RE: Big Yes for Formulaic Writing

[Richard Long <rlong@daemen.edu>]

All this talk about the 5-paragraph essay is rather unusual for me. First
because, from my experience, it seems that most students coming to college
from high school are already familiar with the model. It's a kind of
writing that they are comfortable with, and much of my commentary on their
writing focuses on how to break away from that model, simply often by
taking any paragraph in the body and splitting it into two or more, and
then further developing each one. Students say, "I can't do that." I say,
"You can." And second because I believe there is a value in teaching
structure like the 5-paragraph essay. For one, it can be a starting point.
Students can first write the model, then break it down into more
paragraphs. Also, there are in fact audiences, other than some teachers,
who expect a clean, concise structure. And third, there are times when
writing must be quick, when there isn't time to explore the most creative
structure, when writing must be utilitarian. It seems that much of this
5-paragraph discussion assumes that all writing must somehow be creative
(in the fine arts sense) and original. That is simply not the case.
Finally, this discussion is unusual because I think the problem is
exaggerated. I don't teach at an especially enlightened school. The English
Department here is mostly literature faculty, with little knowledge of
contemporary writing theory or pedagogy, but I know of no one who insists
that all writing be the 5-paragraph essay. I'd even venture that the
faculty would say most students are quiet good at structuring content,
albeit lacking, into five paragraphs. Most of the faculty here focuses on
content. If there be a problem, it's that too often they're overly
concerned with grammar.

Richard Long
Daemen College