{"id":4408,"date":"2023-04-02T12:05:45","date_gmt":"2023-04-02T17:05:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/?p=4408"},"modified":"2025-05-09T19:52:06","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T23:52:06","slug":"teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching the 5-Paragraph Essay: Tips to Make It Easier"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Even though students start learning about the 5-paragraph essay in middle school (sometimes even elementary!), it seems like they magically forget everything by high school. <\/strong>In this post, I hope to share some tips for teaching the 5-paragraph essay to teens.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-pin-url=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/?tp_image_id=4413\" data-pin-title=\"Teaching the 5-Paragraph Essay: Tips to Make it Easier\" data-pin-description=\"There are few things in the classroom as frustrating as teaching the 5-paragraph essay--especially when you have older students that *should* know how write one by now. Instead of getting frustrated, check out these tips for your next 5-paragraph essay unit.\" data-pin-id=\"Teaching 5-Paragraph Essay Pin 3\" src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/themes\/honey-glow\/images\/placeholder.gif\" alt='\"Teaching the 5-Paragraph Essay: Tips to Make it Easier\" Pinterest pin with the image of a frustrated writer surrounded by crumpled up pieces of paper' class=\"wp-image-4413 lazyload\" style=\"width:300px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Teaching-5-Paragraph-Essay-Pins-2-683x1024.png\" data-srcset=\"\" srcset=\"\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Teaching the 5-Paragraph Essay Tip #1: Know Your Success Criteria<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Before even discussing the 5-paragraph essay with students, make sure you know your own success criteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Success criteria are the standards by which you&rsquo;ll measure students&rsquo; ability with the task.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are multiple ways to approach the 5-paragraph essay, and every teacher has his or her preferences. Maybe for you starting the essay with a rhetorical question is just too blase, and you expect a more exciting hook. Perhaps you expect seven sentences in a body paragraph while your colleague is content with five.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Make sure you know what success looks like in your classroom before you begin teaching anything to students.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-pin-url=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/?tp_image_id=4412\" data-pin-title=\"Teaching the 5-Paragraph Essay: Tips to Make it Easier\" data-pin-description=\"Teaching the 5-paragraph essay can be boring, time-consuming, and incredibly frustrating. It's even worse when you have older students that you *know* have done this before, but they act like they've never written an essay in their lives. Instead of stressing, check out these tips and end your unit with a stack of actual readable essays.\" data-pin-id=\"Teaching 5-Paragraph Essay Pin 2\" src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/themes\/honey-glow\/images\/placeholder.gif\" alt='\"Teaching the 5-Paragraph Essay: Tips to Make it Easier\" Pinterest pin with the image of a happy student writing' class=\"wp-image-4412 lazyload\" style=\"width:300px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Teaching-5-Paragraph-Essay-Pins-1-683x1024.png\" data-srcset=\"\" srcset=\"\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Teaching the 5-Paragraph Essay Tip #2: Don&rsquo;t Do It In Isolation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Teaching the 5-paragraph essay just for the sake of it is never going to work. <strong>Students need buy-in before they&rsquo;ll even think about attempting something hard.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So try to avoid a unit that&rsquo;s <em>just <\/em>about writing a 5-paragraph essay. <strong>Instead, make sure students have a compelling topic to write about.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This could be a literary analysis essay&ndash;especially if the novel in question is a hit with students.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It could also be a research paper in which students can choose between engaging and controversial topics.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Give students the <em>topic<\/em> about which they&rsquo;ll be writing first.<\/strong> (I would even give them the actual essay assignment before talking about how to write an essay.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>If you can get them to care about the content of their essay, getting them to understand the format will be much easier.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"ml-embedded\" data-form=\"2fXEz2\"><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Teaching the 5-Paragraph Essay Tip #3: Break It Down Piece By Piece<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This is where high school teachers mess up. They assume that, because students have probably done this before in earlier grades, they can rush the essay writing process. Sadly, you can&rsquo;t.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/5-Paragraph-Essay-Mini-lessons-Slideshow-Guided-Notes-Exit-Tickets-9217779?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=Teaching%20the%205-Paragraph%20Essay\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-pin-nopin=\"nopin\" data-pin-url=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/?tp_image_id=4409\" src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/themes\/honey-glow\/images\/placeholder.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4409 lazyload\" style=\"width:300px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Slide1.png\" data-srcset=\"\" srcset=\"\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">These 5<a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/5-Paragraph-Essay-Mini-lessons-Slideshow-Guided-Notes-Exit-Tickets-9217779?