…so here’s my post:
It’s funny that Emig was reporting on students being unable to move out of the prescripted five-paragraph essay into different forms that fit their inquiry more authentically. 35 years later, I’m still telling my students to think beyond that. When will this end?
I do see the good in the 5-paragraph form for teaching students how to write a constructive analysis or argument. It shows them that they must be able to extend an argument and have sufficient background material. I wonder if it is just a step in growing as a writer – overcoming that comfortable model – that all writers will have to face in the later grades in high school and in college. Is that just now a natural progression?
I also wonder why boys are more hesitant to be reflexive in their writing. Is it because the assignment or the person handing out the assignment doesn’t strike them? Or is it in their nature as boys? Nature or nurture? I know there’s lots written about the literacy practices of boys, but a thought…
