5-Paragraph Essay and Outline "The Hazard of Moviegoing"

Essay Sample

The Hazards of Moviegoing
By John Langan From College Writing Skills with Readings

Introductory paragraph
(Thesis)

I am a movie fanatic. When friends want to know what picture won the Oscar in 1980 or who played the police chief in Jaws, they ask me. My friends, though, have stopped asking me if I want to go out to the movies. The problems in getting to the theater, the theater itself, and the behavior of some patrons are all reasons why I often wait for a movie to show up on TV.

First supporting paragraph

First of all, just getting to the theater presents difficulties. Leaving a home equipped with a TV and a video recorder isn’t an attractive idea on a humid, cold, or rainy night. Even if the weather cooperates, there is still a thirty-minute drive to the theater down a congested highway, followed by the hassle of looking for a parking space. And then there are the lines. After hooking yourself to the end of a human chain, you worry about whether there will be enough tickets, whether you will get seats together, and whether many people will sneak into the line ahead of you.

Second supporting paragraph

Once you have made it to the box office and gotten your tickets, you are confronted with the problems of the theater itself. If you are in one of the run-down older theaters, you must adjust to the musty smell of seldom-cleaned carpets. Escaped springs lurk in the faded plush or cracked leather seats, and half the seats you sit in seem loose or tilted so that you sit at a strange angle. The newer twin and quad theaters offer their own problems. Sitting in an area only one-quarter the size of a regular theater, moviegoers often have to put up with the sound of the movie next door. This is especially jarring when the other movie involves racing cars or a karate war and you are trying to enjoy a quiet love story. And whether the theater is old or new, it will have floors that seem to be coated with rubber cement. By the end of a movie, shoes almost have to be pried off the floor because they have become sealed to a deadly compound of spilled soda, hardening bubble gum, and crushed Ju-Jubes.

Third supporting paragraph

Some of the patrons are even more of a problem than the theater itself. Little kids race up and down the aisles, usually in giggling packs. Teenagers try to impress their friends by talking back to the screen, whistling, and making what they consider to be hilarious noises. Adults act as if they were at home in their own living rooms and comment loudly on the ages of the stars or why movies aren’t as good anymore. And people of all ages crinkle candy wrappers, stick gum on their seats, and drop popcorn tubs or cups of crushed ice and soda on the floor. They also cough and burp, squirm endlessly in their seats, file out for repeated trips to the rest rooms or concession stand, and elbow you out of the armrest on either side of your seat.

Concluding paragraph

After arriving home from the movies one night, I decided that I was not going to be a moviegoer anymore. I was tired of the problems involved in getting to the movies and dealing with the theater itself and some of the patrons. The next day I arranged to have cable TV service installed in my home. I may now see movies a bit later than other people, but I’ll be more relaxed watching box office hits in the comfort of my own living room.

Outline for a Five-Paragraph Essay

Title: ____________________
Introduction
Introductory statement
Thesis statement: ____________________

Body
First Supporting Idea (Topic Sentence): ____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________

Second Supporting Idea (Topic Sentence): ____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________

Third Supporting Idea (Topic Sentence): ____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________

Conclusion
Closing statement
Restate thesis: ____________________

Sample Outline for a Five-Paragraph Essay

This is in relation to “”The Hazards of Movie going””

Title: The Hazards of Moviegoing

Introduction
Introductory statement
Thesis statement: I like watching movies but I prefer watching them at home.

Body

1. First Supporting Idea (Topic Sentence):

• just getting to the theater presents difficulties
  bad weather
• long drive and limited parking space
• long waiting to buy ticket

2. Second Supporting Idea (Topic Sentence): facing the problems of the theater itself

• old theater’s problems such as smelly carpet, worn-out seat, etc
• new theater’s problems such as smaller size, noise from next movie theater, etc
• both floors will be rubber-like dirty at the end of the movie

3. Third Supporting Idea (Topic Sentence): Some of the patrons are annoying

• bad behavior such as running, talking loud, etc
• human noise and disturbance

4. Conclusion

• Closing statement
• Restate thesis: I prefer to watch movies at home where it is comfortable, clean and safe.

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