I was reading a blog by a fellow teacher the other day, and one of her readers had commented that it was time to move away from the 5-paragraph essay. This is not the first time I have heard this recommendation. In fact, earlier this year, during a grade 8-9 transition meeting with the English Departments, one of the High School English teachers ranted for a little while about how the 5-paragraph essay is boring and formulaic. I've even run across books written about how to get away from the 5-paragraph essay and do more within new literacy venues to add "real-world authenticity".
But I want to defend the 5-paragraph essay here. I think it serves a useful stepping stone for young writers who are just learning how to stake a claim and defend their position with evidence. Yes, it is formulaic, and that is one of its beauties. Young writers need the formula that gives them the structure to lay their ideas out in a coherent manner. Without it, their writing becomes a wander through the fog of vague ideas, unsubstantiated claims, personal anecdotes, and leaps of logic.
Take the introduction. The formula states that within the introduction, the writer should state the thesis and the main supporting ideas. One teacher I know calls this a "mapping sentence" because it hands the reader a "map" of the rest of the essay (I call it a thesis because that's what everyone else calls it, and consistency in language is important for young writers learning new structures). By writing the thesis in this way, young writers must have a plan in mind of exactly what their claim is and how they are going to defend it with support. This clarity is essential.
Body paragraphs come next, and they start with topic sentences. Topic sentences, those formulaic first words, tell what the paragraph is going to be about, laying out the point of support right at the start. The best topic sentences even bring in the thesis idea to make it clear to the reader (and the writer!) that "this reason supports my claim". The topic sentence holds the young writer to a focus: one and only one point of support in this paragraph. Once that point of support is explained, then the next one is laid out in the next topic sentence in the next body paragraph.
Finally, the conclusion wraps it up. By restating the thesis and main ideas as a quick summary of the essay, the writer provides closure. Without it, the essay just stops abruptly. Young writers have a lot of trouble finding elegant ways to wrap up their thinking. The summarizing sentence provides the formula needed to finish, without writing "The End".
I am not advocating that the 5-paragraph essay is the only way to stake a claim and support it with evidence. I actually agree that they are boring and formulaic. But they are necessary for young writers to get started with this kind of writing. Once they have learned the "parts"-- claim, support, focus, paragraphs, closure-- they can branch out. Maybe they only need four paragraphs to say what they need to say, or maybe they need six! In my 8th grade class, we studied Op-Ed pieces, and noticed how the thesis comes at the end so that the action statement rings in our heads as we finish reading. We study book reviews that condense all those parts into one paragraph. We read blogs and have discussions, all centered around those essential "parts". Without a clear understanding of the basics, though, the fancy stuff just couldn't happen.
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