But Alex’s professor doesn’t like it. She underlines the very first two sentences, and she writes, “This is just too general. Get to the point.” She underlines the 3rd and sentences that are fourth and she writes, “You’re just restating the question I inquired. What’s your point?” She underlines the sentence that is final and then writes within the margin, “What’s your thesis?” because the past sentence in the paragraph only lists topics essay writer. It does not make an argument.
Is Alex’s professor just a grouch? Well, no—she is wanting to instruct this student that college writing isn’t about following a formula (the model that is five-paragraph, it’s about making a quarrel. Her first sentence is general, the way she learned a essay that is five-paragraph start. But from the professor’s perspective, it is far too general—so general, in fact, so it’s completely not in the assignment: she didn’t ask students to define civil war. The third and fourth sentences say, in a lot of words, “I am comparing and contrasting reasons why the North while the South fought the Civil War”—as the professor says, they simply restate the prompt, without giving an individual hint about where this student’s paper is certainly going. The sentence that is final that ought to make a quarrel, only lists topics; it doesn’t start to explore how or why something happened.
You can guess what Alex will write next if you’ve seen a lot of five-paragraph essays. Her first body paragraph will begin, “We can see a few of the different main reasons why the North and South fought the Civil War by looking at the economy.” What is going to the professor say about this? She might ask, “What differences can we come across? What area of the economy are you talking about? Why do the distinctions exist? Exactly why are they important?” After three such body paragraphs, the student might write a conclusion that says much exactly the same thing as her introduction, in slightly different words. Alex’s professor might already respond, “You’ve said this!”
What could Alex do differently? Let’s start over. This time around, Alex doesn’t begin with a notion that is preconceived of to arrange her essay. In the place of three “points,that she will brainstorm until she comes up with a main argument, or thesis, that answers the question “Why did the North and South fight the Civil War?” Then she will decide how to organize her draft by thinking about the argument’s parts and how they fit together” she decides.
After doing some brainstorming and reading the Writing Center’s handout on thesis statements, Alex thinks of a argument that is main or thesis statement:
- Both Northerners and Southerners believed they fought against tyranny and oppression, but Northerners centered on the oppression of slaves while Southerners defended their rights to property and self-government.
Then Alex writes her introduction. But rather of starting with a statement that is general civil wars, she gives us the ideas we need to know in order to understand all of the parts of her argument:
- The United States broke away from England in response to British tyranny and oppression, so opposition to tyranny and a belief in individual freedom and liberty were important values when you look at the young republic. But in the nineteenth century, slavery made Northerners and Southerners see these values in very different ways. By 1860, the conflict of these values broke out into a civil war that nearly tore the united states apart. For the reason that war, both Northerners and Southerners believed they fought against tyranny and oppression, but Northerners centered on the oppression of slaves while Southerners defended their rights to property and self-government.
Every sentence in Alex’s introduction that is new the reader down the path to her thesis statement in an unbroken chain of ideas.
Now Alex turns to organization. You’ll find more about the thinking process she goes through within our handout on organization, but here you will find the basics: first, she decides, she’ll write a paragraph that gives background; she’ll explain how opposition to tyranny and a belief in individual liberty had become such important values in the United States. Then she’ll write another background paragraph by which she shows how the conflict over slavery developed with time. Then she’ll have separate paragraphs about Northerners and Southerners, explaining in detail—and giving evidence for—her claims about each group’s known reasons for going to war.
Keep in mind that Alex now has four body paragraphs. She might have had three or two or seven; what’s important is that she allowed her argument to tell her just how many paragraphs she must have and how to match them together. Furthermore, her body paragraphs don’t all“points that are discuss” like “the economy” and “politics”—two of them give background, therefore the other two explain Northerners’ and Southerners’ views in detail.
Finally, having followed her sketch outline and written her paper, Alex turns to writing a conclusion. From our handout on conclusions, she understands that a “that’s my story and I’m adhering to it” conclusion does not forward move her ideas. Using the strategies she finds within the handout, she decides that she can use her conclusion to describe why the paper she’s just written really matters—perhaps by pointing out that the fissures in our society that the Civil War opened are, most of the time, still causing trouble today.
Can it be ever OK to create a five-paragraph essay?
Yes. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where somebody expects one to seem sensible of a body that is large of at that moment and write a well-organized, persuasive essay—in fifty minutes or less? Seems like an essay exam situation, right? When time is short additionally the pressure is on, falling back regarding the good old fashioned five-paragraph essay can help you save time and give you confidence. A five-paragraph essay may additionally work as the framework for a short speech. Do not end up in the trap, however, of creating a” that is“listing statement when your instructor expects a quarrel; when making plans for your body paragraphs, think of three aspects of a disagreement, in place of three “points” to discuss. On the other side hand, most professors recognize the constraints of writing blue-book essays, and a “listing” thesis is probably much better than no thesis at all.
Works consulted
We consulted these works while writing the original version of this handout. This is not a comprehensive listing of resources in the handout’s topic, and then we encourage one to do your own personal research to obtain the latest publications on this topic. Please don’t use this list as a model for the format of your personal reference list, as it can not match the citation style you might be using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial. We revise these guidelines periodically and welcome feedback.
