as it is the easiest form to assess, it is now the monolith at the center of the English classroom.
This quote exemplifies the danger of the five paragraph essay. It is not commonplace because it demonstrates strong writing, but because it creates an easy, comparable 'cookie-cutter' sample of writing. It does not allow room for creativity or diversity in writing, and causes students to lose interest in writing.
the writing of a 5-paragraph essay is primarily approached from a tactical angle
Approaching the five paragraph essay from a tactical angle causes loss of the joy and value of writing. We have changed writing to become a formulaic activity that teaches students there is one "right" way of writing, and student voices are lost.
practice different ways of gathering, investigating, developing, and presenting information;
I love the idea of incorporating openness into the classroom. Students are often scared of trying new ways of writing or presenting information.
electronic technologies.
The possibilities for students to go beyond pen and paper essays are a great way to encourage students who traditionally do not like writing. Students may feel more comfortable make a podcast or video essay which still works on strengthening their writer's voice and other aspects of writing.
Writing processes are not linear.
I love this line. The idea that a writing process is imperfect and looks different for everyone is one that needs to be brought into the classroom more often to encourage writers.
recognize that conventions (such as formal and informal rules of content, organization, style, evidence, citation, mechanics, usage, register, and dialect) are dependent on discipline and context
When we only focus on small things like grammar rules and conventional classroom English, students' voices can get lost and they can get discouraged from writing.
use methods that are new to them to investigate questions, topics, and ideas
Creativity should be integrated into the classroom more, as it challenges students. This requires having students break the traditional formats and molds that becomes so ingrained in them, like five paragraph essays, and allows them to become more effective writers.
revising, and editing
Our school systems inadvertently teach students to fear making mistakes and being wrong. Because of this, we need to do a better job to emphasize that revising and editing writing is encouraged, and writing is not going to be perfect the first, second or even third time.
Nearly one third of highschool graduates arenot ready for college-levelEnglish composition courses
What does it say about our school systems that we prepare students to pass the tests, graduate high school, and get into college, but they still are not prepared for a college level English course? Where are our priorities?
t is obvious that if today’s youngsters cannotread with understanding, think about and analyze what they’ve read, and then write clearly and effectively about what they’ve learned and what they think, then they may never be able to do justiceto their talents and their potential
As educators, particularly in the English field, we have to think about the broader context of what we are teaching our students. We are not only preparing our students to be better writers, but to be better citizens and better prepare them to think critically and communicate effectively. It is interesting to think about how this perspective can change our approaches to teaching writing.