The importance of an introductory paragraph cannot be spoken about enough. The introduction is where you will hook your readers, provide background to your topic, and set forth a brief statement showing why your topic is significant. Even more importantly, your intro contains the key to your entire essay: your thesis statement. More about that later, though; we’re going to start with the first couple of sentences of your introduction.

Hook

When you take your first glance at an article, what’s the first thing you read? Of course, the title; but right after that, you’d be looking at the first sentence. If that sentence is supremely boring or too complicated to understand, you’re probably going to give up from the start and look for something more interesting to read. After all, who wants to read an essay that begins with “Symbolic interactionism is a theory of delinquency”? Not me, that’s for sure! Instead, you’re going to think of a sentence that “hooks” your reader.

A hook is exactly what it sounds like – it’s bait, so to speak, that will allow you to reel your fish (or your customer!) in and keep them hanging on till the last sentence. But just as bait needs to look tasty to fish in order to successfully attract them, the same is true of your hook – it needs to be interesting. You can start off with a quote, a statistic, a question, or a fact that establishes a problem; anything, really, that will fascinate your reader and want them to know more.

Background/Problem Statement

After you have hooked your reader, you now will move on to the background and problem statement. Here’s where you will let your reader know important information about your topic. For instance, you might discuss past research on the issue you’ll be talking about, or provide a brief history. Or, you might want to focus on establishing the problem that you’ll be addressing instead.

I personally lean toward a problem statement when writing papers, because doing so sets the foundation for why your essay is important to read. If I was writing an essay on theories of delinquency, I would craft my problem statement to look something like this: “Although delinquency has been established as a key social issue, there is little understanding of the theories that explain the phenomenon.” Whether you choose to focus on background or a problem statement (or both), make sure to leave several sentences for this section of your outline.

Thesis Statement

If you thought your introductory paragraph was important, here’s some news: your thesis statement is essential. You cannot have a good essay, 5 paragraph or other, without a thesis statement.

The thesis statement is where you are going to set forth the main ideas that you will be discussing in your article. Think of it as the roadmap to your essay; it’s like a summary of your 3 body paragraphs, and helps structure your entire writing into an organized, flowing piece of work. Before you craft your thesis statement, though, you need to think of 3 main ideas that you will be discussing in your article. (In other kinds of essays, you can choose more or less than 3 ideas, but with a 5 paragraph writing you don’t really have a choice; you need 3 body paragraphs, so 3 main ideas it is, one paragraph for each).

Once you’ve got your main ideas, put them together into a single sentence. For example, your thesis statement might look something like, “There are several factors, including those within the family [main idea 1], those within the school [main idea 2], and those within the community [main idea 3], that contribute to juvenile delinquency.” You don’t have to be very fancy with your thesis statement; just make sure your three main ideas are clearly outlined.

By now, your 5 paragraph essay outline should look like this:

I.     Introduction

1. Hook (1 sentence)
2. Background/Stating the Problem (3-5 sentences)
3. Thesis statement with three main ideas (1 sentence)

Step #2: Sketch Your Three Body Paragraphs

Congrats! You finished the introduction, which is probably the most difficult part of the 5 paragraph outline. Now that you’ve got your thesis statement, constructing the 3 body paragraphs should be a breeze. Each main idea will get its own paragraph in a 5 paragraph essay.

So, in our example of juvenile delinquency causes, each of the 3 factors I mentioned in my thesis statement would be discussed in a separate paragraph; one for family-related factors, one for school-related factors, and one for community-related factors.

Introductory Sentence

Body paragraphs are pretty simple, but they still follow a specific format. The first sentence in your body paragraph should be an introduction that ties your main idea back to your thesis. This helps give your essay structure and flow, while keeping readers clear on the focus of your writing.

For example, you might write, “Family-related factors are often seen as the most significant causes of juvenile delinquency.” You might be tempted to use a sequence structure, such as “First, " “Second,” “Finally,”... I wouldn’t suggest doing this unless you are writing a “how to” essay that describes the steps needed to do a task or make a product. It’s not the worst thing in the world if you use a sequence structure, but it just doesn’t look like developed, college-level writing. Always go for subtle yet clear in your writing in order to achieve the most emphasis.

Explain Your Main Idea

Next, you would go on to talk further about structural functionalism in your body paragraph. Use as many sentences as you’d like for this middle part of the paragraph, but try to stay on point; no one wants to read random rambling. (If you’re curious to know how to write a comprehensive yet concise paragraph, stay tuned for my next blogs!).

