May 28

For writing into the day, we responded to the weekend's reading.  Then, we talked about the structure of the five paragraph essay and wrote it on the board:

Introduction 

• Attention grabber
• Something to think about
• Thesis

Body Paragraph 1 

• Topic sentence
• Supporting evidence
• Transition

Body Paragraph 2 

• Topic sentence
• Supporting evidence
• Transition

Body Paragraph 3 

• Topic sentence
• Supporting evidence
• Transition

Conclusion (Restate introduction)

• Restate body paragraphs/thesis
• Cunning last sentence

In small groups, we discussed the questions on slide 28 of the PowerPoint.  In whole group, we had the following discussion:

• Teachers like it because it’s easy to grade.
• They had to teach us something or students would write really badly.
• It’s basic and convenient.  It’s boiled down enough so you can’t screw it up.
• I used five paragraphs to make sure it wasn’t too short.
• It’s constructive if you have a time limit like on the SAT.  You can fill up just two sides of a paper with it.
• You don’t have to read the whole essay with the structure.  You can skip things and still know what the essay is about.
• The structure is helpful in debate.  You don’t waste time.  Your argument, your support and why you said it.
• Everyone can understand the structure. 
• But you restate the thesis three times.  Why do I have to do it again?
• It’s effective in school and in standardized tests.
• Teachers said that you would have to write in the five-paragraph essay.  They lied.  You write different structures based on what you’re writing.
• Professors don’t prefer the five-paragraph structure in college.
• It can be ineffective for your education because you aren’t taught how to write a different way.  You are taught how to regurgitate.

• If I don’t do a five-paragraph essay, I do it chronologically.
• If I have a lot to talk about, it’ll be more than five paragraphs.
• I don’t count the conclusion or introduction as one of the paragraphs.
• As long as you’re doing it in a certain form or fashion, does it matter how it’s structure?
• There is a format.  But how many words is going to change.  It’s a template.
• I think it takes however many paragraphs it takes.  However, I don’t see the point in a minimum because you might be able to say it in fewer paragraphs.
• When you’re drafting, you might write 3000 words, but only keep 20.
• You can write your drafts however you want, and then you can change it up.
• If you were writing a story, you don’t use the structure of a five-paragraph essay.

Then, we played two games to think more about discussion.  We talked about how you need to look at and listen to people and connect to what previous people have said.  We also talked about how being a passive participant (not saying anything at all) means you aren’t involved in the conversation and will affect your participation grade.

We completed independent writing about the questions on slide 29 of the PowerPoint.  We concluded with the following discussion:

• I start writing and organize after I write for a while.  It’s like a puzzle.  I take the puzzle pieces and put them together.
• A new paragraph should start when a new thought starts.  It should flow nicely from one paragraph to the next.
• I go with a typical five paragraph essay.
• After I make a topic, I just start writing.  I pick three topics for the five-paragraph essay.  I write the subtopics first and then do the introduction and conclusion.
• I don’t like restating the thesis.  If you read my essay, why should I restate it?
• I structure it in a way that makes sense.
• I like restating it so I don’t have to come up with more stuff.
• Each paper is organized differently.
• It depends on what it’s about.  It might be chronological or something else that makes sense.
• I start a new paragraph after about 100 words.
• I move to the next paragraph when I’ve stated my point.  Why am I going to limit myself to 12 sentences if I haven’t stated my point?
• You want to move on before you get redundant.
• Can you use part of a narrative in an academic essay?
• You can start a new paragraph when you have a good transition.
• You can start a new paragraph when you make your point in a paragraph.
• When I make a point, they should think about one thing.  When I make the next point, they should think about something different.

To think about what information should go in a paragraph, we came up with a hypothetical paper.  We said that we need to write a paper about two students taking two subjects.  For each student, we needed to explain what his/her strengths and struggles were in each subject.  We talked through what information should go in the first body paragraph and why.

Homework:

The following readings can be found in Models for Writers:

• Read "Simplicity" on pages 176-179.
• Read "Map Your Organization" on pages 17-18.
• Read "Thesis" on pages 81-83.

*Note: The homework is different than what is listed in the daily syllabus.  I changed the homework based on what we accomplished in class.