5 Paragraph Essay Structure

In "Breaking the Five–Paragraph–Theme Barrier" professor Thomas Nunnally describes his
experience teaching the popular writing tool. The five–paragraph theme requires an introductory
paragraph, three middle paragraphs that each have their own ideas, and a concluding paragraph.
Nunnally believes that this writing model should only be used as a writing tool and not the backbone
to all essays (Nunnally). I agree with Nunnally's stance, but also think that by the age of sixteen,
students should no longer be given the opportunity to rely on the model for writing opportunities. **
The five–paragraph theme was created to be a general teaching tool for inexperience writers. It
allows the writers to easily formulate a structure essay. It tells you that you only need three
supporting details for your thesis and that each do not need to be in depth. Most teachers say that a
paragraph is only roughly 4–5 sentences long. As a result, if every paragraph is short then you're
only writing approximately 20–25 sentences. A writer can easily follow the structure given and
finish an essay in a well timely–manner. The model is effective for beginners, but ineffective for
professionals (Nunnally).
Until a certain point, the model is effective for writers. It is a practical, easy template that allows a
writer to quickly set up and then write an essay,...show more content...
Nunnally states its purpose to "provide[s] for effective inculcation of concepts such as unity,
coherence, and development (Nunnally)." The model is structured to unite each paragraph to each
other by using a thesis statement paragraph, three supporting paragraphs for said idea and finally, to
summarize your essay. The use of transitional words allows the author to smoothly connect each
paragraph and idea. Finally, the model develops chronologically. The author will introduce, prove
and conclude. The five–paragraph model fulfills its purpose for the inexperienced writers
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Five Paragraph Themes
The III Effect of the Five Paragraph Theme article by Kimberly Wesley is more about persuading
students to write other types of essays rather than just the common five paragraph essay that's been
taught for countless years. In my opinion, I prefer not to write my essays in the five paragraph
theme because it isn't remarkably conducive to not only high school students like me, but as well as
other writers. As of my own experience in writing throughout my school years, there's no doubt in
confessing that I have had more than three main ideas for a certain essay, while on the other hand,
there have been essays where I would struggle to come up with even two ideas! According to a
college student (my sister), I have been told that the FPT is not

Five Paragraph Essay
Traditional Five Paragraph Essay The one thing that is difficult about coming to college, being
around completely new strangers, is that I don't know everyone. Back at home, I knew almost
everyone in my town. I may not have been close to most of the people, but I knew who they were.
As I look around this campus, I do not recognize anyone and I can't help but wonder what kind of
person they are.
First of all, I am eighteen years old, and I have brown hair and brown eyes. I am five feet, four
inches tall and I am of average weight. I believe I am modish because I love to dress up and wear
a plentiful amount of jewelry. I usually wear sweaters, jeans and a pair of boots in the fall and
winter. For the duration of the summer, you can find me in either a dress or a bathing suit. I love
being in the sun.
Second, I am a pre–dental hygiene student here at Penn College and since I am a freshman, I live on
campus in Lancaster Hall. I have three other roommates, and they are pretty cool. One of my
roommates, Brianna, is an RA. We...show more content...
I enjoy doing some outdoor activities such as kayaking and hiking. I have gone parasailing twice
before, and it was such a thrill. Although my favorite adventurous thing I've done was when I went
zip–lining over a river this past April in Florida. It was the most exciting thing I have ever done
and I loved it. I also would like to go skydiving and scuba diving. I am compassionate; I put lots of
hours into fundraising events for a scholarship fund in honor of a close friend of mine that passed
away almost three years ago. We organize clothing drives, golf outings, baked good sales and t–shirt
sales. My last character trait that comes to my mind is neat. My room, car and my clothes are
always clean and tidy. My schoolwork is very organized and color coded. Also, my closet is
organized by color. I try to abstain from clutter and messiness. Needless to say, I am a bit of a clean

