Beyond the Five Paragraph Essay

Introduction to the University Essay

Like many undergraduate students, you are probably aware that university essays should be “different” from high-school essays. However, you may be unclear on what this difference ought to consist of. What, for instance, distinguishes the standard high-school approach to essay-writing, the five paragraph approach, from a university-level approach to essay-writing? This module will guide you through the process of moving beyond the five paragraph essay. | |The Five Paragraph Essay The five-paragraph approach has two major limitations. First, the approach produces extremely simple essays. Second, the approach is very formulaic.

The five-paragraph structure can only articulate a very simple form of argument, involving a major claim and three supporting claims. In order to avoid being limited to this argument-form, the student requires the ability to build the structure of an essay around her own ideas. This ability requires an understanding of how the essay works, not knowledge of an essay-writing formula (like the five-paragraph essay).

The Essay An essay is a written defense of a position (a thesis) on a topic. A good essay-topic will motivate a line of inquiry that is manageable for the essay-writer. To this end, it is extremely important to ensure that the topic is adequately narrow.

A thesis is the concluding point of the line of inquiry motivated by the topic. Thus, a thesis is not a restatement of a topic. The thesis of your essay should be framed in relation to your topic. It is your opinion or argument on your topic

The topic asks a question; the thesis answers the question according to the writer's opinion, based on his or her research. The essay is organized to explore the question and support your answer or opinion.

Organizing the Essay If and when you were taught to write a five paragraph essay, you were taught to have three body paragraphs. A university essay is more flexible than that, depending on...