We’ll use Perusall to annotate and read together. 
a paper, or “A” paper? -Melissa Smith
The Wiley article was particularly interesting because of the recent discussions in class, and I have my own opinions on the use of the five-paragraph essay. Throughout high school I considered myself to be a proficient writer. I used to use the five-paragraph essay and get A’s, what more could I ask for? Of course, this should only be one way of writing a paper, and not the only way. However, I do believe that it’s a successful way of learning to write based on my own experience. For example:
The Jane Schaffer approach to writing can be useful to struggling writers when structuring an essay. Mark Wiley, a composition coordinator at a university claims that, “Several high school teachers whom I have spoken with who have been using the Schaffer method generally saw rapid improvement in the writing of struggling students” (63). I can remember taking English courses that introduced these same concepts when I was learning how to write an academic essay. It was especially helpful to follow the guidelines of what a “good” paragraph was. Even though I did not struggle much with my writing, I continued to use this method throughout high school and learned to put my own twist on it.
There comes a time when the student needs to learn other ways of structuring their essay and make it their own. But, how do you make something your own when you have been told throughout school that you can’t write well? Why would a student put that much effort into an essay only to fail? I think that the five-paragraph essay is a good jumping off point with learning to structure an effective essay, but it is not the only way to write a paper.
One Reply to “a paper, or “A” paper? -Melissa Smith”
You and I are alike in this mindset. I started with the 5 paragraph essay in high school and eventually moved on to create my own writing style that builds upon the original structure I learned. You bring up a good point when you say, “Why would a student put that much effort into an essay only to fail?” because I feel that some of these students have been failing writing courses throughout school and will not respond to the idea of “just write how you want to” seeing as this obviously hasn’t worked for them yet as we can see from their placement in the English 30 workshop.