Essay Writer / / Breaking free of the 5 Paragraph Essay in College Writing
The middle and high school essay writing doesn’t allow freedom to the writers. The rigid essay structure doesn’t allow any flexibility and the students churn up the same kind of essays again and again. Every essay has the same set of paragraphs, the same subparts, and the same logical flow. This factory-like essay process rewarded an essay writer who stuck to the said essay format, going mechanically from the general to the specific in each of the three body paragraphs.
When these students get into higher education they finally have the freedom to break free of the rigidity and the freedom to morph the structure according to their writing, not the other way around.
What is the 5-paragraph essay?
The five-paragraph structure in the essay defines the 5 paragraph essay. It has the following structure:
- Introduction: Introduces the subject matter and works its way to the thesis statement, which presents your intentions and gives a road map.
- Main Body: The main body follows the thesis road map and separates the essay into three specific main points/ideas/arguments.
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- Body paragraph 1
- Body Paragraph 2
- Body Paragraph 3
Each body paragraph, in turn, has various subparts that include the topic sentence. It introduces the point that will be discussed and evidence followed by analysis (depending on the type of essay).
- Conclusion: The conclusion of the essay will do no more than reiterate the main points of the essay in light of the thesis.
Why teach the 5-paragraph essay?
Students writing the five-paragraph essay get familiar with the main components of the essay that can be found in various higher academic essays. This predetermined structure allows the readers to concentrate on presenting the evidence and the analysis, without fretting about getting the structure wrong. In order to dabble with the essay structure you have to understand the basics first, and this type of essay allows you to master them. Such that, by the time they enter college the students have their basics down and with a bit of guidance can shape their writing comfortably to a given essay task.
How to Break Free of the 5 paragraph Structure
When you write for college essays you must break free of the rigidity and find your own style. To break free of the structure you will have to present your ideas and components with freedom.
Breaking free of the conventional style means you don’t write your essays robotically, presenting components framed in general information and lines. Instead, you get straight to the point and address the essay prompt.
It’s not necessary for the introduction to give you the background information. Sometimes the essaywriter, write topics that are complex and in order to acquaint the reader with your thesis, you explain the various concepts and information about the topic. This information can take different paragraphs with varying lengths.
The thesis statement shouldn’t come at the end of the introduction but should be addressed as early as possible. You must refrain from narrowing down the subject matter to various specific subtopics that you will discuss separately in the paragraphs.
The body paragraphs don’t have to tackle one point per paragraph, as it is not convenient to a higher level of arguments and analysis. In fact, the body the reader shouldn’t feel the shift from the introduction to the body paragraph, such should be the flow.
College academic writing focuses on critical reasoning and thinking, and a one-point per paragraph hinders advanced tasks of synthesizing and providing analysis. You should, therefore, make paragraphs discussing more than one point if needed.
The conclusion should be a strong final word that emphasizes the importance of the discourse on the topic and how you see the subject develop/change in the future. Rather than a reiteration of the main points.
Useful Resources:
Exposition Forming Graph in 9 Direct Advances
The most effective method to Compose Expositions on Subjects of Reasoning