Beyond the Five-Paragraph Essay - National Writing Project
I don't want to have to say told you so, but....
Listen, read - and talk to me and each other about how this makes you feel. Does it make you angry because you like your five paragraph essay structure? Or are you scared? Or ...
I find the points presented in this podcast to be very interesting, and I agree with many of them. First, I agree with the discussion about how the formula of a five paragraph essay limits creativity instead of promoting thought. This has happened to me before; I have been so focused on following the structure of the essay that I do not really think about what I am writing, who I am writing it for, or why I am writing it. It also frustrated me to hear one of the ladies say that teaching the five paragraph essay format is "setting [students] up to unlearn their high school instruction". The five paragraph essay is the only way I have been taught to write an essay. It also makes me angry because if it is an ineffective way of writing, then why is it the only form of essay writing that I have been exposed to? Because I have only been exposed to one way of accomplishing an essay, it does make me scared to approach writing one in another way. It is also a much more difficult and daunting task to focus one's reading and really think about/engage with the text, as the podcast mentions, and that adds to my fear. Lastly, the podcast mentions writing with authority, and I agree with Kimberly Campbell's stance. She comments that students often feel uncomfortable with presenting their stance in an essay with authority when they are still developing their writing skills. I have felt this way before, and working in groups and discussing novels in class has helped me write essays that I feel confident about. I am excited to have book discussion in class this year to further develop my skills, too.
ReplyDelete(FROM ANNETTE DEION)
ReplyDeleteI remember coming to high school as a freshman and not really knowing how to construct a “proper” five paragraph essay. Because of that, my essays were still good with ideas that may have had more of a natural flow, but they were not as “professional.” Then, once our teachers drilled the five paragraph thesis essay into us, I totally forgot how to write the natural way I previously did. I do think that writing a five paragraph essay does give your work more structure, but I also agree that sometimes, the structure of the essay can be my main worry rather than the content and quality of the essay, which are actually far more important in my opinion. I feel like it would be a little weird to go back and re-learn how to write an essay, since I have now found somewhat of a comfort zone in five paragraph essays, just because I’m so used to them, but both sides have their positive points, and I can understand why they are considering making a change.
Five paragraph essays are something that I think have pros and cons. To me, the five paragraph essay is sort of a safety zone. I agree that they diminish our thought process. Giving students a formula to follow makes it easier to write and allows for less thinking. However, I know when a teacher tells me to write whatever feels comfortable for me, it makes it a lot harder. First off, I don't know what the teacher expects by saying they don't want a five paragraph essay. Do they expect more than that or less? I find myself worrying more about what the teacher wants to see than what I actually want to write to get my point across and my thoughts end up getting all jumbled. At the same time, I hate how structured five paragraph essays are because I feel like I am restricted to the usual introduction/thesis, three ideas, and then a conclusion. If I'm required to write five paragraphs, what if I have more than three ideas? Or what if I have less and I end up throwing an idea in that I know is only half as good as the rest and makes my essay less powerful as a whole? I think following the five paragraph essay formula all has to do with the type of essay you are writing and the writer themselves. If you do well writing five paragraph essays, good for you. If not, try something else.
ReplyDeleteI don't think anything that they say is very... revolutionary to anyone outside of the educational system. It all seems like common sense. Giving a mandatory template to every student means that everyone is going to write the same way. Even with the variation in language, mechanics, and techniques, everyone is still going to feel pressured to order everything in the same way. that is not what writing is about. Writing is not supposed to be a uniform task, its supposed to be personal (at least on a literary level). We are all told to make our own conclusions, but for whatever reason we have to all have the same formatting. I am going to write something differently from someone else. Just trust me and let me do it my way. I don't need to fill some arbitrary requirements that aren't even based in anything useful. "I'd like to say he went on to become a great writer. Sadly Ryan was expelled."/nonchalantly. That made me laugh.
