How many topic sentences are in a 5 paragraph essay?
Really like the “Reasons to Start a New Paragraph” chart. I’m in the middle of the Research Based Argument Essay Unit of Study, which somewhat implies the 5 paragraph essay structure. However, I always tell my writers that they are in charge of their writing and need to determine how many paragraphs they need to completely share their argument. I think this new chart will help immensely. Thank you!
BUT STUDENTS STILL NEED A TOOL, don’t they? For years, I taught the 5-paragraph essay because it was the only tool I knew. But why not give students a better one? Or many better ones? Requiring students to master the 5-paragraph essay structure before moving on to other forms of writing is like asking a carpenter to master the hammer before moving on to a wrench, screwdriver, or level. If a carpenter wants to build a house, we don’t tell her that she can only use a hammer. A carpenter doesn’t waste time and energy building a house with only a hammer when there are better tools available.
Here’s an example. Just a few years ago, when I was still knee deep in teaching the 5-paragraph essay, a colleague suggested that I give students the opportunity to choose their own topics, to come up with their own thesis statements instead of writing essays in response to the prompts I’d already created. I thought about it but decided against it. Why? Because whenever I’d given them choice in the past, students would come up with topics that did not easily fit into the 5-paragraph and prescribed thesis statement structure. What they wanted to argue—however complex, authentic, or interesting it might have been—didn’t fit the form.
Hi wondering how many words are in a paragraph with a 8 sentences
Then there’s this argument: “Students can’t even do the 5-paragraph essay, so how can they do other types of writing?” This reasoning assumes that the 5-paragraph essay is a prerequisite to more complex forms of writing. I would argue that it’s not. In fact, I would argue that there are many people who go on to become competent writers without mastering the 5-paragraph form (I myself was never taught this way). If anything, I would argue—as others have argued , , , , , and —that the 5-paragraph essay actually inhibits writing development for many more students that it helps.
This suggestion, however, has never felt right to me. It seems like a good compromise: we’ll keep the 5-paragraph essay and just add other types of writing. But what looks like compromise is just more work—more work doing something that 1) may be ineffective, and 2) most teachers simply don’t have time to do. In practice, we prioritize the 5-paragraph essay and if we have enough time (which we never do), we tell ourselves we’ll teach other forms of writing (which we really don’t).
Our district has the goal of moving away from formulaic writing, so I love the content of this article. I’m thinking about how to weave this into instruction with my first graders. We’ve never asked them to write 5 paragraph essay, but we seem to be giving them writing instruction that sets them up for that. The hamburger graphic organizer sounds so familiar! We want to support kids in their understanding of how to organize their writing and what makes a paragraph. Our kids are so busy making their ideas fit into our pre-made graphic organizers, that I’m afraid they’re losing the voice and genuineness in their writing.
Thank you!! As a mentor teacher for first year colleagues, I too have seen many hamburger anchor charts, stop lights, structured outline scaffolds, and more. I appreciate the idea of learning about traditional five paragraph essays while giving students the “permission” to explore writing as a means of sharing thought. The chart showing reasons to change paragraphs is brilliantly compiled.
I will be sharing your terrific insights!
How Many Words Are in an Essay? The Length Guide
How to start a 5-paragraph essay? The first sentence is often used to hook the reader. It could be a rhetorical question, a shocking statistic, or a real-life incident. To stimulate the reader's interest and make them curious about what happens next.
How Many Words Should Your 5-Paragraph Essay Really Have?
The conclusion should complete the essay's circle. It's a chance to restate the thesis, summarize the main points, and wrap up any loose ends. No new arguments should be introduced here. However, students should examine the points made in the body paragraphs and perhaps add a new perspective. Address the essay question effectively by incorporating essay question terms and phrases into the conclusion.
Words that Count: How Many Are in a 5-Paragraph Essay?
Much has already been written about the limitations of the 5-paragraph essay form. In particular, I’d suggest looking up what college educators and have written on the topic. While I suspect that many readers of this blog have already moved beyond the 5-paragraph essay, I admit that I have only recently begun to break free of this form. As another school year gets underway, and before we settle back into tried-but-not-true practices, I thought I’d share how my own thinking about the 5-paragraph essay form has been challenged and how my practices have shifted, finally, to writing in the wild.
How many words are necessary for a 5 paragraph essay
I’m not sure we—and by we, I mean me, too—are very good at teaching writing as a way of thinking. That writing is a way to discover what we think as much as it is to express what we know (or think we know). After all, the etymology of the word essay is attempt. An essay is a way to test and tease out an idea. Yet too often we teach essay as being about an answer—often, the answer. We get ahead of ourselves. Even the scientific method, for all its dependence on facts and evidence, isn’t really about the answer. It’s about answers, plural. It’s about getting closer—through repeated observation, approximation, and experimentation—to a deeper understanding of the world around us. Only then can something become a law, like gravity; otherwise, it’s all hypothesis.
How many words in are in a five-page essay
Finally, there’s the much bigger problem with the 5-paragraph essay, one that I only really appreciated when I started teaching AP Lang a few years ago. It’s a problem of authenticity. As my 11th and 12th graders and I read examples of professional writing, as we read examples of argument in the real world, it became clear that 5-paragraph essays don’t exist out there in the wild. Instead, 5-paragraph essays flourish almost exclusively in middle and high school academic settings (and no, students do not need to know the 5-paragraph essay for college. and ). And while it may be true that standardized tests favor the 5-paragraph essay, I would argue that teaching to the test—while sometimes necessary—shouldn’t be the driving force of our pedagogy.