Essay

Write a coherent organized five paragraph essay about a familiar topic using complete sentences and proofreading for correct spelling, capitalization, and punctuation; use thesis paragraph, summary paragraph, transition devices, topic sentences in paragraphs, and supporting details.  

It behooves you to familiarize yourself with the classic five paragraph essay. By mastering this model, you'll be able to apply it to some of the writing assignments you'll be asked to complete on the HSGQE. Believe me, if your written response to one of the writing prompts results in a five paragraph essay, you'll be sure to score well. As a former scorer of writing papers for the State of Alaska, it has been rare that I have come across a clear, concise five paragraph essay. Most students feel one paragraph will suffice. I want you to know that that is not the case. A five paragraph essay, if structured properly and written with thought, will impress those who will be grading your exam.

The five paragraph essay consists of, well, five paragraphs. Looking at an outline (you all do outlines in your prewriting, right?) like the one below, you can see how easy it is:

I. Introduction

II. First main point

III. Second main point

IV. Third main point

V. Conclusion

Although the HSGQE is not a timed test, and students can take as long as they need, you'll still want to be able to gather your thoughts quickly and get that pen racing across the paper. The first thing you'll want to do, after reading the prompt, is to organize your thoughts and ideas. Brainstorm, on scrap paper, three main ideas about your subject and begin an outline. Once that has been established, develop a topic sentence for each paragraph and use the rest of each paragraph to support it. Consider this prompt, taken from an actual Alaskan State writing test in 1997:

Your social studies teacher has asked that you write an essay about a place (a geographic location) that you would most like or least like to visit. In particular, your social studies teacher wants to know why you would or would not like to visit this place. Write an essay about a place you would most or least like to visit.

First, you must decide upon a place to write about. Next you'll need to brainstorm three ideas to write about that will support your decision. A former student of mine chose Madison Square Garden in New York City. Here's his outline:

I. Introduction (introduction of topic and why you choose to write about it)

1. Center of NYC

2. Home of the New York Knicks basketball team

3. Historic venue

II. First main point (center of NYC)

1. Exciting atmosphere

2. Crowded stadium

3. numerous celebrities

III. Second main point (home of Knicks)

1. Big fan of Knicks

2. Never been there before

3. See favorite players live

IV. Third main point (historic venue)

1. Garden's history (ghosts)

2. unique building

3. knowledgeable basketball crowd

V. Conclusion (repeat three main points of essay)

1. Restate first point

2. Restate second point

3. Restate third point

In no way do I offer this outline as a model that must be followed. Although it served as an excellent model for this student, it is not the only way to organize your thoughts. I advise my writing students to employ clincher sentences at the end of each paragraph that serve to reinforce the topic sentence. How you approach writing the five paragraph essay is entirely up to you, but remember, you are expected to know how to write one in order to pass the writing section of the HSGQE. My best advice is to write a number of five paragraph essays for your parents or teachers well before taking the exam.

Return to top.

Return to Alaska State Benchmark Page