{"id":508,"date":"2017-07-20T18:21:07","date_gmt":"2017-07-20T18:21:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/olemiss-writing100\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=508"},"modified":"2020-10-16T23:33:33","modified_gmt":"2020-10-16T23:33:33","slug":"formulaic-vs-organic-structure","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab\/chapter\/formulaic-vs-organic-structure\/","title":{"raw":"Formulaic vs. Organic Structure","rendered":"Formulaic vs. Organic Structure"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Learning Objective<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Differentiate between formulaic and organic structure<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<img class=\"aligncenter wp-image-548\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2097\/2017\/07\/26225450\/6425182999_26fb70eab1_o-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"decorative image\" width=\"600\" height=\"399\" \/>\r\n\r\nIn high school, the SAT and other standardized testing formats value a very rigid, formulaic approach to essay writing. Some students who have mastered that form, and enjoyed a lot of success from doing so, assume that college writing is simply more of the same. The skills involved in a very basic kind of essay\u2014often called the five-paragraph theme\u2014are indispensable. If you\u2019re good at the five-paragraph theme, then you\u2019re good at identifying a clear and consistent thesis, arranging cohesive paragraphs, organizing evidence for key points, and situating an argument within a broader context through the introduction and conclusion.\r\n\r\nIn college you need to build on and move beyond those essential skills. The five-paragraph theme, as such, is bland and formulaic; it doesn\u2019t compel deep thinking. Your college professors are looking for a more ambitious and arguable thesis, a nuanced and compelling argument, and real-life evidence for all key points, all in an organically structured paper.\r\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\r\n<h3>Five Paragraph Essay vs. organic essay<\/h3>\r\nCompare the five paragraph model on the left with the organic model on the right.\r\n\r\nFigure 3.1 on the left shows the five-paragraph essay model.\r\n\r\nFigure 3.2 on the right shows the organic essay model.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"wp-image-881 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2483\/2017\/07\/25225034\/five_paragraph_vs_organic-1024x525.png\" alt=\"Figure 3.1 on the left shows the five-paragraph essay model. Figure 3.2 on the right shows the organic essay model.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"525\" \/>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nFigures 3.1 and 3.2 contrast the standard five-paragraph theme and the organic college paper. The five-paragraph theme, outlined in Figure 3.1, is probably what you\u2019re used to: the introductory paragraph starts broadly and gradually narrows to a thesis, which readers expect to find at the very end of that paragraph.\r\n\r\nIn this idealized format, the thesis invokes the magic number of three: three reasons why a statement is true. Each of those reasons is explained and justified in the three body paragraphs, and then the final paragraph restates the thesis before gradually getting broader. This format is easy for readers to follow, and it helps writers organize their points and the evidence that goes with them. That\u2019s why you learned it.\r\n\r\nFigure 3.2, in contrast, represents a paper on the same topic that has the more organic form expected in college. The first key difference is the thesis. Rather than simply positing a number of reasons to think that something is true, it puts forward an arguable statement: one with which a reasonable person might disagree. An arguable thesis gives the paper purpose. It surprises readers and draws them in. You hope your reader thinks, <em>Huh. Why would the author come to that conclusion?<\/em> and then feels compelled to read on. The body paragraphs, then, build on one another to carry out this ambitious argument. In the classic five-paragraph theme (Figure 3.1) it hardly matters which of the three reasons you explain first or second.\r\n\r\nIn the more organic structure (Figure 3.2), each paragraph specifically leads to the next. The last key difference is seen in the conclusion. Because the organic essay is driven by an ambitious, non-obvious argument, the reader comes to the concluding section thinking, <em>OK, I\u2019m convinced by the argument. What do you, author, make of it? Why does it matter?<\/em> The conclusion of an organically structured paper has a real job to do. It doesn\u2019t just reiterate the thesis; it explains why the thesis matters.\r\n\r\nThe substantial time you spent mastering the five-paragraph form was time well spent; it\u2019s hard to imagine anyone succeeding with the more organic form without the organizational skills and habits of mind inherent in the simpler form. But if you assume that you must adhere rigidly to the simpler form, you\u2019re blunting your intellectual ambition. Your professors will not be impressed by obvious theses, loosely related body paragraphs, and repetitive conclusions. They want you to undertake an ambitious, independent analysis, one that will yield a thesis that is somewhat surprising and challenging to explain.\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>practice<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assessments.lumenlearning.com\/assessments\/5603\r\n\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning Objective<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Differentiate between formulaic and organic structure<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-548\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2097\/2017\/07\/26225450\/6425182999_26fb70eab1_o-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"decorative image\" width=\"600\" height=\"399\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In high school, the SAT and other standardized testing formats value a very rigid, formulaic approach to essay writing. Some students who have mastered that form, and enjoyed a lot of success from doing so, assume that college writing is simply more of the same. The skills involved in a very basic kind of essay\u2014often called the five-paragraph theme\u2014are indispensable. If you\u2019re good at the five-paragraph theme, then you\u2019re good at identifying a clear and consistent thesis, arranging cohesive paragraphs, organizing evidence for key points, and situating an argument within a broader context through the introduction and conclusion.