boxes are as follows:

  1. First box (Paragraph 1): The introduction

This box should include the introduction of the topic and the three major supporting ideas (A, B, and C). It should also have a thesis statement.

  1. Second box (Paragraph 2): Introduction of the first idea that supports thesis and its supporting evidence. It should have a topic sentence followed by evidence and finally a concluding sentence.
  • Third box (Paragraph 3): It should introduce the second main idea that supports thesis and present supporting evidence. It should have a topic sentence, evidence and a concluding sentence.
  1. Fourth box (Paragraph 4): This should introduce your third main idea and supporting evidence. It should also have a topic sentence followed by evidence and a concluding sentence.
  2. Fifth box (Paragraph 5): The conclusion

In the conclusion paragraph, restate your thesis statement and then recap the main or the three major ideas that you used to support your thesis. Also include the overall concluding statement. Make sure that the conclusion concludes the entire essay.

Tips for writing a 5 paragraph essay outline graphic organizer

When creating your outline graphic organizer for a 5 paragraph essay, you need to highlight certain things so that your outline graphic organizer can make writing the essay easier.

These are:

  • Introduction

Make sure that the points that you highlight for the introduction section capture the interest of the reader while introducing the topic of your essay. Additionally, ensure that the points express an opinion or a claim through your thesis statement.

  • The body

The body comprises of mainly the second, third and fourth paragraphs of a 5 paragraphs essay. Make sure that each of these paragraphs has a main idea and supporting evidence. Both the idea and the evidence should focus on supporting your thesis statement. First, state the idea followed by sentences that support it or examples. Also include a mini-conclusion or a concluding sentence for that paragraph.

  • Conclusion

After writing the body paragraphs, you have to write a strong concluding paragraph. Start the conclusion paragraph by restating the topic or your thesis statement. Make sure that you summarize the important elements of your 5 paragraphs essay in the conclusion. However, avoid repeating the points that you included in the other sections of the essay in the body. Also end the conclusion with one or two sentences that bring the argument to a convincing, satisfying conclusion.

  • Transitions

The outline should indicate where your essay needs transitions. Transitions are phrases or words that connect the paragraphs. They make reading the essay easier for your readers.

Sample of a 5 paragraph essay outline graphic organizer

If you encounter difficulties while writing your 5 paragraph essay outline graphic organizer, talk to us for instant assistance. You can also visit the home page of our website for more information regarding our writing services. Alternatively, continue reading for more guidelines on how to write outline graphic organizer, academic papers and essays on this blog.

Sources

https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/partnering-with-childs-school/instructional-strategies/trouble-writing-how-to-use-a-graphic-organizer

http://www.educationandbehavior.com/how-to-use-graphic-organizers-to-improve-reading-comprehension-writing-listening-note-taking-and-study-skills/

www.bchigh.edu