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Five Paragraph Essays

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Re: Five Paragraph Essays

#51

Post by dhimes »

overgard wrote: post #39

So here's something I just learned recently: be polarizing. By that, I don't mean be controversial for controversies sake (that's cheap). I mean that good writing has a point, and if you have a strong point people will be polarized by it, and that's actually a good thing. The worst writing I read (especially from myself) is writing that tries to hedge so it doesn't offend people. People SHOULD be offended. That's why…

offended may be the wrong word here. It's better, in general to not offend if you can help it; but it's ok to take a stance that some may find uncomfortable or even may be angry with.

Re: Five Paragraph Essays

#52

Post by mcgwiz »

grellas wrote: post #29

A nice post whose essential point is that you should eschew formulaic methods of writing that force you to fit your thoughts into a rigid format and thus hamper your ability to express them in a way that best suits the subject. Writing style most definitely ought to be customized for its subject and context. Some say to write simply. This can be good. You engage your reader. You use active voice. You limit adverbs. Y…

Thoughtful comment, but I want to point out that your basis is misleading. His essential point goes beyond eschewing formula, to specifically recommending people use a spoken voice style.

The rationale that I infer is that when people sit down to "write", they enter "writing mode". Writing mode is laden with dogmatic baggage. But the ultimate goal is to communicate, not perform ritual. And since people communicate successfully all the time through speech, it makes sense to suggest that when people write, they don't enter writing mode. Instead, enter "speaking mode" and simply transcribe their speech.

Re: Five Paragraph Essays

#53

Post by antiterra »

crazygringo wrote: post #4
antiterra wrote: post #2

It's liberating and exciting when you learn there are tons of established structural patterns more interesting than five paragraph and you're expected to use and modify them. Then you have to relearn the five paragraph essay for the GRE, and it's worse than the first time.

Pointers / links?

The mandatory writing courses at top schools generally have some structures that are forced adversarially on first year students, like the "lens" essay. They're not bad but the students have to shoehorn whatever they're writing into the specified format, regardless of what the writing ends up needing to be.

One of the best ways to really 'get it' is to make outlines of things that are already written, to learn how it flows from one topic to another and back, and if it actually works. You can also reverse outline things you've already written and get a good idea of what's happening or missing and how it could change.

This is a decent resource, if a bit unorganized: http://harvardwritingcenter.wordpress.com/

"Lens essay" is worth a web search, if you're curious.

Re: Five Paragraph Essays

#54

Post by corin_ »

plg wrote: post #43

" I then email the audio file to have it transcribed by a virtual assistant and Booyah! I have my first draft." Q: is there software to transcribe instead of sending it to a virtual assistant (e.g. on the mac?)

There definitely is, though how good it is I have no idea. The last one I used was probably a decade or more ago, I didn't really have a use for it then but playing with it showed potential (since they learn to adapt to your voice it's hard to say how good they are without longer use). And I would assume they've improved considerably since then.

Dragon Dictate is what I tried, and seems to be the biggest name brand in the area now from what I can see (and has a Mac version) - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nuance-Communications-Inc-S601X-W00-...

Whether it works well enough to be useful, or if there are better alternatives than Dragon Dictate, I've no idea.

Re: Five Paragraph Essays

#55

Post by munin »

antiterra wrote: post #2

It's liberating and exciting when you learn there are tons of established structural patterns more interesting than five paragraph and you're expected to use and modify them. Then you have to relearn the five paragraph essay for the GRE, and it's worse than the first time.

the GRE doesn't look for a 5 paragraph essay format, I never use one and I repeatably score above the 95th percentile.

Re: Five Paragraph Essays

#56

Post by gtz60 »

InclinedPlane wrote: post #20

The best thing you can do to become a better writer is learn to edit. Once you've written something, anything, go back through and make it better. Pick apart the parts that seem clumsy and figure out ways to say the same thing. Don't be afraid to completely drop something you've said that you thought was particularly clever if it doesn't fit. Also don't be afraid to just completely rewrite a big chunk of stuff, use w…

I really like this advice. It reminds me of sculpting. Should you start with a block and remove what isn't needed? Or is it better to start with nothing, and slowly build up?

Re: Five Paragraph Essays

#57

Post by RamiK »

MichaelDickens wrote: post #11

The five-paragraph essay isn't structured the way it is because that's a good structure, but because it's easy to write and grade quickly. The AP graders don't have time to read thousands of 5+ page essays with myriad layouts and structures.

Agreed.

Even more so, essays, like the serial novels, are antiquated formats from the time of letter-writing and paper publishing.

At least the Victorian novels gave way to their readership's desires and moved to a more concise format. The essays, annoyingly, remain overly wordy as the academic standards retain their obsoleteness in demanding a set word counts.

Already, the short novels are becoming dominant in the on-line publishing sites. With any lack, the current tide against the printed humanist\scientific publishing houses will bare fruit soon and in a decade or two we will be reading the thesis, facts and analysis rather then the dribble we've become accustomed to.

Present me your thesis in a sentence and a few bullet points: List the facts; Lay the arguments; Tie it all up in a paragraph. I don't want long prosaic discussions or fine poetics.

Re: Five Paragraph Essays

#58

Post by drdeadringer »

overgard wrote: post #39

So here's something I just learned recently: be polarizing. By that, I don't mean be controversial for controversies sake (that's cheap). I mean that good writing has a point, and if you have a strong point people will be polarized by it, and that's actually a good thing. The worst writing I read (especially from myself) is writing that tries to hedge so it doesn't offend people. People SHOULD be offended. That's why…

Might this contribute to the many "Why I XYZ" and "Why I Don't XYZ" blog posts I see?

Re: Five Paragraph Essays

#59

Post by ameister14 »

RamiK wrote: post #57
MichaelDickens wrote: post #11

The five-paragraph essay isn't structured the way it is because that's a good structure, but because it's easy to write and grade quickly. The AP graders don't have time to read thousands of 5+ page essays with myriad layouts and structures.

Agreed. Even more so, essays, like the serial novels, are antiquated formats from the time of letter-writing and paper publishing. At least the Victorian novels gave way to their readership's desires and moved to a more concise format. The essays, annoyingly, remain overly wordy as the academic standards retain their obsoleteness in demanding a set word counts. Already, the short novels are becoming dominant in the o…

I totally disagree as regards length; perhaps it's because I read quickly, but I don't prefer a novella to a novel. Most essays I'm familiar with actually set a limit on word count, not a floor.

Further, I think it's important for a scientist or philosopher to fully and completely elucidate his or her point so that any debate over the subject is based on a complete understanding.

Would you prefer that a study not outline its methodology and full application of said methodology, and instead simplify by just giving you results? How would you reproduce it? Would you just blindly start trusting everything printed?

Re: Five Paragraph Essays

#60

Post by antiterra »

munin wrote: post #55
antiterra wrote: post #2

It's liberating and exciting when you learn there are tons of established structural patterns more interesting than five paragraph and you're expected to use and modify them. Then you have to relearn the five paragraph essay for the GRE, and it's worse than the first time.

the GRE doesn't look for a 5 paragraph essay format, I never use one and I repeatably score above the 95th percentile.

That's good to hear, but all the guides and sample essays I've seen were based on it.
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