Do you need to write an essay about your culture but don’t know where to start? You’ve come to the right place! I’m Constance, and I’ll show you how to write an essay about your culture. I’ll guide you step by step, and we’ll write a sample essay together. Let’s dive in.
Writing an essay about your culture includes 5 steps:
Step 1. Plan how many words you want in each paragraph.
When you know the exact number of words you need for an essay, planning the word count for each paragraph will be much easier.
For example, a 300-word essay typically consists of five paragraphs and three key elements:
- The introductory paragraph.
- Three body paragraphs.
- The conclusion, or the concluding paragraph.
Here’s a simple way to distribute 300 words across the five paragraphs in your essay:
You’ll get 300 when you add up these numbers.
Step 2. Decide on what your main and supporting points will be.
First, you must take a stand, meaning you must decide on your main point. What do you really want to say about your culture? Whatever you want to say, that becomes your thesis.
For example, “My culture is very rich.” That is enough to get started. You’ll get a better idea of how to expand or tweak your thesis after the next step.
Next, divide your topic using the Power of Three to prove the point that your culture is rich using three supporting ideas.
The Power of Three effectively divides an essay’s main idea into its supporting points. It means your main idea is true because of the three reasons you will provide in the body. So, it is a three-part structure that helps produce your body paragraphs.
Let’s try it for an essay about Filipino culture!
For example, here are three supporting ideas explaining the richness of Filipino culture:
- The Philippines has incredible food.
- Traditional Filipino clothing reflects the country’s heritage.
- Family values in the Philippines are essential.
Great! Now we have everything we need to write an essay about Filipino culture. We’re all set for the next step!
Step 3. Write your introductory paragraph.
Here are the key components of an introductory paragraph you need to remember in writing your essay:
Our first sentence is the introduction, which should pull our reader into the world we want to portray in our essay.
And the rest of the introductory paragraph is our thesis statement. It includes our main idea and three supporting points.
Example of an introductory paragraph about culture
“Having been colonized for centuries, the Philippines boasts a vast heritage. It has a rich culture characterized by food, clothing, and family values. Filipino culture has delicious food inherited from diverse parts of the world and periods of conquest. Traditional Filipino clothing reflects the country’s history, as well. And Filipinos prize their family values probably above all else.”
Look at how the introductory paragraph goes from a general statement to specific ideas that support our main idea.
Our introductory sentence is a general statement that serves as the opening in our essay. It briefly sets the essay’s context. Next comes the thesis statement — our main idea. Finally, we have three supporting ideas for our thesis.
Step 4. Write your essay’s body paragraphs.
Again, a 300-word essay typically has three body paragraphs containing your three supporting ideas. Here’s how to structure a body paragraph:
Looking back at our word count plan, we know that our body paragraphs should have roughly 70 words each. Remember your word plan as you write.
Body Paragraph 1
“The Philippines boasts a diverse food culture. It reflects indigenous flavors and foreign influences, such as American, Spanish, Indian, and Chinese. Whether it’s a typical or special day, Filipinos love eating these various dishes with rice, a staple. For example, rice goes well with curry, noodles, and adobo. It is also common to see various foods like pizza, pancit, lumpia, paella, (Filipino-style) sweet spaghetti, cakes, and ice cream at parties.”
As you can see, the first sentence in this body paragraph is a topic sentence. It gives context to the paragraph and briefly summarizes it.
The second sentence explains why the Philippine food culture is considered diverse.
The remaining sentences illustrate your main point (topic sentence) by providing examples, starting with rice in sentence 3.
Body Paragraph 2
“Traditional Filipino clothing reflects Philippine cultural heritage. Although Filipinos now conform to current fashion trends in their everyday lives, the traditional clothing style is often used during celebrations. The traditional fashion sense exhibits influences from indigenous tribes, Chinese immigration waves, the Spaniards, and Americans, portraying the chronology of Philippine historical events. For example, the Philippines’ national costume, the baro’t saya, is an elegant blend of Spanish and Filipino clothing styles. Even some modernized forms of clothing also display other global influences.”
Just like Body Paragraph 1, this paragraph follows the same structure outlined in the diagram. It proceeds from a general statement to more specific points:
- The topic sentence.
- An explanation.
- Examples.
Body Paragraph 3
“Family values are vital in the Philippines. The daily lives of most Filipinos revolve around close and extended family, making them known for their family-oriented lifestyle even when they’re overseas. It’s common for children to live with their parents after reaching legal age; some even stay after getting married or obtaining a job. Filipinos also cherish their extended families (aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins) and hanging out or celebrating significant events together.”
Once again, this paragraph follows the body paragraph structure. Now, we’re all set for the final step — the conclusion.
Step 5. Write the conclusion.
The easiest way to write a concluding paragraph for your essay on your culture is to restate your main idea and its supporting points using different words. You can even paraphrase your introduction — a time-proven method!
Let’s write the conclusion for our essay.
Conclusion
“Because of its history, the Philippines has a rich, diverse culture rooted in a vast heritage. Filipino cuisine is a blend of indigenous and foreign flavors. The nation’s history is reflected in its traditional clothing. And family values display a distinct Filipino trait.”
Note that this conclusion uses different words to restate the points we’ve already made, including those in the body paragraphs.
Hope this was helpful. Now go ahead and write an essay about your culture!