Fun with 5 Paragraph Essays

When I was a student teacher at a Middle School in Flagstaff teaching English, I had the students write a 5 paragraph essay on a candidate they wanted to be the president of the USA. The following is a handout I made for them. I wanted to appear unbiased, so I wrote one essay supporting Mitt Romney and another one supporting Hillary Clinton. Enjoy.

5 Paragraph Persuasive Essay Outline

1st paragraph

Introduction. The thesis statement is in the last sentence of the first paragraph. The thesis statement or another sentence in the introduction contains the three reasons backing up your thesis statement.

2nd Paragraph

Reason # 1 with more explanation

3rd Paragraph

Reason # 2 with more explanation

4th Paragraph

Reason # 3 with more explanation

5th paragraph

Conclusion. Restate your thesis statement and make general closing comments.


Below are two examples of good 5-paragraph persuasive essays.

Example # 1


Mitt Romney for President


There is a wide variety of presidential candidates this election season. From the democrats, the major players are Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards. From the Republican side, Mitt Romney, John McCain, Rudy Gilliani, Mike Huckabee, Fred Thompson and Ron Paul are all running. Each candidate has a unique personality and represents a unique perspective on American policies. Since there are so many different candidates, how are we to know which one is best for the job of commander in chief? That’s a good question. I have looked into it, studied the candidates and their platforms, and come up with this conclusion: Because of his real-world business experience, his family values, and his views on taxes, Mitt Romney should be America’s next president.

First, Mitt Romney has real-world business experience. As the Chief Executive Officer of Bain Capital, he helped to turn failing businesses around. He did that by going over the budget and eliminating unnecessary expenses. Most people know that the federal government wastes a lot of money; we need a President who will leave more money in the pockets of hard-working Americans and out of the national treasury. I believe Mitt Romney is the man who could do just that.

Second, Mitt Romney has exemplary family values. He always goes to church, has been married to the same woman for over 35 years. That’s a really long time nowadays. And lets not forget his five sons, who are all upstanding members of society. I think it’s important for a president to have great family values to give a good example to the rest of the country about how to have a good family, which is the bedrock of decent American society.

Third, Mitt Romney has the best view on taxes that I’ve ever heard of. I know that a lot of politicians say that they will lower taxes when they are running for office, and then after they get elected, they raise taxes, but I think Mitt Romney is different. I think that Mitt Romney is a man of his word. I believe him when he says that he won’t raise any taxes, and that he will be able to balance the budget.

In conclusion, I believe that Mitt Romney is the best candidate for President in the upcoming elections. Because he has experience as a successful businessperson, good family values, and excellent views on taxes, Mitt Romney should become the President of the United States of America on January 20th, 2009.


Example # 2


Hillary Clinton for President


There is a wide variety of presidential candidates this election season. From the Democratic Party, the major players are Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards. From the Republican side, Mitt Romney, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, and others are running. Each candidate has a unique personality and represents a unique perspective on American policies. Since there are so many different candidates, how are we to know which one is best for the job of commander in chief? That’s a good question. I have looked into it, studied the candidates and their platforms, and come up with this conclusion: Because of her experience in the White House, gender, and views on health care, Hillary Clinton should be the next President of the United States of America.

First, Hillary Clinton should be the next President because she’s already had a lot of experience in the White House. From 1993-2001, she served our country faithfully as the First Lady. A First Lady gets an insider’s view of what goes on in the White House, just by living there and being married to the President. So, during her time as a First Lady, Hillary gained plenty of knowledge about how to be a good president.

Second, Americans should vote for Hillary Clinton simply because she is a woman. Since this country’s founding over two centuries ago, all the presidents have been male. Since we live in a representative democracy, in which elected officials are supposed to represent the diverse views of the entire population, doesn’t it make sense that the politicians we send to the White House should represent all Americans, not just white males? It’s about time that we break the long tradition of men running everything in this country. Hillary Clinton, just by being a woman running for President, is making giant strides towards equality for both men and women.

Third, Hillary should be the President because of her views on health care. It’s deplorable that we are one of the most financially stable nations on the planet, and yet there are so many sick and poor people among us. These sick people can’t afford expensive health insurance, so they just go on suffering while the complacent leaders in the White House do nothing about it. It’s time that we establish a system of universal health care in this country, like Canada and many European countries have already done. Hillary Clinton is the best candidate for health care reform.

In conclusion, on February 5th, I’m going to vote for Hillary Clinton, and you should too. Hillary Clinton is the best candidate for our country because she has the experience of a First Lady, is a woman, and has the know-how to get our nation’s broken health care system back on its feet. For these reasons, and several other reasons that I did not mention, Hillary Clinton should be the next President of the United States of America.