The Importance Of Writing An Argumentative Essay
As a student in a beginning English class some elements may seem difficult at the beginning but
with practice they become long lasting skills. Writing an argumentative is not an easy task there is a
lot of elements that have to come together to create a successful essay but as many other things, it
requires constant practice and effort. At the start of this course I wasn't a very good writer myself,
and I can see the huge improvement this course made by looking at my first argumentative essay. I
was able to identify and apply the requisites of a good argument essay. A well thought structure,
reliable evidence, and a counterargument are three essential components of argumentative writing.
The structure of an essay is the foundation to a good argumentative paper. Throughout this course
I learned the importance of having an essay structure, before I started this class I didn't have a
very clear vision of how to correctly format my essay. In my diagnostic essay, which was the first
one I wrote for English 1302, had five paragraphs. That is considered a standard structure of many
essays but it is more of a skeleton. Looking back at that essay I see how poor my introduction was,
I did not even have a clear thesis. One only thing even close to one that I could spot was, "The
"millennials," people born in the last two decades of the 20th century, are failing to reflect Rich's
model for a good education." It merely addresses the topic in a simple way. It did not serve the
purpose a

Preparing The 'Footstool' Method For Writing
The "Footstool" method for writing is the "five–paragraph theme" consisting of an introduction, body
and conclusion. The "Footstool" method for writing is the basic principle structure of writing.
Writing consists of many purposes and formats with different techniques used to create a "good"
essay. Hjortshoj takes a analytical view towards"Footstool" essays not stating whether they are
indefinitely bad or good rather they are abused building blocks towards a more substantial essay. The
limitations of a "Footstool" essay is uniformity, redundancy and inflexibility. The "Footstool" method
follows three major rules to good writing. The first rule, each paragraph must consist of three
sentences; which the "Footstool" method follows for every paragraph. The second rule, there should
be at least three paragraphs in the body, "Footstool" suggest that you must address subtopics or
points typically three in the body. Thus the "Footstool" essay format inherently follows some rules of
good writing....show more content...
The structure is a easier more comprehensible and universal building block for writing
fundamentals. The method consists of basic parts being an introduction, body and conclusion; an
easy idea to grasp when learning to write. The "Footstool" method is arguably a "good" writing
method especially following a specific set of instructions. Through my high school years we were
taught the rhetorical triangle as a way to further our writing. The purpose of learning rhetoric was to
rejecting the idea of a format rather focusing on persuasion of a thought and the our purpose of the
writing. The rhetorical triangle could be broken down to emotions, message, and ethics. The method
focused on an appeal to these parts of

Footstool Essay Structure
The traditional structure of the footstool essay helps set the foundation for larger and more elaborate
writing requirements. The standard footstool essay uses the format of introduction, body, and
conclusion; but what happens when the five paragraphs aren't enough content for an assignment?
The writer has to take the standard five paragraph essay format and morph it into a more fluid
structure, turning it into a beginning, middle and an end. By doing this the writer will be able to
continue to direct the reader on a long and enjoyable journey.
There are different types of assignments that require different styles of writing and the traditional
five paragraphs won't work for them all. However, if the writer is able to take the standard

Five Paragraph Essay Outline
Five Paragraph Essay Outline Directions: Use this graphic organizer to help you complete a basic
five–paragraph essay outline using the PEEL paragraph structure. Write one complete sentence, and
ONLY ONE complete sentence for item marked with an*. Limit yourself to 3–4 words for each line
of evidence and explanation. Introductory Paragraph Intro How did women's work change? Before
world war 2 women had been stereotyped to only be stay at home moms and take care of their
home and their kids,but unfortunately it wasn't actually much of a stratotype for the majority of
women it was true. But then world war 2 started and women started getting all sorts of different
jobs working in the factories to make warfare,women even were in the air force

