{"id":504,"date":"2017-07-20T18:18:19","date_gmt":"2017-07-20T18:18:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/olemiss-writing100\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=504"},"modified":"2025-06-09T23:21:48","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T23:21:48","slug":"why-it-matters-beyond-the-five-paragraph-essay","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/olemiss-writing100\/chapter\/why-it-matters-beyond-the-five-paragraph-essay\/","title":{"raw":"Why It Matters: Beyond the Five-Paragraph Essay","rendered":"Why It Matters: Beyond the Five-Paragraph Essay"},"content":{"raw":"<img class=\"aligncenter wp-image-542\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2097\/2017\/07\/26202619\/35474169820_64297afa81_k-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of hiker on dramatic sand dune ridges.\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" \/>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nCollege writing is different from high school writing. College professors view you as independent junior scholars and imagine you writing with a genuine, driving interest in tackling a complex question. They envision you approaching an assignment without a pre-existing thesis. They expect you to look deep into the evidence, consider several alternative explanations, and work out an original, insightful argument that you actually care about. This kind of scholarly approach usually entails writing a rough draft, through which you work out an ambitious thesis and the scope of your argument, and then starting over with a wholly rewritten second draft containing a more complete argument anchored by a refined thesis.\u00a0 In that second draft, you\u2019ll discover holes in the argument that should be remedied, counterarguments that should be acknowledged and addressed, and important implications that should be noted. That means further reading and research, more revision, and more drafting. When the paper is substantially complete, you\u2019ll go through it again to tighten up the writing and ensure clarity, cohesion, and coherence.\r\n\r\nWriting a paper isn\u2019t about getting the \u201cright answer\u201d and adhering to basic conventions; it\u2019s about joining an academic conversation with something original to say, borne of rigorous thought. That\u2019s why, as a college writer, you\u2019ll need to move beyond the five-paragraph essay. In this learning module, you\u2019ll discover how simplistic forms like the five paragraph essay lack depth and should be remedied.\u00a0\u00a0When you write organically you (1) diversify your language choices, (2) use a unique style, and (3) craft ideas using an organizational strategy that is coherent, yet not pretentious or expected\/dully anticipated.","rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-542\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2097\/2017\/07\/26202619\/35474169820_64297afa81_k-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of hiker on dramatic sand dune ridges.\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>College writing is different from high school writing. College professors view you as independent junior scholars and imagine you writing with a genuine, driving interest in tackling a complex question. They envision you approaching an assignment without a pre-existing thesis. They expect you to look deep into the evidence, consider several alternative explanations, and work out an original, insightful argument that you actually care about. This kind of scholarly approach usually entails writing a rough draft, through which you work out an ambitious thesis and the scope of your argument, and then starting over with a wholly rewritten second draft containing a more complete argument anchored by a refined thesis.\u00a0 In that second draft, you\u2019ll discover holes in the argument that should be remedied, counterarguments that should be acknowledged and addressed, and important implications that should be noted. That means further reading and research, more revision, and more drafting. When the paper is substantially complete, you\u2019ll go through it again to tighten up the writing and ensure clarity, cohesion, and coherence.<\/p>\n<p>Writing a paper isn\u2019t about getting the \u201cright answer\u201d and adhering to basic conventions; it\u2019s about joining an academic conversation with something original to say, borne of rigorous thought. That\u2019s why, as a college writer, you\u2019ll need to move beyond the five-paragraph essay. In this learning module, you\u2019ll discover how simplistic forms like the five paragraph essay lack depth and should be remedied.\u00a0\u00a0When you write organically you (1) diversify your language choices, (2) use a unique style, and (3) craft ideas using an organizational strategy that is coherent, yet not pretentious or expected\/dully anticipated.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-504\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Why It Matters: Writing Process. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Really? Writing? Again?. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Amy Guptill. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: The College at Brockport, SUNY. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/textbooks.opensuny.org\/writing-in-college-from-competence-to-excellence\/\">http:\/\/textbooks.opensuny.org\/writing-in-college-from-competence-to-excellence\/<\/a>. <strong>Project<\/strong>: Writing in College: From Competence to Excellence. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Hiker on Dune Ridges at Sunset. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/greatsanddunesnpp\/35474169820\/\">https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/greatsanddunesnpp\/35474169820\/<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":15005,"menu_order":1,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Why It Matters: Writing Process\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-nc-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Really? 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