<\/p>\n<p>In college you need to build on and move beyond those essential skills. The five-paragraph theme, as such, is bland and formulaic; it doesn\u2019t compel deep thinking. Your college professors are looking for a more ambitious and arguable thesis, a nuanced and compelling argument, and real-life evidence for all key points, all in an organically structured paper.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>Five Paragraph Essay vs. organic essay<\/h3>\n<p>Compare the five paragraph model on the left with the organic model on the right.<\/p>\n<p>Figure 3.1 on the left shows the five-paragraph essay model.<\/p>\n<p>Figure 3.2 on the right shows the organic essay model.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-881 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2483\/2017\/07\/25225034\/five_paragraph_vs_organic-1024x525.png\" alt=\"Figure 3.1 on the left shows the five-paragraph essay model. Figure 3.2 on the right shows the organic essay model.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"525\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Figures 3.1 and 3.2 contrast the standard five-paragraph theme and the organic college paper. The five-paragraph theme, outlined in Figure 3.1, is probably what you\u2019re used to: the introductory paragraph starts broadly and gradually narrows to a thesis, which readers expect to find at the very end of that paragraph.<\/p>\n<p>In this idealized format, the thesis invokes the magic number of three: three reasons why a statement is true. Each of those reasons is explained and justified in the three body paragraphs, and then the final paragraph restates the thesis before gradually getting broader. This format is easy for readers to follow, and it helps writers organize their points and the evidence that goes with them. That\u2019s why you learned it.<\/p>\n<p>Figure 3.2, in contrast, represents a paper on the same topic that has the more organic form expected in college. The first key difference is the thesis. Rather than simply positing a number of reasons to think that something is true, it puts forward an arguable statement: one with which a reasonable person might disagree. An arguable thesis gives the paper purpose. It surprises readers and draws them in. You hope your reader thinks, <em>Huh. Why would the author come to that conclusion?<\/em> and then feels compelled to read on. The body paragraphs, then, build on one another to carry out this ambitious argument. In the classic five-paragraph theme (Figure 3.1) it hardly matters which of the three reasons you explain first or second.<\/p>\n<p>In the more organic structure (Figure 3.2), each paragraph specifically leads to the next. The last key difference is seen in the conclusion. Because the organic essay is driven by an ambitious, non-obvious argument, the reader comes to the concluding section thinking, <em>OK, I\u2019m convinced by the argument. What do you, author, make of it? Why does it matter?<\/em> The conclusion of an organically structured paper has a real job to do. It doesn\u2019t just reiterate the thesis; it explains why the thesis matters.<\/p>\n<p>The substantial time you spent mastering the five-paragraph form was time well spent; it\u2019s hard to imagine anyone succeeding with the more organic form without the organizational skills and habits of mind inherent in the simpler form. But if you assume that you must adhere rigidly to the simpler form, you\u2019re blunting your intellectual ambition. Your professors will not be impressed by obvious theses, loosely related body paragraphs, and repetitive conclusions. They want you to undertake an ambitious, independent analysis, one that will yield a thesis that is somewhat surprising and challenging to explain.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>practice<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"lumen_assessment_5603\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assessments.lumenlearning.com\/assessments\/load?assessment_id=5603&#38;embed=1&#38;external_user_id=&#38;external_context_id=&#38;iframe_resize_id=lumen_assessment_5603\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:400px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\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-508\">\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>Revision and Adaptation. <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>Moving beyond the five-paragraph theme.. <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>Organic and Inorganic. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: John D.. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/john-pa\/6425182999\/\">https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/john-pa\/6425182999\/<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/\">CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives <\/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":3,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Revision and Adaptation\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-nc-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Moving beyond the five-paragraph theme.\",\"author\":\"Amy Guptill.\",\"organization\":\"The College at Brockport, SUNY\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/textbooks.opensuny.org\/writing-in-college-from-competence-to-excellence\/\",\"project\":\"Writing in College: From Competence to Excellence. \",\"license\":\"cc-by-nc-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Organic and Inorganic\",\"author\":\"John D.\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/john-pa\/6425182999\/\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-nc-nd\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"2029fb21-ad82-41b4-8507-bbb03e4d39e4, 17c62c53-f185-4547-baa3-e9702fc0977f","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-508","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":503,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15005"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1326,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/508\/revisions\/1326"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/503"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/508\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=508"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=508"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}