Donald Stewart's speech is clearly critical of those who teach by formula. But I'm certain there was a time and place where each formula was useful to students - otherwise it would not have become the formula of the time, just a dumb idea that someone tried out until it became obvious that it didn't work.
Mechanical correctness is very important to writing; style and creativity are also very important to writing. Students must understand that their writing may be used to judge them as employees, scholars, and people. We teachers aren't doing our jobs, and we aren't doing our students any favors, if we allow correctness to fall by the wayside. Our country runs on middle class values, and successful individuals conform to most middle class values in order to achieve their goals. Correctness is highly valued by the middle class. But style and creativity are highly valued by many readers. Here's a saying that applies, although I heard it in regard to musicians:
Emotion without discipline is ridiculous - Discipline without emotion is boring.
I don't think there is a thing wrong with the 5-paragraph essay; it is a great starting point. But it's not the ultimate in writing. I taught piano for 30 years, and I believe it is essential that piano students learn to play scales. They may not be fun (although there are plenty who seem to enjoy learning them) but those scales are the framework of music. Those who know their scales have an intuitive understanding of music theory, and tend to later be better musicians. I view the 5-paragraph essay as a scale-type exercise. Mastering it is essential if one wishes to write better, more interesting, and more skilled pieces.
I believe it is important to help our students acquire all the tools they will need to be successful in whatever situation they find themselves. I'm sure Ambrose Bierce was more than capable of writing an eloquent essay or editorial to The Lantern. His response, while unconventional, got his point across. In the end, that's what we want our writing to do, and it's what we want our students to be able to do.
I'm eager to learn about the history of Composition so I can gather up all the tools I need for my own writing and in my task of helping others become better writers. There is nothing to be lost in the study of history, and much to be gained.
Cathy,
ReplyDeleteThank you! I worked in the Writing Room for four semesters while in undergraduate school and we utilized the five-paragraph essay quite a bit when instructing students who were just starting with the writing process. They seemed to take to the idea well. After reading Stewart’s work, though, I began to feel horrible that I had even used the structure. Was introducing such a formulaic element to novice writers truly a terrible practice? Furthermore, would they, as Stewart argues, attempt to use it for everything and try to fit every essay they wrote into its form?
After reading your response and the comparison you draw between the five-paragraph essay and musical scales, I not only feel much better about utilizing the form, but wonder if Stewart was mistaken in his assumptions about it. Those that I taught thought the idea wonderful and the perfect starting point for writing their papers. It gave them, as many put it, a guideline to map out their essay. Likewise, we used it as a roadmap, taking its five paragraphs and molding them in the session to fit their assignment. In a way, the formula catered to the assignment rather than the assignment catering to the formula (Stewart’s major concern).
Thomas