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Posts Tagged ‘five-paragraph essay’

Teaching Children About Paragraphs Gone Bad! February 20, 2010

Paragraphs have unity and coherence. A paragraph has a single minded focus. There must be no information in the paragraph which does not serve that purpose. We call these “good paragraphs.” The best of the best are known as “perfect paragraphs.”
But not all paragraphs are good… let alone perfect. In fact, it doesn’t take much [...]

To Teach or Not to Teach The Five-Paragraph Essay February 13, 2010

Here are sentiments against teaching the five-paragraph essay. (Whew… these people were hot under their collar!)
• In High School, I was “taught” to write five-paragraph essays (and when I say “taught,” I mean “forced.”) The five-paragraph essay was the only form allowed in Sophomore English class.
• I hope it’s not taught anymore.
• -my daughter hated it. She would [...]