Luke Vejvoda

Valentina Fahler
Writing 2
WizKids Podcast - Five Paragraph Theme

WizKids is the new podcast to know of the 21st century. Helpful for students and
teachers, WizKids discusses important topics about what is best for learning.
Professors, current teachers and more are always coming on and discussing what they
do in order to best prepare their students for success. In this episode, many experts are
with us to discuss if the five paragraph theme is beneficial or detrimental to the learning
process. Taught in most high school core curriculums this way of writing has been
thought to slow down the creative process of students. Hosted by our guy Mike, in this
episode we break everything down and find out what the experts really think.

The most common style of writing that everyone is taught is the five paragraph theme. It
is as simple as an introduction, three body paragraphs and a conclusion. It is the most
simple and concise way to prove what you are arguing or to inform others on a topic.
However, it has always been discussed if the five paragraph theme was a positive or
negative writing technique given to us by teachers.

I was never a big fan of the five paragraph theme. Every paper I wrote up until college I
followed this same format. Due to the structure I always felt limited to what I could say
and had a difficult time expressing my ideas. However, this was the only way I really
knew how to write. When I arrived at college and started writing assignments I realized
what I learned from high school was not transitioning over well. I didn’t know how to
write about topics such as philosophy, religion, economic reports etc. While taking
Writing 2 I realized that since college I haven’t used the five paragraph theme once. But,
I spent years learning it.

This made me wonder if the five paragraph theme is more beneficial or detrimental to
the writing skills of a student?

Is it worth teaching this method at all? Are educators teaching the new generation the
correct writing techniques? What are important writing skills to know?
Mike: Hey what’s up you awesome people! Thank you for tuning in today for another
episode of WizKids! I hope you're having a good day, but be careful because it’s gonna
get even better. We have a very crucial topic to discuss and that is the five paragraph
theme. We have some of the most knowledgeable experts here today. Kimberly Wesley,
Deborah Dean, Negris Danis, Gretchen Gietz, Tom Connors, and Joanne Addison. So,
let’s jump right into this one. Who wants to go first?

Kimberly: From my experience I don’t think the five paragraph theme is a good method
to teach students. I hate how other teachers think this is the only way students should
be writing their assignments. A paper should never be graded based upon the limited
structure of an introduction, three body paragraphs and a conclusion. It stunts the
growth of the human mind by not allowing students to dig deeper. Everyone
experiences critical thinking, but by only allowing students to write in a specific way it
will never be fully expressed.

Mike: Thank you for your thoughts Kimberly. Does anyone have any opposing views?

Deborah: I can see where you are coming from Kimberly, but I don’t think that the five
paragraph theme is a bad thing to teach students. Every student is expected to know
this style of writing. It is the classic benchmark of learning how to form a thesis and then
proving your argument through evidence and analysis. It’s easy to teach, easy to grade,
fast, and predictable. Yes, at times it may get bland, but this way of writing is really just
the threshold of what is possible. It gives the students the basics of how to form an
argument, but over time they’ll learn and expand into new genres that won’t have the
same structure.

Mike: Wow! It looks like we have some pretty contrasting views here. Is it right or is it
wrong? I’m a little confused on how the five paragraph theme makes it difficult to write
about different topics? Could someone elaborate on that a little further for me?

Gretchen: Hey what’s up Mike, I'd love to jump in for this one. The one thing that is
great about writing is that there will always be a new and improved way to do it. This
could relate to new genres arising, improved ways to format your assignment or diction.
However, writing is different in certain cases. You can’t write a memoir in the same
format as a research paper or scientific report. The content is much different and if
organized the same way it would be hard to make sense of. This is because each genre
follows its own rules and conventions that make it specific to what it is. Genres are
made to be explored and expanded into other things that make it interesting to the
reader. Overall, I agree that the five paragraph theme is beneficial in certain situations,
but it’s important to inform students of the correct ways to write about other topics.
Mike: Loved the response Gretchen. I do think it’s important to know the correct way to
write in certain situations. It’s true that you don’t write something like an article the same
way you write a narrative. There’s a lot of different factors and variables that make it
specific to what it is. What about you Negris? How do you feel about all this?

