The “5-paragraph” persuasive essay

The STANDARD “5-paragraph” essay

The “5-paragraph” PERSUASIVE essay

A sample essay

Ways to practice:

• Match the parts of this essay example with the parts of the essay described above.
• Create an outline for this essay like the one below.
• (You are welcome to send me these or ask me questions about them.)

A sample outline

This is an outline of the essay below. The main idea of this essay is to persuade the reader that cats make even better pets than dogs.

1. Introduction
   1. Hook: “A dog is a man’s best friend.” That common saying may contain some truth, but dogs are not the only animal friend whose companionship people enjoy.
   2. Thesis: “ Despite what dog lovers may believe, cats make excellent house pets.
   3. Laying out what is to come, in order: [Here are the main ideas of each body paragraph.]
2. Body paragraph #1
   1. Main idea: People enjoy the companionship of cats.
   2. Detail: Cats are affectionate.
   3. Detail: Cats are playful.
   4. Detail: Cats can be trained.
3. Body Paragraph #2
   1. Main idea: Cats are “civilized” members of the household. (They are easy to live with.)
   2. Detail: They’re quite.
   3. Detail: They’re toilet trained.
   4. Detail: Their claws can be trimmed.
4. Body paragraph #3
   1. Main idea: Cats are easy to care for. [Look at the essay below and see if you can fill these in yourself.]
   2. Detail:
   3. Detail:
   4. Detail:
5. Conclusion (You don’t need to do all of these, but here are some ideas.)
   • Restate your thesis in different words.
   • Summarize.
   • Go a bit further.
   • End with a call to action or some other strong point.

A sample essay

A cat is the ideal pet