68 Beyond the Five-Paragraph Essay

As a simplified template, the five-paragraph essay (5PE) makes organizing feel manageable for the student, and in many cases the 5PE makes grading feel easier for the teacher than if the teacher were having to navigate an anticipated, formulaic organization. By beginning with an introduction paragraph, three supporting paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph that summarizes the argument, the 5PE is predictable and provides every student with the same roadmap for organization.

And yet in writing, as in life, oversimplified, quick-fix solutions don’t always work well. The reality is that the 5PE isn’t a realistic structure for communicating effectively with all audiences you’ll write for in other college classes or real-world situations after college. Consider these five reasons for reconsidering whether or not to use a 5PE:

1. 5PEs revolve around a thesis, but not all academic or professional writing assignments need a thesis statement. Some might require a less argumentative controlling idea, a tagline, or another form of argument that your teacher will discuss with you. In other words, not all compositions are purely thesis driven. Consult with your instructor to clarify what they expect in terms of central message development and how that will structure the piece you write.
2. 5PEs flatten any argument. Any issue you write about will be complex, and any argument you make about an issue will necessitate exploring many dynamic viewpoints and facts. Oftentimes, three paragraphs isn’t enough to touch on every angle of an issue. You may need more paragraphs and more points than you can reasonably fit into five paragraphs.
3. 5PEs limit creativity. Making meaning is hard to do when you’re limited in terms of how you can package it. Or as Associate Professor of English Quentin Vieregge asks, “What fun is it to write when you have no choices, when the shape of your words and thoughts are controlled by an impersonal model that everyone uses, but only in school” (211)? When you allow yourself to compose beyond the 5PE structure, you open yourself up to a world of creative possibilities.
4. 5PEs lack flow. In the next section, we’ll touch on organically structured essays that aid the reader in moving through a text. Ideally, you want the relationships among your paragraphs to give a clear sense of connection, to flow well, and to build reader interest. These organizational aims are difficult to achieve when you’re constantly pointing back to a singular idea rather than letting ideas naturally build off of one another.
5. 5PEs fail to transfer. When writing a lab report for a biology course, for example, a 5PE organizational scheme probably won’t suffice for the purpose of that assignment nor will a 5PE help you write a strong memo for a business class. Scientists don’t cram their study findings into five quick paragraphs nor do journalists whittle down every feature to five tidy parts. The point is that 5PEs don’t transfer easily into many real-world writing contexts, so limiting yourself to this organizational approach precludes you from practicing organizational development skills that will benefit you in future writing contexts.

At this point, you might be thinking to yourself, “Is it ever okay to use the five-paragraph essay?” The answer depends on a range of factors related to your rhetorical situation (audience, purpose, context), and, of course, you’ll want to consult with your instructor about their preferences, but rest assured that the 5PE isn’t an inherently flawed way of composing. It’s simply one way of composing that won’t transfer to every rhetorical context you’ll encounter.

As it happens sometimes, students who know they have permission to try new approaches to organizing will lean back into the comfort and safety of the 5PE because it feels familiar and reliable. If your instructor has encouraged you to break free from the 5PE approach but you’re struggling to let the 5PE go, remember the dining metaphor in Chapter Two. College essays should be crafted in ways that make them inviting to read and pleasurable to partake in—like a good conversation.