But Alex’s professor doesn’t like it. She underlines the first two sentences, and she writes, “This is simply too general. Arrive at the true point.” She underlines the next and fourth sentences, 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 when you look at the margin, “What’s your thesis?” because the very last sentence into the paragraph only lists topics. It doesn’t make a disagreement.
Is Alex’s professor just a grouch? Well, no—she is trying to show this student that college writing isn’t about following a formula (the model that is five-paragraph, it’s about making a disagreement. Her first sentence is general, just how she learned a five-paragraph essay should start. But through the professor’s perspective, it is way too general—so general, in fact, that it’s completely not in the assignment: she didn’t ask students to define civil war. The third and fourth sentences say, in so many words, they just restate the prompt, without giving a single hint about where this student’s paper is going“ I am comparing and contrasting the reasons why the North and the South fought the Civil War”—as the professor says. The sentence that is final which should make a quarrel, only lists topics; it does not start to explore how or why something happened.
If you’ve seen lots of five-paragraph essays, it is possible to you know what Alex will write next. Her body that is first paragraph begin, “We can see a few of the different factors why the North and South fought the Civil War by looking at the economy.” Exactly what will the professor say about this? She might ask, “What differences can we see? What an element of the economy have you been speaking about? Why do the differences exist? What makes they important?” The student might write a conclusion that says much the same thing as her introduction, in slightly different words after three such body paragraphs. Alex’s professor might respond, “You’ve already said this!”
What could Alex do differently? Let’s start over. This time around, Alex does not start out with a notion that is preconceived of to arrange her essay. In 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 a bit of brainstorming and reading the Writing Center’s handout on thesis statements, Alex thinks about a main argument, or thesis statement:
- Both Northerners and Southerners believed they fought against oppression and tyranny, but Northerners focused on the oppression of slaves while Southerners defended their rights to property and self-government.
Then Alex writes her introduction. But instead of you start with a general statement about civil wars, she gives us the ideas we have to know in order to understand most of the parts of her argument:
- The usa broke far from England in response to British tyranny and oppression, so opposition to tyranny and a belief in individual freedom and liberty were important values within the republic that is young. However in the nineteenth century, slavery made Northerners and Southerners see these values in completely different ways. By 1860, the conflict during these values broke out into a civil war that nearly tore the nation apart. Both Northerners and Southerners believed they fought against tyranny and oppression, but Northerners focused on the oppression of slaves while Southerners defended their rights to property and self-government in that war.
Every sentence in Alex’s new introduction leads your reader down the road 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 inside 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 came into existence such values that are important the usa. 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 evidence that is giving claims about each group’s reasons for going to war.
Note that Alex now has four body paragraphs. She could have had three or two or seven; what’s important is that she allowed her argument to tell her exactly how many paragraphs she should have and just how to fit them together. Furthermore, her body paragraphs don’t all discuss “points,” like “the economy” and “politics”—two of them give background, in addition to other two explain Northerners’ and Southerners’ views in more detail.
Finally, having followed her sketch outline and written her paper, Alex turns to writing a conclusion. From our handout on conclusions, she knows that a “that’s my story and I’m sticking to it” conclusion does not move her ideas forward. Applying the strategies she finds into 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, quite often, still causing trouble today.
Could it be ever OK to write a essay that is five-paragraph?
Yes. Have you ever found yourself in times where somebody expects one to add up of a large body of information at that moment and write a well-organized, persuasive essay—in fifty minutes or less? Appears like an essay exam situation, right? When time is short and the pressure is on, falling back from the trusted old fashioned essay that is five-paragraph help save you some time offer you confidence. A five-paragraph essay might also work as the framework for a speech that is short. Do not fall under the trap, however, of creating a “listing” https://edubirdies.org/buy-essay-online/ thesis statement when your instructor expects a disagreement; when making plans for your body paragraphs, think about three components of a quarrel, in place of three “points” to go over. On the other side hand, most professors recognize the constraints of writing blue-book essays, and a “listing” thesis is probably a lot better than no thesis after all.
Works consulted
We consulted these works while writing the original type of this handout. This is simply not a list that is comprehensive of regarding the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to obtain the latest publications about this topic. Please don’t use this list as a model for the format of your reference list, as it might not match the citation style you may be using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial. We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.