Boolean Squared by Kevin Hodgson
So I’ve decided to declare war upon the 5 paragraph essay–which is perhaps bad timing, given the fact that I’m about to head out to a school where some 7/8 teachers are doing teacher moderation of 5 paragraph essays. Nonetheless, war has been declared and alliances have been formed and well, it’s just hard to stop that ball once it gets rolling. Just ask that poor Serbian nationalist who assassinated the Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand.
Why have I decided this call to arms is necessary? Please read the following manifesto:
Like a virus, the five-paragraph essay infects almost every student, starting as young as grade 4 with some students and continuing each subsequent year until grade 12, and then if the student has survived the virus, sometimes college and university.
Why do we hold this writing form aloft as the pinnacle of academic achievement?
It’s formulaic, repetitive, restrictive, and forces students to purport themselves as experts on a topic they can hardly be experts on.
It doesn’t allow for creativity, questioning, divergent thinking, or personal voice (“Never use ‘I’ in an essay!!”). Is that really the kind of thinking we want to encourage among our students who will be one day venturing out into a future we can’t even begin to imagine?
I am all for encouraging students to explore ideas and support those ideas with evidence, but why oh why does that have to be done in an essay? Or at least this kind of essay.
Because it’s in the curriculum expectations you say?
Where? Show me. I dare you.
The essay does not appear as an example in the Ontario language curriculum document until grade 9 Academic English. And even then, it doesn’t say “By the end of this course all students will write an essay.” It says “By the end of this course students will identify the topic, purpose, and audience for several different types of writing tasks (e.g., … an expository essay explaining a character’s development in a short story or novel for the teacher)” That doesn’t actually say that the student needs to write the essay, just identify the topic, purpose, and audience for the essay.
Some may argue that the essay should still be taught because it is an important skill that they will need in later grades or in college or university. I’d argue that essay writing itself is not a skill. Critical thinking? Paragraph construction? Supporting ideas with proof? Elaborating? Brainstorming? Making connections? Yes. All skills. And they are all necessary to write a cohesive essay. I argue that these are the things we should focus on. Not the essay. These skills are all necessary for a variety of types of writing.
So, comrades, please take up the banner and join me in my fight to find more engaging and creative writing tasks for our students. Do not submit to the facist authority of the almighty essay.
And while you’re at it, here’s some supplemental reading:
Three reasons why the five-paragraph theme is a bad thing
Alternatives to the Five-Paragraph Essay
I am with you, although I do see some merits in the essay style, the fact that it has completely taken over some classrooms has me baffled. I love the idea of a multigenre essay project (or portfolio) where students express thoughts about an idea through writing, podcasting, video, etc. Creative writing then has an opening into the way we learn and express our learning. But the one-style-fits-all for understanding has never sat right with me.
Kevin
Yes. I probably should have clarified that my war isn’t on the essay so much as the fact that we’ve somehow decided it’s the MOST important type of writing students do. Thanks for letting me use your comic!
I was actually struggling with something similar myself. I teach the OLC course in our school and have been thinking about why it’s necessary for our students to write information and summary paragraphs. Are all of these styles of writing really that important to our students’ futures? I can see that the essay is important for post secondary, but is it really the ‘pinnacle’ of good writing? In my humble opinion, I think it’s over-rated.
A very thought-provoking post! Thanks for raising the issue