Breaking Down the Five-Part Essay

There are four basic parts to an intro in the traditional five-part essay:

• The Hook - a typically brief statement, question, exclamation, or command that establishes the overall subject matter of the essay and intrigues the reader. Example: "Call me Ishmael" ~Herman Melville, Moby Dick
• The Background - a summary sentence or two of general information about the essay's subject meant to orient the reader.
• The Thesis or Theme - Your objective opinion on the subject (thesis) OR an overview statement of what facts the essay will explain.
• Summary of Support or Section Preview - List of what the point the body sections will make in support of the thesis (persuasiv) OR a brief list of what information each body paragraph will focus on (informational).

Parts of a Body Paragraph

• Topic Sentence - Establishes what the rest of the paragraph will be about; in persuasive essays, this is often a point from the summary of support.
• Details - Information, quotations, descriptions and reasoning that supports the thesis or expands on the theme. This is the meat of the essay!
• Explanation - An optional part of the body that helps the reader understand the relevance of a detail if for some reason this is unclear. Ideally it isn't but in the arts and social sciences sometimes the relationship of a detail to the author's purpose can be oblique or interpretive.

Parts of a Conclusion

This is the trickiest part of the essay because so many writers fail to understand that something else goes in this section besides just a reiteration of the thesis or theme and of the summary of support or content preview. What we also need in this section is the "Discussion" section, which answers the question "So what?" This section can refute the strongest point of our opponents in a persuasive essay, explain why our subject matter is important, or call the reader to action. It can also explain what sorts of research or information readers might persue themselves or cue the reader in on further reading. Tip: Conclusions can be pyramidal (the order to the right) or inverted-pyramidal (with the discussion first), depending on the type of "Discussion." Frequently refuting opponents will be the latter sort, with the refutation before the reiterations.

• Reiterate the thesis or theme statement in new words.
• Do likewise for the summary of support or preview.
• Include a "discussion" section that helps the reader understand what to do next or why it was important to read your essay in the first place.