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Writing A 3 Paragraph Essay: Things You Should Know About the Format

The 3 paragraph written assignment is shorter than most students are used to, so they may find themselves a little lost when it comes to knowing how to write a 3 paragraph essay. The good news is that once you know the format, the rest is easy. Keep reading to learn what you need to know about the format of this type of writing assignment. Find here a writing process that can be applied to write a 3 paragraph essay once you understand the format.

  • Why You Need to Understand Formatting

    • In most cases, teachers assign this basic writing assignment to teach students the basic set-up of an essay. Pay close attention to how the introduction, conclusion, and body paragraphs all tie together and you will learn the relationships between different parts of the assignment. This can then be applied to future work.

  • The Title

    • Unless specified, you should not use bold font on the title. Instead, write it in title case and center it. Some students also skip a line under their title, but this is not necessary if the project is double spaced.

  • The Set-Up of the 3-Paragraph Essay

    • The basic parts of this writing assignment are the same as any other, the introduction (which includes the thesis statement), the body paragraph, and the conclusion.

    • Introduction

      • You want to have a thorough introduction that explains some background on your topic, since you will want to save your body paragraphs for important information that proves your thesis. The introduction should:

      • Introduce your topic
      • Grab the reader’s interest
      • Provide background information
      • Allude to your thesis
    • Thesis Statement

    • The thesis statement should introduce the points you will be making to support your topic. You should place this at the top of your outline and rough draft to keep yourself on track.

    • Body Paragraph

    • The body paragraph is usually one of many, but there is only a single paragraph in this assignment. Use this to make your major points and prove your thesis.

    • Conclusion

    • The conclusion will tie together the points in your body paragraph and state your thesis again. You should also leave the reader with a feeling of closure, hopefully in a way that your writing makes an impact.

    • How to Format Your Paragraphs

      • In academic writing, the paragraphs should have consistent font, spacing, and margins. You should also indent the first line of each paragraph, at .05”. You can set this by going into the paragraph settings in your writing program.

    • Font, Spacing, and Margins

    • Typically, your instructor will request that you use either APA or MLA formatting. In more complex writing assignments, this will include a title page and a reference page or works cited. For a 3 paragraph paper, you probably will not need to include this unless instructed.

      The basic guidelines that you should follow include:

      • Size 12 font
      • Readable style font such as Times New Roman, Ariel, or Calibri
      • Double spacing
      • One-inch margins

      You can adjust the margins and spacing of your page by going to the Paragraph settings. Usually, the margins will default to one-inch but you will need to set the spacing appropriately.

    Instead of wondering how to write a 3 paragraph essay, feel assured that you can write any length assignment. Once you understand the format, you can use a basic writing process to tackle any paper.

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