Organization:BeyondtheFiveParagraphEssay
Thefiveparagraphessaymodeldoesn’ttellyoumuchabouttheinnardsofapaper.There
istheintroduction/thesis,therearethreeparagraphsofevidencesupportingthethesis,
andthereisaconclusiontorehearsethewholeargument.Towit:
Capitalpunishmentisterriblebecauseofitsirreversibility,its
impracticality,anditsimmorality.
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It’sirreversibleandinnocentpeopledie
It’simpracticalandexpensive
Itpromotesanimmoralmentalityofrevenge.
Inconclusion,thedeathpenaltyisanirreversibleandimpractical
punishmentthatspreadsthedestructivevaluesofrevenge.
Thankyouforyourtime;Iwillhavemy“B”now.
Thismodelhasitsvirtues:it’sgoodforathesistoforecastaclearandsimplestructurethat’s
easyforyourreadertofollow.
Butifyourelyonlyonthefiveparagraphmodeltoorganizealongerresearchpaper,youwill
runintotrouble.Afterall,yourresearchpaperislikelytohavesix,eight,orevenmore
supportparagraphs.Here,then,aresometipsfororganizingalongerpaperwithout
abandoningthesimplicityofthefiveparagraphtheme.
1.Beginnings:informationyouneedtopresentbeforeyougettoyourevidenceparagraphs.
• StatementofFact.Althoughyourintroductionwillhavebrieflyintroducedthesubject
matteroftheessay—thescenario,events,ortextsyouressaywillanalyze—sometimes
“whathappened”demandsfurtherexpositionbeforeyoupresentyourevidence.Inan
essayusingTruman’sspeechesandletterstoinvestigatethedecisiontodroptheatomic
bomb,forexample,somecontextforthatdecisionmightbeinorder.
BeforeanalyzingTruman’sdecisiontodroptheatomicbomb,it’simportantto
graspthestrategicsituationofthewarwithJapanin1945.
• Definitions/”LiteratureReview”Ifyourargumentdependsonspecializedterms
(“jargon”)you’vediscoveredinsecondarysources,youmayneedtoexplaintheseterms
beforeyouranalysisoftheevidencecanmakesense.Considerthisthesisstatement:
The biographies of enslaved women show that they resisted the masters’ edicts by using
ideas of feminine theology to subvert the roles assigned to their bodies by the white gaze.
Thisstudenttooktheterms“whitegaze”and“femininetheology”fromtwoscholars
namedearlierinherintroduction.Becausetheideasareunfamiliar,however,she
Organization:BeyondtheFiveParagraphEssay
quicklyexplainedthemina“litreview”beforeherfirstevidenceparagraph.Ina2000wordpaper,a“background”sectionshouldbeshorterthanapage.
2.Middles:ChunkingandSequencingAswiththefiveparagraphessay,themainbody
ofyourresearchpapershouldconsistofevidenceparagraphs.Toorganizetheseproofs,
“chunk”themintoafewoverarchingthemes.Sequencethesechunkssoyourargument
buildstowarditsstrongestpoint.Here’showonemight“chunk”andre-orderour
imaginarycapitalpunishmentpaper:
A. TheHangman’sInefficiency(easiestproofgoesfirst)
BodyPar.#1:Statisticsonvariouscostsofdeathpenalty.
B. TheDeathofInnocents(strongerpoint—deadinnocents!)
BodyPar#2:Two“InnocenceProject”examples
BodyPar#3:Impactonfamilies
C. TheMentalityofRevenge.(broadersocialimpact—mostimportant!)
BodyPar#4:Presentideaof“retributivejustice”
BodyPar#5:“Vengeance”ideainDA’spressreleases
BodyPar#6:Evidenceforvictimas“scapegoat”
3.Endings:YeOldeAcesintheHole.Neartheendofyourpaper,addingareflectionor
objectionparagraphisagreatwaytore-startastalledargument.
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ObjectionParagraphs.Imagineyou’reaprosecutormakingafinalargument.Whatis
thedefensegoingtosay?Startaparagraphbyanticipatingwhataskepticwouldobject.
Presenttheobjectionfairly.Then,eitherrefuteitorqualifyyourcase.
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Certainly,thosewhojustifythebombingofHiroshimawouldobjectto[whatI
justsaid].Theywouldargue_____________________.Theseobjectionshavesomemerit:it’s
truethat_________________.Still,Imaintain____________________________________________.
ReflectingTurns:Thinkofareflectingparagraphasasecondintroduction—aplace
whereyousummarizethestorysofar,poseanewproblem,andlayouthowtherestof
yourpaperwilladdressthatproblem.
ThusfarI’veargued____________________________.Allofthismightseemtoimply
______________________________.WhatI’mreallysaying,though,is___________________________.
4.Conclusions:1.Conciselyrehearsetheelementsofyourargumentwithspecial
emphasisonthelogicalconnectionsbetweenthem.2.Gesturetowardthebroader
implicationsofyourargument—whythisisabigdeal.