ReplyDeleteThroughout high school, the five paragraph essay definitely helped me improve. It was a good foundation for learning how to write, it organizes your writing well. I would much rather learn in a structural form rather than just "write whatever, however you want." I am very scatter-brained, and the five paragraph form helped me organize my thoughts well. I have been trying to skew away from this form. I feel that as a teacher (Ms. Feole could probably back me up on this), reading essays in such a rigid form must be boring and a pain in the ___ (you fill in the blank with your word of choice). I think the trouble for students is trying to stay away from this form, and focus more on content rather than form and structure. Structure is definitely important, but it does not have to be in five paragraph form. I feel that starting an essay in five paragraph form would be much easier, just to throw your thoughts down on paper, and then play around with the structure and add your own flares to it. Just like Alex said, writing is supposed to be personal, the author has to try to connect with the reader, and writing in the same form can get repetitive and sort of annoying.
ReplyDeleteWhen students are given the formula of a five paragraph essay, more thought can be put into the content than the format. I can honestly say that when a teacher tells me to write an essay with any amount of paragraphs I get kind of nervous about the format. How many paragraphs is too much? How many are too little? The five paragraph essay format is kind of like a security blanket. It's easy to use and set up. One introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. There, done.
ReplyDeleteHowever, sometimes it can be confining. Sometimes we need more than three body paragraphs. Sometimes we need less. Does that make a horrible essay? No. Can it sometimes make you lose points on a grade? Yes. Is that fair? Probably not.
I believe that yes, we should be taught that format. But I also believe that the school system should not be so rigid to constantly require it. Mix up the requirements sometimes. Throw in a three paragraph essay here and there. Throw out a paragraph requirement for another essay. Maybe it'll work out better.
When we had to write the in-class essay today I sat there for few a minutes trying to figure out how I was going to write 5 paragraphs on this topic in this amount of time. It was my very first thought. This is because the five paragraph essay has literally been molded into my natural instincts. Throw something at me, I will duck. Throw an essay prompt at me, I will write five paragraphs. It has been reinforced so much in our school system that sometimes I have to remind myself that no, I was not writing five paragraph essays in the womb.
ReplyDeleteIn a way, I am angry. Why was I forced to write five paragraph essays all my life to only be told now that I shouldn't?? Yes, my creativity is limited from the five paragraph formula. Not necessarily in the content of my work, but definitely in the format. So much so that if a teacher were to tell me that I was not allowed to write a five paragraph essay to respond to the prompt, I would have no clue where to start. Clearly these people in the interview are going against five paragraph essays in order to increase creativity and individuality in writing, but isn't a three paragraph essay or a six paragraph essay just as limited in format? Even writing one paragraph as a response is limited in the same ways! Instead of writing an intro paragraph, you write an intro sentence. Then instead of three body paragraphs, you throw in three supporting sentences. Instead of a conclusion paragraph, you write a conclusion sentence. It is all limited to the same formula. If I don't follow that "formula", my essay is considered unfocused and underdeveloped. So what exactly do you want from me? Is two paragraphs enough? How about a poem? Is that unconventional enough for you, Kim and Kristi??
To me the five paragraph essay is a good tool when you are beinging to learn how to write because it allows the writer to understand structure and its importance in writing. The format allows us to create our thesis and then use three paragrahs to support our idea and this is a great way to teach how to support your points in your writing. However not all essays are meant to be written in this format and somethimes when following the guidlines to the five paragraph essay your writing can often not be developed enough. Essays should be organized and stuctured but not all essays have to be structured in exactly the same way. Therefore I think the format can be good, but not in every situations and as a writer grows they should branch away from just confining themselves to this one formula of composing an essay.
ReplyDeleteThe five paragraph essay is like the vanilla of essays. It's cheap. It's easy. It gets the job done. It's a crowd-pleaser. But there s a whole world of other flavors out there. I have been conditioned to revert back to this basic structure to write my essays, and look forward to expanding my writing repertoire. Exploratory pieces would be very interesting for a change, instead of the same old authoritative, persuasive approaches.
ReplyDeleteThere is no set formula for writers; each comes up with their own. If I have been taught one in the past, I have built upon it to create my own unique method. I write my papers and thesis statements out of order, after many drafts, with many kinds of music playing in the background. For more creative approaches, I think we should be allowed alternative structures, provided they are well thought out and logically executed.