Expanding Your Short Essay

The 3-point structure is often an useful tool for writing essays because it offers a starting point and it can be adapted to suit most purposes. The 3-point structure simply follows the direction determined by the classic thesis which indicates a claim with three supporting reasons. Each supporting reason is explored in order of presentation in thesis.

For example, a thesis such as -- Genre fiction should generate more respect than literary fiction from the literary establishment because it more accurately reflects American values, upholds strong moral standards, and is more uplifting-- automatically lends itself to a 3-point structure.

However the five paragraph essay is not appropriate for a longer paper or article. So what do you do? There is a simple way you can expand your short essay that is built on the typical three-point structure.