What to look for in great 5-paragraph essays!
Jump into the Action:
Avi. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. Harper Trophy, 1990.
"Not every thirteen-year-old girl is accused of murder, brought to trial, and
found guilty. But I was just such a girl, and my story is worth relating even if it did happen years ago."Start with a question:
Blume, Judy. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. Double Day, 1970.
"Are you there God? It's me, Margaret. We're moving today. I'm so scared
God. I've never lived anywhere but here. Suppose I hate my new school? Suppose everybody there hates me? Please help me God. Don't let New Jersey be too horrible. Thank you."Description of setting and introducing characters:
Howe, James. The Misfits.
“So here I am, not a half-hour old as a tie salesman and trying to look like I
know what I was doing, which have got to be two of the biggest jokes of all time, when who should walk into Awkworth & Ames Department Store but Skeezie Tookis.” Introducing characters:Juster, Norton. The Phantom Tollbooth. Random House, 1961.
“There was a boy named Milo who didn't know what to do with himself – not
just sometimes, but always.”Description of setting:
L'Engle, Madeline. A Wrinkle In Time. Bantom Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers, 1962.
“It was a dark and stormy night.”
Suspenseful:
Lowry, Lois. The Giver. Houghton Mifflin, 1993.
“It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened. No.
Wrong word, Jonas thought. Frightened meant that deep, sickening feeling of something terrible about to happen.”
Thoroughly develops the topic and uses LOTS of details to explain, describe, or tell.
Uses a variety of sentences...they don't all start the same way:
"Then we went to the store. Then we went to my house. Then we got out the games. Then we asked for snacks"
Uses strong verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Tries to stretch a sentence at least 2 ways:
Boring sentence: "The cat ran down the street."
More detailed sentence: "The furry, brown cat swiftly ran down the wet, dark avenue."
Extremely detailed sentence starting with a strong verb: "Racing swiftly down the dark pavement that glittered with raindrops was a small brown flash. It was a cat.
Uses at least two similes or metaphors
Has a strong conclusion. Ties up all the loose ends. Connects all the paragraphs together without being repetitive.