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=Teaching%20the%205-Paragraph%20Essay\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">-Paragraph Essay Mini-lessons<\/a> break down the process into scaffolded chunks, so you can teach the process slowly enough for students whether they&rsquo;re learning for the first time or just need a review.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>While some students might be able to write a 5-paragraph essay in their sleep, a lot will have completely forgotten the format.<\/strong> Or they&rsquo;ll struggle with citations and tracking their sources. Or they remember what the thesis statement is but can&rsquo;t start their body paragraphs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For most students, there are going to be holes in their knowledge. <strong>Go over the format of the 5-paragraph essay slowly.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/5-Paragraph-Essay-Mini-lessons-Slideshow-Guided-Notes-Exit-Tickets-9217779?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=Teaching%20the%205-Paragraph%20Essay\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">5-Paragraph Essay Mini-lessons resource<\/a>, I break down the 5-paragraph essay into five lessons: an overview, the introduction paragraph, the body paragraphs, the conclusion paragraph, and citing sources.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You could break this down even further and spend an entire day talking about thesis statements or writing conclusion sentences.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Basically, while you can teach the 5-paragraph essay too quickly, it&rsquo;s almost impossible to go too slowly.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Want to break down the 5-paragraph essay even further or have plenty of time to build up students&rsquo; skills? Try teaching <a href=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/cerwriting\/\">claim, evidence, and reasoning skills<\/a> first! This will make a huge chunk of the 5-paragraph essay a breeze for your students!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Teaching the 5-Paragraph Essay Tip #4: Provide Examples<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Just like with everything else you teach, you can&rsquo;t provide too many examples for students.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/5-Paragraph-Essay-Handouts-for-Students-9258085?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=Teaching%20the%205-Paragraph%20Essay\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-pin-url=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/?tp_image_id=4427\" data-pin-nopin=\"nopin\" src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/themes\/honey-glow\/images\/placeholder.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4427 lazyload\" style=\"width:300px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Slide1.png\" data-srcset=\"\" srcset=\"\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">These six <a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/5-Paragraph-Essay-Handouts-for-Students-9258085?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=Teaching%20the%205-Paragraph%20Essay\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">5-Paragraph Essay Handouts<\/a> review each part of writing an essay with examples. They&rsquo;re helpful resources for students to use if they forget what a section should look like or are getting stuck knowing what a part of their essay should look like. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>When it comes to the 5-paragraph essay, you should even present examples for the <em>pieces <\/em>of paragraphs. <\/strong>(&ldquo;Here are some examples of thesis statements&hellip;&rdquo; and &ldquo;Here are some examples of clinchers&hellip;&rdquo; etc.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If possible, however, I recommend you <em>not<\/em> show examples using the same topic that your students will be using for their papers. It&rsquo;s too tempting for students to copy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead, model for students how they can rephrase the essay question you gave them and fill in the blanks to create their own thesis statement. Or create sentence starters to help struggling students begin their claims.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don&rsquo;t show them a completely done essay on their topic; give them tools to help them get there on their own.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But do use examples from other essay topics, so students can learn what a strong essay looks like.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Teaching the 5-Paragraph Essay Tip #5: Don&rsquo;t Write It Chronologically<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When I have students write an essay, I never have them write it from beginning to end.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/5-Paragraph-Essay-Scaffolded-Outlines-Rubric-for-Any-Topic-9313617?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=Teaching%20the%205-paragraph%20Essay\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-pin-url=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/?tp_image_id=4447\" data-pin-nopin=\"nopin\" src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/themes\/honey-glow\/images\/placeholder.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4447 lazyload\" style=\"width:300px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Slide1-1.png\" data-srcset=\"\" srcset=\"\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/5-Paragraph-Essay-Scaffolded-Outlines-Rubric-for-Any-Topic-9313617?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=Teaching%20the%205-paragraph%20Essay\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">This pack of three scaffolded essay outlines and rubric<\/a> are based on this idea of writing non-chronologically. In the most scaffolded outline, each step is numbered for students&ndash;starting with the most important thesis statement. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Instead, we spend a day writing our thesis statements. The next day, we write all of our claims. The day after, we gather and construct our evidence, and so on.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>I encourage my students to write in the order of what is <em>most important<\/em> to the overall essay&ndash;not in chronological order.