Time to Write a 5 Paragraph Essay?
5 paragraph essays are typical writing tasks for students?
How do you approach them?
Would a 5 paragraph essay example help?
It is important to note that academic assignments vary in length.
They could include a 10 page research paper, 5 page paper, or 500 words essay.
Depending on specific details, each could require a different approach.
5 Paragraph Essay vs. 500 Words Essay
To most scholars, the main question is: “what is the difference between a 5 paragraph essay and a 500 words essay?”
As it has been observed in most learning institutions, both have been used synonymously.
However, if we added some nuance to it, the two could mean totally different things.
These differences could be in the areas of:
- Essay length
- Essay structure
Essay Length
The length of the essay is a major factor when it comes to the difference between a 5 paragraph essay and a 500 hundred words essay.
This cannot be better demonstrated than by a good 5 paragraph essay example.
As it is explicitly stated, a 500 words essay is limited to about 500 words.
On the other hand, a 5 paragraph has more wiggle room when it comes length.
As illustrated by our 5 paragraph essay example below, the length goes beyond 500 words.
Therefore, your word limit for a 5 paragraph essay is not cast in stone.
This is a different case with a 500 words essay- while the length of a 500 words essay could go beyond the 500 words mark, it should not be by more than 10%.
This bring us to the most common question- below.
How long should be a 5 paragraph essay?
As earlier stated, the length of a 5 paragraph essay is negotiable.
In one 5 paragraph essay example, the length could be 500 words- about 2 pages.
In another example the length could go up to 750 words- almost 3 pages.
That said, a 5 paragraph essay is generally between 500 and 700 words.
Essay Structure
Essay structure as another difference looks at the structure and not the length of the essay.
While a 5 paragraph essay explicitly states that only 5 paragraphs can be included, a 500 words essay could have any number of paragraphs-usually between 4 and 6.
Accordingly, a good 5 paragraph essay example must have 5 paragraphs, not more not less.
Structure of a 5 Paragraph Essay
Now that we have talked about some basic characteristics of a 5 paragraph essay, let’s explore its structure.
As is the case with any 5 paragraph essay example, each paragraph should serve a specific purpose.
That said, this should be done within the overall structure of the essay.
This structure could include:
- Introductions- 1 paragraph
- Body- 3 paragraphs
- Conclusion- 1 paragraph
Note that this structure is just that of any other essay?
The only difference is the content in the body- 3 main points.
Above noted, writing each section therefore only requires a good understanding of the steps to essay writing.
Outline of a 5 Paragraph Essay
The outline of a 5 paragraph essay stipulates what to include in each paragraph.
As illustrated in any good 5 paragraph essay example, each paragraph plays a specific purpose.
Usually, this essay should include the following:
- Thesis statement
- Three main points
- Conclusion
Example of a 5 Paragraph Essay Outline
- Thesis
- Body Paragraphs
- Claim 1
- Supporting Evidence for Claim 1
- Claim 2
- Supporting Evidence for Claim 2
- Claim 3
- Supporting Evidence for Claim 3
- Claim 1
- Conclusion
Sometimes referred to as 1-3-1 essay, any good 5 paragraph essay example follows this outline.
It entails the thesis in the introduction, 3 paragraphs in the body, and 1 concluding paragraph.
5 Paragraph Essay Example
Prison Gardens and Rehabilitation
There is need to device new approaches towards prison rehabilitation and correctional activities. As observed by Katsiyannis et al. (2018), adult recidivism is a major challenge to US correctional systems. It was observed that there were about 6.8 million people under correctional supervision in 2014. About 2.8% of this population was under correctional supervision. A significant number this population involved repeat offenders. Also, it was observed that majority of the individuals affected by recidivism were minorities. This trend indicates a problem with the rehabilitation approaches adopted by the correction institutions in the US. It is therefore important to explore other approaches like hypothetical gardens in correctional rehabilitation.
First, the gardens are likely to improve the psychological state of the prisoners. Lindemuth (2007) notes that past research indicates that naturalistic environments have a positive impact on stress reduction and mental state improvement. Such environments influence the psychological outlook and behavior of both the prison staffs and inmates. Further, it is evident that views outside the physical cells settings have a positive impact on the inmates’ wellbeing. Environments defined by gardens also have a relaxing and calming impact on the inmates. This in return helps improve their psychological state and overall behavior. Accordingly, it has been noted that views of natural environments help reduce noise within prisons.
Second, gardens would provide an opportunity for positive interaction among the prisoners. It is evident that social networks are critical for survival and rehabilitation in prisons. Through such networks, inmates can secure relevant social and psychological support. The gardens provide a healthy atmosphere through which inmates can develop essential social interactions. Such gardens are healthy platforms for giving and securing informational support, emotional support, appraisal support, and instrumental support. The effectiveness of these gardens could be enhanced if therapy was intertwined with gardening activities. This would help create purposeful interactions for relevant social exchange among the inmates as well as the staffs. Such interactions would come in handy in the cultivation of good coping mechanisms and enhance behavior change (Campinha-Bacote, 2003).
The gardens would also be critical in impacting skills among the inmates. These gardens could assume the form of produce-driven activities. For instance, gardening could focus on helping inmates produce their own food. Prison initiatives on horticultural agriculture could help the participants acquire relevant farming skills. These skills are critical in restoring the psychological wellbeing of the inmates. They are likely to make them feel more dignified since they can take pride in their work as well as owning specialized skills. The skills can also be applied in outside prison life. In this, the inmate could seek to use the acquired gardening expertise in related commercial areas like landscaping (Hendricks & Cope, 2012).
In summary, it is evident that addressing recidivism within the US correctional institutions requires a new approach. One such approach entails green gardens. Benefits associated with these gardens include their potential to improve the psychological state of the prisoners, provide an opportunity for positive interaction among the prisoners, and impact skills among the inmates. All these are likely to improve the mental and practical skills elements of the inmates, which strengthens their support system against recidivism. Accordingly, it is the responsibility of policy makers to continuously explore the most effective rehabilitation approaches. It is time to experiment with hypothetical gardens since they show much potential in rehabilitation.
Reference List:
Blythe, J., Baumann, A., Zeytinoglu, I. U., Denton, M., Akhtar-Danesh, N., Davies, S., & Kolotylo, C. (2008). Nursing Generations in the Contemporary Workplace. Public Personnel Management, 37(2), 137-159.
Campinha-Bacote, J. (2003). Many Faces: Addressing Diversity in Health Care. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 8(1), 1-4.
Hendricks, J. M. & Cope, V. C. (2012). Generational diversity: What nurse managers need to know. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 69(3), 717–725.
Katsiyannis, A., Whitford, D. K., Zhang, D., & Gage, N. A. (2018). Adult Recidivism in United States: A Meta-Analysis 1994–2015. Journal of Child & Family Studies, 27(3), 686–696.
Lindemuth, A. L. (2007). Designing Therapeutic Environments for Inmates and Prison Staff in the United States: Precedents and Contemporary Applications. Journal of Mediterranean Ecology, 8, 2007: 87-97
Salvucci, C., & Lawless, C. A. (2016). Nursing Faculty Diversity: Barriers and Perceptions on Recruitment, Hiring and Retention. Journal of Cultural Diversity, 23(2), 65-75.