Negris: Alright, so I see where all you guys are coming from and neither of you are
wrong with what you're saying. I think the five paragraph theme is important to teach
students how to be concise, civil and have good cohesion within their writing
assignments. Most teachers look for similar patterns when grading a paper, so learning
to write how they taught you is pretty crucial to the outcome of your grade. Also,
learning to branch out into other genres and see the differences between them is crucial
in developing your writing process. It will improve your format, diction, choice of
evidence and more.

Writing is very subjective. It is all based upon two things, what are you writing and who
are you writing it for. The knowledge of the five paragraph essay and the ability to write
in different genres helps you out in the long run develop your overall ideas.

Mike: Great way to tie it all together Negris. Why do you think it’s so important to know
how to write in all these different ways?

Joanne: Writing is one of the best things you could ever possibly learn. It’s a big part of
our daily lives and knowing how to do the right way benefits your future immensely. A
survey went out to 120 American corporations that were affiliated with ‘Business
Roundtable.’ Two thirds of the employees that worked there had some sort of writing
responsibility that was involved in their position. Corporate writing is a lot different than
writing in the classroom. You need to be able to communicate with other people
effectively and be as clear as possible. Not only should teachers be showing their
students how to argue topics but they should also be showing them skills that will
benefit them in their careers.

Mike: Lastly, how about you Tom? You’ve been a little quiet over there today.

Tom: Haha thank you Mike I was just about to chime in. When it comes to writing I know
that students will experience what they call ‘writer’s block’ especially when it comes to
writing reports that involve the five paragraph theme. However, writer’s block is not a
real thing. It’s all a psychological event made up in the students head that prevents
them from expressing their ideas. A way I’ve learned to get over this is by learning to
write in different ways. Kind of like what Negris said, I think it’s important to expand the
variety of your writing into topics that you’ve never learned about. This gives you more
ideas and opportunities to keep furthering the writing process. It’s never good to learn
how to write in just one way. You should always be trying to expand your horizons so
you know how to write in certain situations.

Kimberly: I really enjoyed what everyone had to say about the five paragraph theme and
if its overall effect is beneficial to writing. I learned a lot of new things today and my
opinions have been swayed a little.

Mike: Great points were made today by all of you guys. From what I can tell it seems
like there are good and bad things that go along with the five paragraph theme.
However, it overall seems like it’s not the worst thing in the world to know. It’s important
to know this way of writing but it’s also crucial to realize how to write in other ways. It’s
never good to be limited in your writing capabilities.

Well thank you guys and I’ll see you next week for another entertaining episode.
WizKids are out.
Bibliography

1. Addison, Joanne, and Sharon McGee. “Writing in High School/Writing in College:

Research Trends and Future Directions.” Off-Campus Access: Login, Sept. 2010,
https://www-jstor-org.proxy.library.ucsb.edu:9443/stable/27917889?sid=primo&se
q=5.
2. Danis, Negris. “How Students Write: A Linguistic Analysis.” Off-Campus Access:
Login, 4 May 2021,
https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.proxy.library.ucsb.edu:9443/doi/full/10.1111/ijal.123
51.
3. Dietz, Gretchen. “21 Genres and How To Write Them.” Off-Campus Access:
Login, May 2014,
https://go-gale-com.proxy.library.ucsb.edu:9443/ps/i.do?p=LitRC&u=ucsantabarb
ara&id=GALE%7CA370443028&v=2.1&it=r.
4. Dean, Deborah. “Muddying Boundaries: Mixing Genres with Five Paragraphs.”
Off-Campus Access: Login, Sept. 2000,
https://www-jstor-org.proxy.library.ucsb.edu:9443/stable/821731?sid=primo&seq=
2.
5. Wesley, Kimberly. “The Ill Effects of the Five Paragraph Theme.” Off-Campus
Access: Login, Sept. 2000,
https://www-jstor-org.proxy.library.ucsb.edu:9443/stable/821732?sid=primo&seq=
4.
6. Connors, Tom. “There's No Such Thing as Writer's Block.” Proquest, Sept. 1998,
https://www.proquest.com/docview/574928425?accountid=14522.