&nbsp;<\/strong>(And I use the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/5-Paragraph-Essay-Scaffolded-Outlines-Rubric-for-Any-Topic-9313617?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=Teaching%20the%205-paragraph%20Essay\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">most scaffolded outline in this resource<\/a> to do so.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Writing a hook (the first sentence of the essay) can require some creative thinking. For some students, this will completely stall them out for days&ndash;even weeks&ndash;if they let it. And while they may end the unit with the world&rsquo;s greatest hook, they&rsquo;ll still have the rest of the essay to write.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Instead, if I can get students to start with the thesis statement, the rest of the essay will be easier.<\/strong> They&rsquo;ll know their stance and their major ideas.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Plus, you can grade an essay if it has a few strong ideas strung together. You can&rsquo;t even begin grading an essay that just has a few sentences of the introduction.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Teaching the 5-Paragraph Essay Tip #6: Let Them Use Tools<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>No, I don&rsquo;t mean you should accept ChatGPT essays.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But students <em>could<\/em><em> <\/em>use ChatGPT to ask questions about their topic if they get stuck. They shouldn&rsquo;t, of course, use this as a source in their essay, but it could help get some struggling students thinking about their major supporting arguments.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Students should also be allowed to use citation generators like EasyBib.com or CitationMachine.net.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I, personally, have never formatted a citation by hand since learning about these tools, and if a real-world English teacher isn&rsquo;t manually citing sources then students shouldn&rsquo;t certainly have to.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead, make sure students know what proper citations look like and teach them how to use these websites&ndash;and their limitations.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Help students use these websites and double-check the generator&rsquo;s work, rather than teaching them the useless (and time-consuming) skill of creating citations manually.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are all kinds of accessibility tools out there, too. Students who struggle to read should be allowed a screen reading extension&ndash;especially for research-heavy papers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>If you have struggling writers, reach out to your school&rsquo;s librarian or tech guru to see what kind of software your school computers might already be equipped with to help make essay writing easier for your students.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-pin-url=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/?tp_image_id=4411\" data-pin-title=\"Teaching the 5-Paragraph Essay: Tips to Make it Easier\" data-pin-description=\"Essay writing can be frustrating for teachers and students alike. It's even worse when you have older students who have written several 5-paragraph essays before but act like they've never heard of such a thing. Instead of getting frustrated, use these tips to guide your students through the process and actually end up with completed essays on your desk.\" data-pin-id=\"Teaching 5-Paragraph Essay Pin 1\" src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/themes\/honey-glow\/images\/placeholder.gif\" alt='\"Teaching the 5-Paragraph Essay: Tips to Make it Easier\" Pinterest pin with the image of a pen tip writing the word \"essay\"' class=\"wp-image-4411 lazyload\" style=\"width:300px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Teaching-5-Paragraph-Essay-Pins-683x1024.png\" data-srcset=\"\" srcset=\"\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Teaching the 5-paragraph essay probably won&rsquo;t be the most fun you have in your classroom. But, if you break it down, go slow, and provide plenty of examples, you might be able to avoid a mental breakdown grading those same papers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&rsquo;d like to make teaching the 5-paragraph essay as easy as possible on yourself, check out my 5-paragraph essay resources.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Even though students start learning about the 5-paragraph essay in middle school (sometimes even elementary!), it seems like they magically forget everything by high school. In this post, I hope to share some tips for&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[340],"tags":[408,391,410,409,159],"class_list":["post-4408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-writing","tag-5-paragraph-essay","tag-academic-writing","tag-essay-writing","tag-five-paragraph-essay","tag-writing"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Teaching the 5-Paragraph Essay: Tips to Make It Easier - It&#039;s Lit Teaching<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Teaching the 5-paragraph essay can be frustrating--especially when you have older students who should know how already! These tips can help!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Teaching the 5-Paragraph Essay: Tips to Make It Easier - It&#039;s Lit Teaching\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Teaching the 5-paragraph essay can be frustrating--especially when you have older students who should know how already! These tips can help!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"It&#039;s Lit Teaching\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/itslitteaching\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-04-02T17:05:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-09T23:52:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/blog-covers-10.