A good essay uses this format to provide enough information to explain or support the idea presented. Most excellent essays will have at least this many paragraph; however, if your instructor has requested a 5-paragraph essay writing, it is essential you limit your information to 5 paragraphs. Your introduction will introduce your topic – with at least four sentences that define what your topic is, why your reader should know about it, and what you will tell the reader about. Your first paragraph may be a brief history of the topic, or a list of key defining points. Your second paragraph may introduce information that is not always accepted about your topic, but supported by your research, you can now explain it. Finally, your last body paragraph defines why you wrote the paper – designed towards your audience – fulfilling any goals or criteria your educator assigned. Then the easy part of the paper, the conclusion, here you will restate your topic, as defined by your other three paragraphs, and finally close out the information with a closing statement.
Response Essays do not have specific topics that work best; however, do not pick a subject where you will have more information than your paper permits. Begin by developing a few research items – peer-reviewed sources or current media reports – and then determine what the most important information for the paper is. Do you want to explain something that is currently going on with your topic? Do