How to Teach Your Child to Write a 5 Paragraph Essay

So, your kid is asking you for help with that first 5 paragraph essay. You haven't had to write one yourself since high school, and the specifics on how to form a well written paper aren't exactly coming to you at the moment. It was easier when they were still learning how to add and subtract, wasn't it? Well, have no worries. The following is a simple, printer-friendly guide to teaching your child how to write a 5 paragraph essay, without having to write it for him/her.

First, understand that the basic layout of a 5 paragraph essay is quite simple. There's the opening paragraph, three body paragraphs, and the closing. Your child's job is figuring out a topic to go with each paragraph. For this you'll need to brainstorm a bit. Now, there are different ways to brainstorm. If your child was assigned a specific topic, you'll be brainstorming for the body paragraphs only. If not, you'll need to do a separate brainstorming session for the topic first. Now, if you don't have a topic, grab a piece of paper, a pen, and an egg timer. Instruct your child to begin writing down every topic idea that comes to him/her for this paper as soon as you start the timer, regardless of whether they all make sense or not. The catch is that he/she cannot stop writing, even if that means scribbling on the paper until another idea comes. When the pen stops, the ideas quit flowing, so keep it moving!