Essay Writing for Standardized Tests: strategies for Writing a Five Paragraph Essay

Essay Writing for Standardized Tests: strategies for Writing a Five Paragraph Essay

Essay Writing for Standardized Tests: strategies for Writing a Five Paragraph Essay

Most, if not all, senior school and college standardized tests include a writing portion. Students are given a writing prompt and must write an essay then on the topic. Writing for standardized tests can strike fear when you look at the hearts and minds of students of all ages, nonetheless it doesn’t need to. You will be prepared to tackle any essay writing prompt if you know what to expect and understand how to write a five paragraph essay.

Types of Essays on Standardized Tests

You must first decide what type of essay you are being asked to write when you begin to write your essay for a standardized test. There are lots of types of essays, including narrative, expository, argumentative, persuasive, comparative, literary, and so forth. The sort of essay will determine your topic and thesis. Essays for standardized tests are generally either persuasive, in which you will answer a question, or literary, where you will write about something you read.

For standardized tests, students often have to create a five paragraph essay, that ought to be 500 to 800 words long and include an introductory paragraph, three supporting paragraphs and a paragraph that is concluding.

The First Paragraph: The Introduction

The paragraph that is first introduce your topic. The introduction is the most important paragraph since it provides direction when it comes to essay that is entire. It also sets the tone, and you also wish to grab the reader’s attention with interest and clarity. The best way to tackle the introduction is to:

  • Describe your idea that is main what the essay is mostly about, within one sentence. You can usually use the essay writing prompt or question to make this sentence.
  • Develop a thesis statement, or what you would like to state in regards to the idea that is main. As soon as the writing prompt is a relevant question, your thesis is typically the answer to the question.
  • List three points or arguments that support your thesis in an effort worth addressing (one sentence for every).

Voila! You’ve just written your introductory paragraph.

The next, Third and Fourth Paragraphs: Supporting Details

These three paragraphs form the body associated with the essay. They offer details, such as facts, quotes, examples and concrete statistics, for the three points in your paragraph that is introductory that your thesis. Use the points you placed in your introduction and discuss each in one single body paragraph. Here’s how:

  • First, write a topic sentence that summarizes your point. This is basically the sentence that is first of paragraph.
  • Next, write your argument, or why the topic is felt by you sentence holds true.
  • Finally, present your evidence (facts, quotes, examples, and statistics) to guide your argument.

Now you have a body paragraph. Repeat for points two and three. The part that is best about introducing your primary points in the 1st paragraph is that it gives a plan for your body paragraphs and eliminates the requirement to write in transitions between paragraphs.

The Fifth Paragraph: In Conclusion

The paragraph essay writing that is concluding summarize the essay. This is the essential difficult paragraph to write. In your conclusion, you really need to restate the thesis and connect it aided by the body associated with the essay in a sentence that explains how each point supports the thesis. Your final sentence should uphold your primary idea in a definite and manner that is compelling. Make sure you try not to present any information that is new the conclusion.

When writing an essay for a test that is standardized outline your essay and get through each paragraph as quickly as possible. Think of it as a draft that is rough. As soon as your time is up, a essay that is complete score more points than an incomplete essay because the evaluator is expecting a beginning, middle and an end.

For those who have time for you to review your essay before some time is up, by all means achieve this! Make any revisions which you think will enhance your “rough draft” and make sure to search for any grammatical errors or misspellings.

Online instruction like the Time4Writing essay writing courses for elementary, middle and senior high school students will help children prepare for state and college-entrance standardized writing tests. These interactive writing classes build basic writing skills, explain essay types and structure, and teach students simple tips to organize their ideas.

For general great tips on test preparation and information regarding each state’s standardized tests, please visit our test overview that is standardized page.