It's probably no surprise that I love the 5 paragraph rebellion. As bold as it is, I think Wesley's bonsai metaphor (along with her entire article) makes such an important point: we who have become complacent are the ones stunting our students' growth, limiting their potential. I've always wondered why the 5 paragraph essay holds such a place of esteem in English departments. Why not something better? Why not more?
It's important to note, though, before we get carried away and react like Novick does (who for some reason thinks that Wesley and the other authors in the English Journal that month wanted to do away with all scholarly writing and have students play all day)--rebelling against the 5 paragraph essay doesn't mean rebellion against form and structure. But how can we expect students to be critical learners and thinkers when we ask the content of their essays to conform to numbers, outlines, prescribed rules? Shouldn't, as Dornan talks about in Within and Beyond the Writing Process, the content of the essay shape its form? Yes, intro, body, and conclusion are important, but for their rhetorical possibilities, not because of the organizational function they fulfill.
Wesley says that "the rigidity of the five paragraph theme actually dissuades students from practicing the rhetorical analysis necessary for them to become critical thinkers" (58). I completely agree, and experienced this today during my observations at South: as students worked on peer-editing their essays on Beloved, I overheard a boy complaining about his conclusion paragraph. He was frustrated because the point he wanted to end with he'd already said in the intro and one other place, but thought the "rules" mandated he restate it again at the end. He said something about wanting to do something different with his ending, but knew he "wouldn't get the points." Aside from the fact that he probably shouldn't just restate the same point three times anyway, and that Corinth (my cooperating teacher) doesn't prescribe a number of paragraphs or a rigid form, the idea that this student really thought he was being graded more on form than content made me both angry and sad. It's the system--he's probably been taught that way most of his life. There are better ways to write, and to teach.
As much as I enjoyed reading Romano's book on multigenre writing, and hope to experiment with it someday in my own teaching, I think we need to be careful not to see these two forms (5 paragraph essay and multigenre creation) as a dichotomy, the only two answers to a complicated question. As Wesley says, every writing assignment poses a unique rhetorical problem. I love the idea of cracking open the essay, exposing students to all the wonderful literature that has been and is being written. What about Wendell Berry? Annie Dillard? David Foster Wallace? Anne Fadiman (she wrote a whole essay on ice cream!)? David Sedaris? V.S. Naipaul? Hundreds more? All unique in their own styles, but all write the essay.
LINK
www.mcsweeneys.net
A fantastic lit mag, online for your own enjoyment as well as use in the class (essays too). On the front page right now: "Rod Blagojevich Writes 25 Things About Himself on Facebook."
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I love your comparisons at the end to other essay writers! What a great way to show students the diversity of essay writing. I completely agree with your points too. Although I argue that having a lot of structure like the five paragraph essay may help students with the daunting process of writing. I don't think there needs to be as many rules as the five paragraph essay, but something with form and structure to aid students in the beginning development of their writing. I also think we new teachers need to consider and come to terms with the fact that there are many teachers out there who may have taught our students the five paragraph essay and only the five paragraph essay. We need to find ways to work with this ugly truth and help students see beyond. I don't necessarily agree with the teaching of the five paragraph essay, but I feel it is something we will all have to deal with.
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