Walking inside the typical composition class, one can expect to see the students crafting the
five–paragraph essay or working on a persuasive piece as they try to argue they side of an in–class
debate. Composition classes do not only work on a studentГs writing, they also get the students to
think through their writing (at least the good ones do). There is a certain well–accepted style to
teaching writing in the traditional composition class, and it works very well for many students and
teachers. However, should the line of comfort be crossed, and if so, how? Should composition
instructors grab a hold of a different writing style, making it the focal point of their pedagogies in
their writing classes? More importantly, if they do, what...show more content...
Of course, they are well–suited to teaching writing of any kind to their students, but could they not
be more effective in doing so if they had the freedom to teach the typical Г¬five–paragraphГ® or
Г¬persuasiveГ® as a piece of creative writing/literature?
While BishopГs work on the topic of using creative writing in the composition classroom is crucial
to any understanding of the argument, Deborah Dean, in Г¬Muddying Boundaries: Mixing Genres
with Five Paragraphs,Г® also extensively explores the question I just raised, and does so by
bringing in the concept of Г¬genre theory.Г® In an explanation of Г¬genre theory,Г® Dean states
that, Г¬one way to make writing interesting is to create the experiences of the genre in the mind of
the reader and then tweak one or twoГ® (Dean 53). Using the example of a childrenГs fairy tale to
illustrate her point, Dean goes on to say that genre theory is a bit controversial, saying that Г¬if
applied without thought, it could mean a return to a focus on forms and product over processГ®
(Dean 53). Proponents of genre theory, however, feel just the opposite. To them, genre theory is Г¬a
more logical way to empower our students, to give them the ability to write in ways that will help
them be successful in the social situations in which theyГll find themselvesГ® (Dean 53).
Application of genre theory in the classroom Г¬is a process because it asks students to analyze the
social context

5 Paragraph Essay Outline
Throughout all of high school, students are taught to write papers following the outline of a
five–paragraph essay. The five–paragraph essay is a format of essay having five paragraphs: one
introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs with support and development, and one concluding
paragraph. This basic structure has proven to be effective for many students however the format
itself has been accused of being "rigid and arbitrary" as well as being accused of valuing mechanical
organizational schemes rather than in depth thinking. (1) Is the five–paragraph essay as flawed as
some people make it out to be? A five paragraph essay breaks down like this: The first paragraph
contains a one sentence (or maybe a two sentence) thesis statement, which

5-Paragraph Writing Flaws
The problems with the 5–paragraph writing is the same problems that the author was praising. The
problems with this writing is that firstly, the three subtopics do give you a limited way of thinking.
You can only give three points, it makes your mind not willing to go in depth about the topic at
hand, it doesn't let your brain wander. Then if you want to write more about one of the subpoints,
you can't because you're only allowing yourself 5 paragraphs to write everything. Another thing that
the author mentioned was that he writes this way for all his essays, yet gets good grades on it. That
might be true, but you're never going to grow as a writer, your writing is mediocre. You're brain is
trained on only having 5 paragraphs, that makes your

Statement of Rhetorical Analysis 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.
Analysis of John Warner's "Kill the 5–Paragraph Essay" 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

1.How does the structure of a middle paragraph differ from the structure of an introductory
paragraph? From that of a concluding paragraph? While the conclusion is seen as having a structure
to an upside–down triangle the introduction is formatted as a triangle. The middle paragraph is a
block.
2.What is the main purpose of paragraphing? The main purpose of paragraphing is to prove points
that support the thesis and therefore the spacing separates each point which allows them to be fully
developed.
3.Students of composition are advised to write "big" paragraphs while they are learning. Why? They
are told this because according to the text writing long paragraphs are another way to make someone
think more and develop each idea. It is easier...show more content...
When however is used as a transition, what is the best position for it in a sentence? However is
usually placed in the midsection of the sentence between the uses of commas for the best position.
6.What is the correct punctuation for a tucked–in however? The correct punctuation for a tucked–in
however is between the uses of two commas.
7.This sentence appears on page 87, "You probably use the paragraph hooks often in your own
writing without knowing it and see it constantly in your reading without realizing it (as in this
sentence, for example.)" What is the paragraph hook in this sentence? You will have to look back
ot the paragraph preceding this sentence for your answer. The paragraph hook in this paragraph is
ironically the two words itself, "paragraph hook" because it is specific and tells the reader exactly
what follows and it is about.
8.Describe the difference between a simple paragraph hook and a deeper hook The difference is
that one repeats a phrase from the last part of the paragraph and puts it into the first sentence of the
next paragraph while. On the other hand the other goes deeper into thought and goes back into the
text to a key point then uses it to put into the next paragraph as a settle

