The thesis is usually stated at the end of the first paragraph in a 5-paragraph essay. The introduction usually needs an overview of your topic (background information) to prepare readers for your thesis.
Many instructors and essay scorers start looking for the thesis at the end of the introduction, so stating your thesis there ensures that it’s easily spotted and not overlooked.
QuillBot’s free thesis statement generator can help you explore different ways to phrase your main idea.
Continue reading: Where is the thesis stated in a 5-paragraph essay?
A 5-paragraph essay can be 300–1000 words, depending on your assignment requirements and topic. Here are a few ways to decide how long your 5-paragraph essay should be.
- If the instructions include a page range, plan for about 250 words for each double-spaced page of text (e.g., 3 pages=750 words).
- 5-paragraph essays that require outside sources are usually 750–1000 words because the body paragraphs are detailed.
- For basic 5-paragraph assignments, where you only need 3–4 supporting sentences per body paragraph, essays are closer to 300 words.
- For more complex topics, like academic arguments, you may need closer to 1000 words.
No matter how many words you write in a 5-paragraph essay, make sure that it’s error free. QuillBot’s Grammar Checker is a quick and easy way to clean up typos.
Continue reading: How many words should a 5-paragraph essay be?
Whether handwritten notes are better than typed notes depends largely on your learning style and how you use them. There is no definitive, conclusive evidence that one method for taking notes is better for all learners or all situations.
Some studies suggest that handwriting can encourage deeper processing because it makes it harder to write everything down verbatim, while typing can be more efficient for capturing large amounts of information. However, both methods can be effective when used thoughtfully.
The best approach is to experiment with handwritten and typed notes in different contexts and see which helps you stay engaged, understand the material, and review it more effectively.
One advantage of typing your notes is that they’re easy to use with tools like QuillBot’s free AI Chat, allowing you to quickly copy and paste your notes to generate practice questions or review key concepts when preparing for exams.
Continue reading: Are handwritten notes better?
How you take notes in college depends on both the purpose of your note-taking and your personal learning preferences.
When taking lecture notes, write with the intention of reviewing them soon afterward. Revisiting your notes after class—adding details and clarifying unclear points—helps reinforce key concepts and improves retention for assessments such as exams and assignments. It also makes it easier to understand later lectures that build on the same material.
Try to avoid writing down too much during class so you can stay engaged with the lecture. At the same time, your notes should include enough information to be meaningful when you review them later.
When preparing for an exam, you can also use QuillBot’s free AI Chat to generate practice questions based on your lecture notes, helping you test your understanding and identify gaps in your knowledge.
Continue reading: How should I take notes in college?
The best way to take notes from a textbook depends on why you’re reading it.
If you’re reading to answer specific questions for an assignment or paper, structure your notes around those questions. Use clear headings for each one to record the information that helps you address them.
For more general reading, keep these principles about how to take notes in mind:
- You don’t need to write down everything. Aim to record enough information to understand your notes later, but not so much that it interferes with actively engaging with the text.
- Review and expand your notes on the same day—or the next day—while the material is still fresh. This helps reinforce understanding and improve retention.
- Writing a short summary during review can clarify main ideas and support the learning process.
If you return to your notes later and find parts of them unclear, QuillBot’s free AI Chat can help you interpret and clarify ideas you no longer fully understand.
Continue reading: How should I take notes from a textbook?
An essay prompt is a description of the topic you’re supposed to write about and/or the type of essay you’re supposed to write. Essay prompts often include these details:
- Question or statement that establishes the essay topic and/or type of essay
- Required length
- Required format or structure
- Type of evidence needed
- Citation requirements (if you’re required to use outside sources)
QuillBot’s free AI Chat can help you unpack essay prompts and brainstorm ideas for essay topics.
Continue reading: What is an essay prompt?
Follow these steps to write a conclusion for an argumentative essay:
- Paraphrase your main argument (but avoid repeating your thesis statement word for word).
- Explain how your reasons/lines of argument (aka the topics of your body paragraphs) work together to prove your main argument.
- End with a final insight about your topic, implications for the future, or a call to action.
QuillBot’s free AI conclusion writer can instantly draft a conclusion if you include your draft in the prompt. From there, you can adjust words and phrases to match your writing voice and main argument.
Continue reading: How do you write a conclusion for an argumentative essay?
Follow these steps to write a compare and contrast essay introduction:
- Start with a hook about why the two things you’re comparing/contrasting are important to consider (or why the dilemma between the two things is significant).
- Provide background details about the two topics you’re comparing and/or the main situations when someone needs to evaluate similarities/differences.
- Write a thesis statement that lists the similarities/differences that you will discuss in your body paragraphs.
When you’re ready to proofread your compare/contrast introduction, QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will instantly find and fix errors.
Continue reading: How do you write a compare and contrast essay introduction?
To write an argumentative essay introduction, follow 3 steps:
- Start with a hook that engages your reader in your topic (e.g., a statistic that shows why the issue you’re arguing about is urgent).
- Provide background details about why the issue is controversial. Who does the issue affect, and what are the different positions?
- Write a thesis statement that includes your main argument. In some cases, you could list the reasons for your argument as well, which are the topics of your body paragraphs.
The introduction for an argument essay also needs to be error free. QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker instantly finds and fixes typos.
Continue reading: How do you write an argumentative essay introduction?
To find out how many body paragraphs should be in an essay, look for clues such as these in your assignment instructions.
- If your assignment says “5-paragraph essay,” you need 3 body paragraphs. The 5-paragraph format is common for beginner-level writing classes and essay test questions.
- Look for a required word count. An essay paragraph is usually about 200 words. Divide the total number of words required by 200 and subtract 2 for the introduction and conclusion.
- Look for a required number of pages, and plan for about 2 paragraphs on each double-spaced page.
While your instructor is always the best source of information about how many body paragraphs you need, QuillBot’s AI Chat can also help you unpack assignment requirements and essay prompts if you include them in your AI prompt.
Continue reading: How many body paragraphs should be in an essay?
