Re: No, Yes, and But for Formulaic Writing

[Wendy Smith <wesmith@ucsd.edu>]

Jeanne wrote,
>My point with all this rambling about music, poems, and essays is that we
>need always to be careful of setting things up as an either/or polarity.
>We don't need to say 5-paragraph themes are good or bad. We need to say,
>what can they teach?  Where do they fit into the scheme of things?  What
>other forms might also be taught?  How do we teach the idea of form? How
>can we encourage students to come to the question: what form would work
>best here?  And sometimes, the answer might very well be, a five-paragraph
>theme would work best.
>
Jeanne,
I like what you wrote.  And I agree.  When does everyone think a 5P would
work  best?
Wendy