Unteaching The Five Paragraph Analysis
In the article "Unteaching the five–paragraph Essay", Foley Marie, disputes that the five–paragraph
formula does not allow students to think in a critical way and prevents them from discovering new
information. According to Foley "the prefabricated structure invites students to fill the five sots with
what they already know, thus often depriving them of the pleasure of discovering new ideas". The
reason why the five–paragraph formula continues to be taught to students because its easier for
teachers to teach it the class rather then teaching individually. Although students feel nervous when
writing, they hardly create something theirs. The author believes the formula its useful for beginner
students writers "it helps them to overcome writers

Summary of Unteaching the Five-paragraph Essay
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...show more content...
The formula is comfortable and familiar to them. It becomes imprinted.
Foley contends that in addition to blocking discovery, the Five–Paragraph Essay formula squelches
the student's authenticity. Foley states, "filling the structure with the requisite 500 words, they go
through the motions of writing, but they seldom create something authentically theirs," (232). Foley
knew that students feel much more at liberty to freely express themselves in their personal journals
and in their letters to friends, but take on a different identity for the essay. The students' character,
personality, and convictions are locked away until given the opportunity to free write.
On a more serious level, coherence is undermined while being one of the writer's and reader's most
basic need. "The problem is not that the Five–Paragraph formula produces incoherence but rather
that it limits students to a superficial, predictable level or coherence," (232) states Foley. This
allows for students to throw any three liberally related ideas together for the body of the essays.
Once students fabricate a thesis statement that elucidates for their three ideas, the students feel they
have mastered structure. Foley states, "To be asked merely to enumerate three aspects of any topic
relieves the student of the need to probe relationships... it robs them of any motivation to do so,"
(232). Juxtaposition is not

Into In the article "Unteaching the Five Paragraph Essay", Marie Foley intere that the five paragraph
essay format is blameworthy of high school graduate unpreparedness for college coursework and the
need of remedial classes. Foley stated that "Many college freshman enter composition course
alienated from writing"(P.2) Foley also claim that "teaching the five paragraph formula this harms
student in some fundamental ways....i'll–preparing them for academic and real world writing"(P.3)
This paper is going to analyse Marie foley article by brake down the reason and problem behind the
Five paragraph essay. Summary: In the introduction of Marie Foley's article content that teachers use
the five paragraph essay formula because it has a sample and

How To Write an Essay
The most common essay pattern is five–paragraph essay, beginning with introduction that initiate the
single main idea, three paragraphs that each contains one supporting reason for the main idea and the
conclusion. However, some people still wonder that why they cannot make successful and
fascinating essays. Five–paragraph essay does not guarantee full score in SAT and TOEFLwriting
test. Interesting essay never came from putting words into template such as the five–paragraph
pattern. Writing an essay needs more profound attempts and arts of writer. This essay will be
divided into 4 parts including the meaning of the essay, the structure of the essay, the SOAPS
analysis, the purpose of the writers and tips for writing an essay. Essay,...show more content...
Between body paragraphs, the writer needs to add transition to support a continuity of an essay.
The conclusion, the last part of an essay, can be considered as a water cone that was used to
summarize an excessive amount of ideas given in the body paragraphs and introduction by recap the
thesis and bring the essay to another level. The conclusion should end with the original thought of
the writer that left reader to think about the content of an essay.
Writing an essay, writers need to focus on the main ideas, brainstorm thoughts, look for resources
and distill the content. Furthermore, essay writer has to revise and redact their papers including
strengthen significant examples and ideas. There was a method that helps a writer easily begin
writing an essay called the SOAPS analysis.
The SOAPS analysis is the way that writer analyzing his essay including subject, occasion,
audience, purpose and speaker. So many writers avoid this process because they do not know the
importance of this approach. For instances, my subject is the way to write an essay. I wanted
coming Thai Scholars to read so they are my audiences. As a speaker, I should use the tone
between informal and formal to prevent new writers who are reading my essay bored and my
purpose is to share my knowledge throughout my experiences. Moreover, we should learn main
purposes of essay writers so we can make a pre–understanding of every essay. There are four major
purpose of writing an essay including

