Alternatives to the Five-Paragraph Essay Theme

Writing an essay demands creativity, and creativity knows no limits. So why do we follow a rigid approach while writing an essay that restricts us to writing essays in a conventional “Five-Paragraph Theme”? The reason behind this approach is academics at the high school level. We follow a formulaic and rigid approach in high school while writing essays. 

This phenomenon is due to the thumb rule set by the SAT and other standardized testing formats. However, when we move on to colleges, things see a significant change. We get a more diverse set of options when we write essays at the college level. Moving beyond the orthodox five-paragraph essay theme becomes a necessity to ensure meaningful essays. 

This blog gives an overview of the orthodox five-paragraph theme of writing essays and discusses its limitations and effective alternatives that can help students come up with more meaningful and effective essays. Further details are given below: 

An Overview of the Five-Paragraph Theme

The conventional essay theme follows a rigid approach. This approach makes us sandwich the body of an essay, which comprises 3 paragraphs between 2 paragraphs serving the role of intro and conclusion, respectively. 

Students passing high school are used to this theme. The introductory paragraph of the conventional essay with a five-paragraph theme starts with a generalized discussion of a specific topic. It eventually narrows down to a particular, and then comes the thesis statement. Usually, you will find the thesis statement of such an essay at the very end of the paragraph.

The body of the essay begins after the inclusion of the thesis statement and the conclusion of the introductory paragraph. As mentioned earlier, the body features 3 paragraphs. These paragraphs either contain quotations, facts, or figures obtained from other sources to show that the thesis statement stated earlier in the essay is true. Simply put, the purpose of these 3 paragraphs is to provide reasoning about why the thesis statement stands true. The writer tries to justify and explain the reasons provided in these paragraphs. The paragraphs can easily be rewritten with the assistance of an AI paragraph rewriter to make things clearer.

At last, the paragraph featuring the conclusion begins. The purpose of this paragraph is to restate the thesis statement again and briefly describe the reasons proving it true. Once that purpose is served, that topic becomes broader. A more generalized discussion is written at the very end of the conclusive paragraph of the essay following the five-paragraph theme. High-school students find, and even writers writing for senior level find this theme easy to organize their narrative and the reasoning used to prove it. It is also easier for readers to follow. 

Hence, it is taught at high school and junior levels.

Limitations of Five-Paragraph Theme

Many people stick to the same old rigid approach of writing essays in conventional five-paragraph themes at the college level and beyond. Many people stick to this theme because of their expertise while writing essays following this particular theme and the resultant success they have enjoyed because of it. 

They think that following the same orthodox theme while writing essays would help them articulate great write-ups and gain success at the college level. Studies at the college level demand more effective write-ups that can help writers prove their point without annoying the audience. 

It is worth mentioning that writing essays in conventional five-paragraph themes is considered a pretty basic skill at the college level. You will only manage to articulate a very simple essay that you used to write during your childhood classes following this theme. 

However, in college writing tasks, you have to come up with more enhanced writing skills to offer the required specifics your teachers want from your essay. The essay written using a conventional five-paragraph theme would appear bland and formulaic to them. Hence, the best way to deal with this issue is to move beyond it.

Generalized Approach to Avoid Conventional Essay Theme

While the orthodox five-paragraph theme is easy to read for the audience and an effective way for writers to organize their points and evidence that follows them, more organic writing is required from students at the college level. Hence, an organic approach to writing an essay can help students come up with a generalized alternative to the conventional theme for writing an essay. If students and writers master this approach, writing a more meaningful essay that fulfills the requirements of teachers becomes easier for them. Here are some elements different from the conventional essay theme that should be ensured while writing an essay following this approach. Read on to learn more. 

Thesis Statement

The thesis statement is the first key difference between the conventional essay writing approach and the alternative approach. Although both types of essays contain thesis statements, the difference is in their nature. 

Learn more: Essay Writing Guide for Students

In a five-paragraph theme, you simply state a thesis and then include several reasons to prove it. On the contrary, the alternative approach features a thesis statement that calls for an argument and makes the audience stick to the essay. Such an arguable thesis makes readers wonder why the writer has come to such a conclusion and enhances their interest in the essay.

Phased Discussion

Another difference in this essay writing style is its body. While the five-paragraph theme emphasizes reasoning to prove the thesis statement in the body of an essay, this approach features body paragraphs built on each other. For instance, the first paragraph will elaborate on the topic, the second one will present an argument about the issue related to the main discussion, and the third one will come up with a solution. So, it is quite visible that the essay written following the alternative approach appears to be more organized than one written using the five-paragraph theme. 

Conclusion

The alternative approach to writing the essay that helps you avoid conventional five-paragraph themes also comes with a different way to conclude the essay. The ambitious, interested, and curious audience reading the essay already agrees with the points presented in the essay. However, readers still want to know what the writer has kept for them in the conclusion. They also want to know why the conclusive point of the essay matters. The main purpose of the conclusive paragraph is to bring the thesis statement home. It reiterates and highlights the importance of the thesis statement stated earlier in the essay. 

Specified Alternatives to Five-Paragraph Theme

As we have already discussed, a generalized alternative approach to move beyond the conventional five-paragraph theme would greatly help you write organic essays at the college level. However, you can also use specified approaches while writing an essay. You can select the approach according to the topic of the essay. Nevertheless, here are 5 alternatives to the orthodox five-paragraph essay theme. Further details about these alternatives are given below:

The Narrative Essay

Generally, they are written in the form of a story; such essays are written in the first person. Hence, we call them narrative essays. This style of writing essays emphasizes personal experiences. Writers are free to use their voices while writing a narrative essay. This freedom allows them to share their personal experiences relevant to the topic to enhance the effectiveness of their essays. 

The Argumentative Essay

This type of essay reflects a sense of the argument. Thus, its name is an argumentative essay. The writer is supposed to have a narrative supporting or against a particular issue. Once the side is chosen, the writer must come up with a properly backed argument to keep the reader around. Finally, writers must prove their stance using a meaningful discussion in the essay.

The Cause and Effect Essay

Such a type of essay requires writers to analyze a particular event or situation. Writers must shed light on the causes of that particular event or situation in the essay. They also have a job to elaborate on the effects of that situation or event. This essay-writing approach is quite helpful when you are asked to explain complex events and related causes and effects. 

The Descriptive Essay

As the name suggests, this approach describes anything (a person, place, object, or experience) in detail. This approach helps writers use their creativity and paint a picture for the audience reading their blog using descriptive language. 

The Compare and Contrast Essay

In such types of essays, writers have multiple subjects (2 is the minimum number). They are required to make comparisons between 2 or more subjects and analyze similarities and differences between them. This approach is highly useful when you are asked to make arguments and present information about various subjects in a clear and organized manner.  

In the End

The five-paragraph essay-writing theme used at the high school level helps you become good at coming up with a clear thesis, organizing interconnected paragraphs, arranging key points, and presenting an argument in a broader context. However, you need to enhance these skills at the college level and add up a few to write organic essays that fulfill the requirements. 

These skills are coming up with an ambitious thesis, nuanced arguments, and real-life evidence in a structured manner. We have discussed a generalized alternative to the five-paragraph theme that can help you make it possible. We have also discussed a few specified essay-writing approaches to help you move beyond the rigid five-paragraph theme while writing an essay.

Hopefully, you will have a lot to take away from this blog. We wish you luck with the essay-writing process!