Thursday, February 7, 2008

Who Knew the FPT Had an Acronym Too

In anticipation of the debate in class about the five paragraph essay, my position is that I am against teaching it as a required format. It stifles ideas, limits creativity, and emphasizes format over content.

In her article "The Ill Effects of the Five Paragraph Theme," Kimberly Wesley writes, "The result of my analysis of this [student's five paragraph] essay suggests to me that the thesis requirement of three separate but equal points hinders my student's thought process as she writes.... Other student writing samples carry seeds of critical thought that are never allowed to grow" (58). Although some students may find these limiting boundaries comforting when writing otherwise seems like a daunting and overwhelming task, as they progress as writers and thinkers the confines of the five paragraph essay do not allow enough room for a good idea to take root and flourish. In this way, the five paragraph essay is like a fence that keeps kids safe in the backyard. When they are young, this is okay and prevents them from getting injured or lost. As they grow older, though, the fence becomes limiting if it keeps them from seeing other parts of the world.

Ruth Culham tells us that "our job as writing teachers is to give our students many opportunities to try out different kinds of structures so they'll have lots to choose from when they write" (73). Joanne Gillespie describes her experience using a multigenre writing approach with seventh graders: "By giving students an opportunity to respond to A Single Shard through various genres, I hoped they would engage with the text and think deeply about the novel. And that is just what happened" (878). If our job as writing teachers is to give our students the tools to express themselves creatively, then we have to teach our students to be comfortable with many different formats. Creativity is unique and original, and often this necessitates just the right format. Sometimes that format may be the five paragraph essay, but often it is not.

Dornan, Rosen, and Wilson write that "the one, two, three format is so stultifying that writers become more focussed on the form as they write than the content, also removing any reason for caring about or assuming responsibility for the message" (132). This should be the ultimate reason for avoiding the five paragraph essay. If the paper doesn't actually say anything, then really, what is the point of writing?

So while I have made my case against the five paragraph essay, I also see Tracy Novick's point that it can still be done with imagination and skill. If the focus remains on the idea creatively expressed in a manner that is relevant to the audience, then that is my main goal in the end.


As for a resource, I found this little blurb called "Beyond the Five-Paragraph Essay" that lists common issues that come up in writing essays and suggestions for assignments other than the "FPT."

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