Summary Sentence

Finally, wrap up your body paragraph with a sentence that summarizes your main idea and ties it back to the point of your essay. This might look something like, “Overall, abuse, neglect, and poor modeling are important family-related contributors to juvenile delinquency.” At this point, you’ve got a beautiful outline for your first body paragraph: you’ve introduced main idea 1, explained it, and summarized it.

Now, repeat the process for the remaining two main ideas/body paragraphs.

The 5 paragraph essay outline should now include the following:

II.    Body Paragraph 1

1. Introductory sentence (1 sentence)
2. Explain main idea 1 (several sentences)
3. Summary sentence (1-2 sentences)

III.   Body Paragraph 2

1. Introductory sentence
2. Explain main idea 2
3. Summary sentence

IV.   Body Paragraph 3

1. Introductory sentence
2. Explain main idea 3
3. Summary sentence

Step #3: Finish Off with Your Conclusion

Whew – you’re almost done! Time to wrap up your amazing 5 paragraph essay outline with a conclusion. Your conclusion is the last thing that your professor or test grader will read, so you want to make sure it’s got a lot of emphasis.

Restate Your Thesis

The first sentence of your conclusion will restate your thesis. Don’t copy and paste the thesis statement, but don’t deviate from its content either; just reword it. If your thesis statement was “There are several factors, including those within the family, those within the school, and those within the community, that contribute to juvenile delinquency”, you might reword it as, “Juvenile delinquency can best be understood as rooted in a combination of family-related, school-related, and community-related factors.”

Summarize Main Ideas

Next, you’re going to briefly summarize each main idea. You can use one or two sentences for each to explain what the idea is and why it is relevant. Again, don’t get too length here; just stick to the key points of each idea.

Concluding Remarks

Finally, you’re going to end off your outline with concluding remarks. Like your hook, you want your concluding remarks to be interesting. You can choose to leave your reader with a thought-provoking question, a quote, or directions for the future. For example, you might write, “With a better understanding of the roots of juvenile delinquency, prevention efforts can be more targeted and thereby more effective.” Either way, make sure your reader ends the essay curious to learn more about your topic.

The final portion of your 5 paragraph essay outline will now look like this:

V.    Conclusion

1. Restatement of thesis (1 sentence)
2. Summary of ideas (3-5 sentences)
3. Concluding remarks (1-2 sentences)

Sample 5 Paragraph Essay Outline

You now are on your way to crafting a comprehensive 5 paragraph essay outline! For your reference, here’s an example of what a 5 paragraph essay outline on theories of delinquency might look like:

I.  Introduction

a. Hook

 - Juvenile delinquency is a sociological problem that has been termed “one of society’s most serious ills.”

b. Background/Stating the Problem

- Although delinquency has been established as a key social issue, there is little understanding of the factors that predict its development.

c. Thesis statement with three main ideas

- There are several factors, including those within the family [main idea 1], those within the school [main idea 2], and those within the community [main idea 3], that contribute to juvenile delinquency

II. Body Paragraph 1

a. Introductory sentence

- Family-related factors are often seen as the most significant causes of juvenile delinquency.

b. Explain main idea 1

– Family-related predictors of deviance among youth include…

c. Summary sentence

- Overall, abuse, neglect, and poor modeling are important family-related contributors to juvenile delinquency.

III. Body Paragraph 2

a. Introductory sentence

- At the same time, factors within the school environment also contribute to the development of juvenile delinquency.  

b. Explain main idea 1

– School-related predictors of deviance among youth include…

c. Summary sentence

- When schools offer poor education, a lack of support for struggling children, and a punitive outlook on discipline, students are more likely to engage in deviant behavior.

IV. Body Paragraph 3

a. Introductory sentence

- Last, there are several factors within the community that may be at the root of youth deviance as well.   

b. Explain main idea 1

– Community-related predictors of deviance among youth include…

c. Summary sentence

- Based on the literature, it is clear that communities with disorganization and social inequalities are associated with higher levels of juvenile delinquency.

V. Conclusion

a. Restatement of thesis

- Juvenile delinquency can best be understood as rooted in a combination of family-related, school-related, and community-related factors.

b. Summary of ideas

– Family-related predictors of deviance among youth include… School-related predictors of deviance among youth include… Community-related predictors of deviance among youth include…

c. Concluding remarks

- With a better understanding of the roots of juvenile delinquency, prevention efforts can be more targeted and thereby more effective.

So, what are you waiting for? Go create the most impressive 5 paragraph essay outline your professor has ever seen, and reap in the good grades.