Tuesday, July 24, 2007

The 5 paragraph prison

I just got my freedom essay back, and the teach told me that i was trapped to the 5 paragraph format. were you have a flashy intro and a thesis that has 3 examples, then from those 3 examples you make 3 paragraph and the conclusion. I have never escaped this 5 paragraph prison, I found my self to be programed to do this style of writing, because i was always taught that this was the right and only way to do an essay. so i always write this way but this time this writing style made me get a C+. isn't ironic that i was writing a paper on freedom and i found myself writing in such a restraining format. Can you guys tell me how i can escape this writing prison that is the 5 paragraph essay.

6 comments:

ALe said...

I have the same problem Jesus! It's funny how I was given the freedom to write whatever I wanted about freedom but I felt so confined because I was imprisoned in the *5ParagraphEssay*. I have no problem articulating my ideas clearly and getting my point across but my weakness is creative writing. Now I'm stuck here revising my essay....or I should be...but since I can't think of how to escape this form of writing I'm blogging away......

Sean Park said...

jesus. just write an extra paragraph and you'll have 6 paragraphs haha.

vivian said...

hahah i agree with sean. it doesn't always have to be in a five paragraph format. just write until you think you've got what you wanted to say. for this essay i thought that it was better to get all your thoughts down then be refined to just the five paragraph format.

Zack said...

I am guessing that you are getting stuck with a 3 part thesis. It is difficult to escape years of training, but your writing doesn't have to be so formal. Don't be afraid to spend two paragraphs on one idea, or different prespectives. Just think outside the box, meaning: don't just think five is what it takes. Think about what you want to say and keep writing until it all makes sense.

Sherwin said...

Just write as you would talk, maybe.

Alan said...

Be true to your thinking. When someone asks me a question, for example, about 1984, I don't immediately have a thesis with which to answer. It takes a long discussion and lots of examples until I feel comfortable formulating a main point, and every step of the way I'm asking myself "So what?"
One exercise I would recommend is that you open a Word document, turn off your monitor, and start writing as you're thinking stuff. Write as much as you can, then turn monitor on, and edit :)