Brief Non-Fiction Composition 'Five-Paragraph Essay'

Be sure to begin with a strong hook and include a thesis statement that lays out your main argument, supporting details, and a good conclusion.

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.

1. Paragraph One - Introduction (include a lead/hook, set the context for the essay, give the three main ideas, thesis statement is last sentence)

On February 22, 2016 author John Warner published an article on Just Visiting entitled “Kill the 5-Paragraph Essay.” Warner creatively talks about how rudimentary of a structure this type of essay holds. Writers are locked inside a cage of regulations and guidelines making them unable to write the essay as they please, but rather having to piece together regulated sentences and paragraphs because that’s what they have been told would score high on certain test questions. The article targets people of all kinds, but is more directed towards early college aged students. The purpose behind this article is to get them to expand their horizon, disregard all the regulations they have been previously taught and start to write in a much more open-minded sense.

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

Identify the hook in the introduction and highlight it [yellow]. Does the hook draw the reader in to the essay in an engaging way? Make a note if it does not.

| The introductory paragraph provides a preamble, clearly states the essay topic and provides a clear statement of how the argument will be organized.(8.5-10)

 It should name the title and author of the piece and give a brief

Does the job of clearly defining the topic covered in the essay and the specific aspects which will be discussed. See in particular last sentence of introduction. ( We will be looking at the structure of introductions more specifically in another class. )

Introduce my topic get the readers attention by starting the essay with a good catching attention getter, and follow through with background information about the topic

Body paragraphs should have a first sentence that is a level one sentence backing up the thesis with key terms and they should also show transition. Then the first sentence should be followed by support and explanation in higher level or detailed sentences. A sheet was handed out with the proper essay framework and structure. It’s a visual checklist that provides a repeatable pattern for presenting information in an expository essay. Writing the story in the introduction allows for a proper setup that allows the writer to explain in the body and conclude in the

Next, your are ready to start writing your actual essay. Your intro should not be more than three to four sentences; the purpose is for you to summarize your topic. For your introduction you need to have a good hook and a thesis

A good hook is what, best, brings a reader into any form of writing. If not, then all could be lost, unless it is mentally forced upon. This is especially true for a novice, or introductory, reader getting into the finer aspects of literature or composition. Such as, Paul Rankin’s (2005) essay, on Hemingway’s “Hills like White Elephants,” lacks a motivated lead. The opening transition word could throw a reader in the opposite direction Rankin would have hoped for. The beginning paragraphs poor lead could cause one to become lost before the revelation of thesis which makes a poor asset to novice readers.

Third but not least, the conclusion provides an almost mirror image of the introduction, wrapping up the arguments with a restatement of the thesis of your essay. I call this the bottom burger bun or in other words the conclusion. Holding it all together is the bottom bun of the hamburger or the conclusion to sum up all the key points of interest. The conclusion sentence should be interesting by giving it a call to action. As you can see a hamburger is easy to make like writing is not as hard as you think. Writing is very simple to do as preparing a hamburger.