Students of writing will benefit from learning how to write a cohesive essay in five paragraphs. It’s a skill that will come in handy and help you to tackle essays in a systematic fashion, virtually eliminating writer’s block.

The most important paragraph in your five paragraph essay is the first one. This is the place to grab the interest of your reader with clear, concise, powerful phrasing. The first paragraph introduces your topic using a topic sentence. It’s followed by a few sentences of detail about the topic, its history, or your point of view (if applicable). The first paragraph also provides the place to deliver an opinion or compelling statement that gives your reader a reason to go on to paragraph 2.

In the second paragraph you’ll want to quickly reward the reader by providing the most interesting statement of your entire essay. For example, in an essay about police negligence in small town crime cases, you might lead off your second paragraph with a shocking statistic. For example: “Crime statistics show that when a murder is committed in a small town, if the killer is not caught within 24 hours, there’s a 90 percent chance the killer will never be caught.” The source for your bold statement or facts that support it follow in well crafted sentences that complete your second paragraph.

The third paragraph of your essay is a place to offer “the other side” of the story. In the example we’ve been using here, the third paragraph might discuss the benefits of working a crime scene in a small town. In this case, a sentence that offers an opposing viewpoint might lead this paragraph, as in “Working in law enforcement’s favor is the awareness level of the citizens of a small town.” Your third paragraph broadens the topic and shows that you have considered both sides of an issue.

The fourth paragraph is the place to return to the original topic sentence and add an interesting fact, quote a survey or an expert, and reiterate the point of the essay.

The final paragraph is a summary. It begins with a brief review of the key points. The conclusion neatly ties up everything discussed with a final defining statement.

Use this formula to simplify your essay writing.

With that homework assignment looming, here are some tips for good essay writing:

1. Planning. You wouldn’t take a trip without a map, and good writers don’t start writing until they’ve determined (at least as a starting point) what they are going to say. Before you write a word, make notes about your topic. What are your opinions about it? Your first impressions? What do you find most interesting about the subject? If you don’t know much about the subject, where can you find out more?
2. Research. Depending on the essay, you may need to read material that has been assigned in class. Don’t skip this step. It’s key to your success. You also may need to make a trip to the library or conduct some internet research to supplement your topic knowledge. Remember, the more you know, the more you will have to write about the topic. As you do your research, make note of interesting information and sources you can use either as background or for direct quotes or citations.
3. Outline. Now that you’ve thought things through and done a little research, make an outline for your essay. The outline consists of your topic sentence (the theme of your writing) and your key points, which are interesting facts that support your topic sentence, add information, or help explain your topic and/or point of view. The more detailed your outline, the easier it will be to complete the essay.
4. Write. Step 4 is often where most students start, and that’s probably what leads to frustration and the fear of essays. But for those students who have gone through Steps 1 through 3, this step – the actual writing of the essay – is a piece of cake. Here’s where you take the thinking from your plan, the information from your research, and the key points from your outline and write clear, concise sentences that flow from one point to the next. Wrap it up with a conclusion, and you’re ready to turn it in!

So how do you go about choosing the right topic? What are the components of a good topic, and what topics make the most effective arguments for persuasion? Follow these guidelines to help you uncover a topic that will work for you:

1. Pick a topic you care about, and ideally pick a topic you know something about. The more you know about a subject, the easier it will be to write opinions designed to convince others to think the same way you do. Be cautious using this rule, however. In addition to being a topic of interest to you, your topic should also follow some of the rules below.
2. Pick a controversial topic. If you select a topic that is already controversial, such as evolution, euthanasia, or pet breeding, you’ll have a better chance of developing arguments or quoting opinions about the topic that will convince others of your point of view.
3. Pick a topic that is evident in a current event. If a historically controversial topic doesn’t appeal to your sense of originality, find a newsworthy topic that is current upon which you can base an opinion. Current events are simple to find. Turn on your television news or jump on the internet to see what’s current at the moment. Whenever you can pepper your argument with specific examples from current events, your audience will be more likely to be persuaded by your writing.

Once you’ve picked your topic, it’s time to “test market” it for interest and ease of persuasion. It’s easy with a little research.

Go online and read the arguments for or against the topic. Consider both sides of the story. Oftentimes it’s best to write your persuasive argument based on the evidence that already exists for a particular point of view.

No matter how you go about finding your topic, keep in mind that making a good case for an issue is the purpose of your assignment, so pick a topic that gives you a high probability of success.

The first and perhaps best idea is to enter contests. There are literally hundreds of different types of contests. Literary clubs, colleges and universities, historical societies and large newspaper chains all sponsor essay contests. Prizes range from $100 to $10,000. I’m not kidding. If you’ve got time, you could enter a new contest every day.

A second way to make money writing essays is to write for publication. This is perhaps the most difficult way to make money with essays, and it may help if you’ve won a few contests first. There are all sorts of literary journals, magazines, and now websites that offer opportunities for publication. The key to being published is to a) be a great essay writer with something interesting to say, and b) to be the niece or nephew of the publisher of a journal that publishes essays.

The third and perhaps most profitable way to make money as an essayist is to write essays for students. With a marketplace of millions of unethical kids with paypal accounts, you could sell essays every day to kids as young as eight. High school students could be a particularly lucrative market. Obviously this is a seasonal business, but a particularly tough history teacher could lead to hundreds of dollars in profits from one school alone. With hundreds of thousands of schools nationwide, it’s likely you would become a millionaire within three years. This business also could make a nice franchise opportunity for the particularly devious entrepreneur.

Before you consider any type of career as an essay writer, check the laws, fines, and prison terms in your state. Please note that this article does not condone the writing of essays for students and should not be construed as a recommendation from an expert to quit your day job to become a freelance essay writer.