How Does A Middle Paragraph Differ From The Structure Of An Introductory Paragraph? Essay

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.

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

You do not need to write whole paragraphs for any of the below sections. You simply need to write complete sentences that show the basic outline of your essay. Doing this will give you a guide when writing your rough draft.

Bernier (1993) verbalize that each paragraph should begin by detailing the most important known information firstly, prior to expanding to bring in any new information. The paragraph should then finish up by concluding all main points described within. Appendix 1 has chosen paragraphs for the layout and not bullets points.

The organization of the passage is not necessarily in a chronological order but is still presented in an orderly manner. It is organized in order to keep the reader captivated and still be interesting within the body of the essay.

So authors uses whole paragraph to expose the main points. Self-reflection is her method to conclude her thoughts.

| The introductory paragraph provides a preamble, states the essay topic and provides a statement of how the argument will be organized. Some of the above is not clear though.(7.5-8)

First, to work on my paragraph organization skills, I started off using two methods, which was brainstorming and webbing. Later on, I found that free-writing along the way also helped me brainstorm ideas to put into my writing. These strategies were from Writing for Success in Chapter 1. It helped me learn to keep my paragraphs in correct sequence and not scrambled in the essays. Which before, it caused

My past writing life has allowed me to learn and grow and develop my voice. The more I write, the more I understand what my voice is and how to use it. Trying to restrict myself to the five-paragraph essay structure inhibits my voice and makes it increasingly more difficult to showcase who I am as a writer in the world. When I remove that structure, I believe my voice can be heard loud and clear. When I write, I can explain my thoughts and ideas succinctly, and I believe that allows me to accomplish what I am trying to do more quickly. I am better at communicating through writing, which has been and will hopefully continue to be a great asset for me as I go through life.

Activity 4. Review the following paragraph from an essay. Add transitions, where necessary (it is the first paragraph of the main body). Use phrases from Appendix D.

7) Did you notice anything about the way in which this essay was written that seems to contradict essay “rules” you have been taught in the past? If so, explain