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Miss Heather\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Miss Heather\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Miss Heather\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c77767dcac293f736efad17fe7da6900\"},\"headline\":\"Teaching the 5-Paragraph Essay: Tips to Make It Easier\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-02T17:05:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-09T23:52:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/\"},\"wordCount\":1328,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/blog-covers-10.png\",\"keywords\":[\"5-paragraph essay\",\"academic writing\",\"essay writing\",\"five-paragraph essay\",\"writing\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Writing\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/\",\"name\":\"Teaching the 5-Paragraph Essay: Tips to Make It Easier - It&#039;s Lit Teaching\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/blog-covers-10.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-02T17:05:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-09T23:52:06+00:00\",\"description\":\"Teaching the 5-paragraph essay can be frustrating--especially when you have older students who should know how already! These tips can help!\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/blog-covers-10.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/blog-covers-10.png\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"\\\"Teaching the 5-Paragraph Essay: Tips to Make it Easier\\\" blog post cover with the image of a crumbled up paper ball\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Teaching the 5-Paragraph Essay: Tips to Make It Easier\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/\",\"name\":\"It&#039;s Lit Teaching\",\"description\":\"Scaffolded High School English Resources\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"It's Lit Teaching\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/lit_teaching_transparent.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/lit_teaching_transparent.png\",\"width\":800,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"It's Lit Teaching\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/itslitteaching\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/itslitteaching\/\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/itslitteaching\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c77767dcac293f736efad17fe7da6900\",\"name\":\"Miss Heather\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/466442e68e79e18a0c0d9e36a994e28760e8878e175389cd8188097d9e521eee?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/466442e68e79e18a0c0d9e36a994e28760e8878e175389cd8188097d9e521eee?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Miss Heather\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Teaching the 5-Paragraph Essay: Tips to Make It Easier - It&#039;s Lit Teaching","description":"Teaching the 5-paragraph essay can be frustrating--especially when you have older students who should know how already! These tips can help!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Teaching the 5-Paragraph Essay: Tips to Make It Easier - It&#039;s Lit Teaching","og_description":"Teaching the 5-paragraph essay can be frustrating--especially when you have older students who should know how already! These tips can help!","og_url":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/","og_site_name":"It&#039;s Lit Teaching","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/itslitteaching\/","article_published_time":"2023-04-02T17:05:45+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-05-09T23:52:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/blog-covers-10.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Miss Heather","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Miss Heather","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/"},"author":{"name":"Miss Heather","@id":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c77767dcac293f736efad17fe7da6900"},"headline":"Teaching the 5-Paragraph Essay: Tips to Make It Easier","datePublished":"2023-04-02T17:05:45+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-09T23:52:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/"},"wordCount":1328,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/blog-covers-10.png","keywords":["5-paragraph essay","academic writing","essay writing","five-paragraph essay","writing"],"articleSection":["Writing"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/","url":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/","name":"Teaching the 5-Paragraph Essay: Tips to Make It Easier - It&#039;s Lit Teaching","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/blog-covers-10.png","datePublished":"2023-04-02T17:05:45+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-09T23:52:06+00:00","description":"Teaching the 5-paragraph essay can be frustrating--especially when you have older students who should know how already! These tips can help!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/blog-covers-10.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/blog-covers-10.png","width":1080,"height":1080,"caption":"\"Teaching the 5-Paragraph Essay: Tips to Make it Easier\" blog post cover with the image of a crumbled up paper ball"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-the-5-paragraph-essay\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Teaching the 5-Paragraph Essay: Tips to Make It Easier"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/","name":"It&#039;s Lit Teaching","description":"Scaffolded High School English Resources","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/#organization","name":"It's Lit Teaching","url":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/lit_teaching_transparent.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/lit_teaching_transparent.png","width":800,"height":800,"caption":"It's Lit Teaching"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/itslitteaching\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/itslitteaching\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/itslitteaching\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c77767dcac293f736efad17fe7da6900","name":"Miss Heather","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/466442e68e79e18a0c0d9e36a994e28760e8878e175389cd8188097d9e521eee?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/466442e68e79e18a0c0d9e36a994e28760e8878e175389cd8188097d9e521eee?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Miss Heather"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}