“The fish trap exists because of the fish. Once you’ve gotten the fish you can forget the trap. The rabbit snare exists because of the rabbit. Once you’ve gotten the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words exist because of meaning. Once you’ve gotten the meaning, you can forget the words.” ~Chuang-tzu
The five-paragraph essay is a formula. It does not necessarily lend itself to creative thinking or an interesting read. It asks the writer to contrive thoughts on a given topic into an artificial container. It has no real purpose after the 8th grade. So what is the purpose of academic writing? I recently read a few short essays written by our younger students. They were mostly uninspiring. I gathered them together and asked, "For whom are you writing this paper?". They answered, for "Mr or Mrs ___________."
Well that is the problem. That purpose is basically uninspiring. We discussed. Don't write it for HIM or for HER... write it for an interested reader! Get interested in your topic. Find out something interesting that no one else knows about your topic. Become the expert. Then tell what you know with excitement! Your audience is not Mr or Mrs ______. It is the world.
So... write like you mean it! ~Carol