The Five Paragraph Essay and My Own Writing Style
The five paragraph essay is tremendously valuable to me as a student. I have realized throughout
my research that this format is seldom used by professionals; it is mostly used by students like
me. I believe I now understand why that is; it seems to be a very clear way of composing a paper.
It has a great deal of structure to it, and allows for more consistency and a better flow. Without
having such structure, it is easy to go off on tangents, and at the same time, confuse the reader. The
five–paragraph essay is essentially a sealant. Just like sealant fastens things together and helps ensure
that things are in order, well–fitted, and secure. So too, the five paragraph essay makes sure that all
of the various writing components fit...show more content...
Once I have identified my main themes, I start to freewrite by linking them all together. My process
of freewriting is similar to the process suggested in the lecture. The concepts in the lecture included
the five–paragraph essay, as well as its inner–component: prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing.
Prewrtitng is basically all of the actions that are taken during the drafting process. This often
involves brainstorming and the collecting of relevant data. It is the first step that was mentioned
and is considered to be a gathering process. My freewriting process primarily consists of
prewriting, although I mostly rely on my own thought process versus using alternative sources. We
learned that drafting is when a person's ideas start forming actual sentences. It is the process of
connecting ideas. This is precisely what I do when I freewrite, but prewriting involves more
supporting of ideas. Although revision was mentioned in the lecture, I tend to incorporate it into
my freewriting without it being a separate process. Revision is basically making the sentences and
the structure more succinct. It involves making the writing as clear as possible for the reader.
Editing was also covered in the lecture. It involves making sure the correct grammar is being used
and that the spelling is correct. I also use this process in freewriting, although much of it comes
automatically as I start typing. As a result of completing this analysis, I realize

Angel Zhang
English 2 HP
Mr. Hodges
12 August 2015
LAW Summer Assignment
Chapter 6
Questions:
1.How does the structure of a middle paragraph differ from the structure of an introductory
paragraph? From that of a concluding paragraph?
a.The introductory and concluding paragraphs lead to or from a point, resulting in "triangular"
formats, whereas the middle paragraphs are points, so they are rectangular shaped.
2.What is the main purpose of paragraphing?
a.The main purpose of paragraphing is to separate ideas, so that they could all be fully developed
without the interference of other ideas.
3.Students of composition are advised to write "big" paragraphs while they are learning. Why?
a.While learning to write, longer paragraphs force the writer to think more, so that they will be able
to cut out the parts that are unnecessary in the future.
4.In what way does the structure of a paragraph resemble the structure of a full essay?
a.The structures of a paragraph and a full essay are similar because they both include a beginning, a
middle, and an end.
5.What is the function of the first sentence in a paragraph?
a.The first sentence in a paragraph is the topic sentence, which tells the reader about what the rest of
the paragraph is about.
6.What is the function of the middle section of a paragraph?
a.The middle section of the paragraph gives details and illustrates what the main point is about.
7.Why does the three–part paragraph structure automatically insure the

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. Marie Foley then brings up a critique by William Coles on

Response Essay
I enjoyed reading "How To Say Nothing in 500 Words" by Paul Roberts. He pointed out many
writing techniques that I use when writing that I need to stop using. As I read through the sample
of a college students essay, I was telling myself that this sounds like something I would write. Not
only did I find a few writing errors that I need to stop using, I also found some things that Roberts
showed that were good techniques to do in writing an essay.
I had never really taken the time to consider what other people in my courses would choose to write
about. Roberts showed me that if I choose to cover the same topic that others cover, my paper would
just blend in with those papers. I need to avoid using the obvious content. If I choose

5 Paragraph Essay Structure

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