Breaking The Five-Paragraph-Theme Barrier By Thomas Nunnally

Your essay should use a basic three-paragraph structure (introductory paragraph with a hook and a thesis, a supporting paragraph, and a concluding paragraph) and should be written in 12-point font with one-inch page margins.

4. It has a topic sentence that explains what the paragraph is going to be about, evidence and commentary supporting the ideas, and a concluding sentence closing up the paragraph.

In this chapter, Lunsford details the planning and drafting process for a writer to organize their ideas with either a formal outline or a rough plan. Lunsford reminds writers to be flexible during the drafting process and not to think twice about changing elements of the essay at this point in the process. Lunsford goes on to explain the qualities academic paragraphs must have these include unity, development and coherence. To obtain unity within a paragraph all sentences should relate to the topic sentence of the paragraph. When developing a paragraph it is important to switch between general and specific ideas in the paragraph, while supporting those ideas with details, evidence and examples as required. Ensuring a paragraph is coherent is crucial when developing an academic paragraph. Because readers need to be able to follow a writers ideas easily, Lunsford gives her readers a method to follow to achieve this goal. This method includes using the general to specific ideas, repetition, parallel structures, and using transition words. The author notes that this method should also be used to link paragraphs

In New York State, the finals are called Regents. For many Regents exams, students are required to write an essay. Most teachers teach the “five paragraph essay” method: an introduction paragraph, with last sentence in tbeing the thesis statement with three reasons, then three body paragraphs that discuss each of the reasons, and a conclusion paragraph which students will reiterate the thesis statement one last time. Teachers work hard with students so they can receive full credit on these essays. There is never enough time in the class to begin with and having to teach how not to write a five paragraph essay with creative ideas, is a new

After evaluating the essay written by Ed White, it was evident that he was very confident about the popular method used by many writers universally. The five-paragraph theme is highly common and effective in many cases. White believes that teachers have taken advantage of the five-paragraph theme and backs up his opinion with reasoning. He effectively uses rhetorical devices throughout his essay to help support his argument.

It is essential to understand that classes taken in grade school do not give students a full understanding of each subject. With the topic of writing, there will always be a new lesson to learn, an aspect to improve, or a differing way to explain. Author Craig Vetter states in Bonehead Writing, “This is your enemy: a perfectly empty sheet of paper. Nothing will ever happen here except what you make happen.” Each story, essay, or response comes from a writer’s experiences. With each attempt at a new piece comes an underlying story of emotions the writer is facing. Each person’s writing is unique and the ideas people have are related to their past experiences and what they believe to be familiar with when deciding which writing style to use. As a high school student, I have learned many things about writing that helped me become the improved writer I am today, but the most essential advice I have received is practice makes perfect. Although there is no actual perfect way of writing, I have discovered that each essay I write, my writing improves. It is easier to spot mistakes, find areas to improve, and ponder elevated word choice to use.

Unteaching The Five- Paragraph essay by Marie Foley is a light hearted but argumentive piece focusing on the way most school aged children are taught to write. Foley's main point comes down to the very first words in the essay; “The five-paragraph formula confuses and alienates students and undermines our most basic goals as writing instructors." Foley believes that by teaching children to write in a formulated manner we are not letting them explore and learn through their own writing. We are instead giving them the freedom to discontinue the thought process once they feel that the essay they have produced meets the formula standards they have been kept to, and refuse to part with.

Simply spoken, the aging youth are facing a very large dilemma when it comes to making the transition from high school to college level courses. As many have been taught in the past, just as many will be taught in the future, the commonly known 5-paragraph essay is quickly becoming an eyesore in the writer’s community. John Warner published an article in which he deploys a full on assault to persuade others to do away with this type of essay format all together. In his article “Kill the 5-paragraph Essay” Warner establishes his credibility, paints an imaginary picture of the 5-paragraph essay and uses logical and emotional

Teaching the process of a five-paragraph essay seems to be a popular strategy when it comes to teaching new writers; however, not everyone agrees that five-paragraph essays are the best way to go about introducing the writing process. John Warner, author of “Kill the 5-Paragraph Essay” believes the process gives writers little freedom and is a “tool for the worst of teachers to hide amongst the good.” On the other hand, Kerri Smith, author of “In the Defense of the Five-Paragraph Essay” claims “students who know the five-paragraph essay intimately are more prepared to take on the challenge of college-level writing.” Both first-year composition professors make great arguments; however, Warner’s article seems to argue his point effectively.

In an excerpt of Unteaching the Five-Paragraph Essay," Marie Foley reveals how the Five-Paragraph Essay formula contradicts writing instructor's most basic goals. Foley shows that the formula deters from generating individual thinking. In today's society, essays are used by millions of people in order to express their different ideas. The Five-Paragraph Essay formula was originally developed to help retain the efficiency and clarity of the essay. Foley, however, believes that this process eventually separates the student from his or her written expression and should be used only as a first step tool for beginning student writers. Foley insists that the formula blocks discovery, squelches authenticity and undermines the reader's need for

In the introduction of Marie Foley’s article content that teachers use the five paragraph essay formula because it has a sample and

Although I was a junior and only two-years away from being an independent college student, I was still attached and only aware of how to write using the five paragraph essay guidelines. Immediately when assigned my first six page research paper, thoughts of how this would even be possible when I have not written more than five paragraph? Because I had only written based on structure my entire life, I began researching different structures on how I could write this six page paper, completely being blinded by the fact that a structure was not necessary. The required length of the paper was not the only difficult factor of the assignment.

Maria P. Rey's, Letter to West Port High School's English Department, was written for an assignment in her English Composition course at the University of Florida in late October of 2009. In Rey’s letter, she tries to entice her former teachers to re-evaluate how and what they are teaching to their students. Rey explains that her former instructors are not teaching their students a standard format, but that she actually received conflicting guidelines from different teachers. Rey continues with describing to professors the four rules that obstructed her ability to be a good writer. The first of these are the five paragraph essay model that is taught in most schools. Rey believes this method can inadvertently cause issues for a writer. One being

In Marie Foley’s “Unteaching the Five Paragraph, Mary Kay Mulvaney’s “Difference Between College and High School Writing,” and “Understanding Writing Assignments: Tips and Techniques” by Dan Melzer, the authors all have a different opinion on various topics of writing. The topics includes the five paragraph structure, how to understand a writing assignment and the difference between the writing of college student and high school students. In my opinion everyone have their own opinions. My opinions on the three articles differ in various ways; there are some things that I agree with and few minor things that I disagree with.

“What format did you use when writing an assignment for your writing classes in college?”, I asked. I was surprised to find that Mr. Demas followed a format that's considered a myth in “Five Myths about Writing” in the book Conversations About Writing. He claims himself to be a “big five paragraph essay guy”; intro, three paragraphs for the body, and conclusion. Even in his more in depth writing that had to be more than five paragraphs, he states, he follows the same format only having a couple of paragraphs explaining each point. “It was basically a three point justification of my thesis”. Mr. Demas also includes outlining has helped a lot and he spends most of his time outlining. “If I can get a good outline done, the paper just wrote itself