Sandra K. Friday
Objective:
The students will have an understanding of the parts of the five-paragraph essay as a result of a presentation of a visual metaphor (the flashlight) that embodies all of these parts.
I have found that when I assign a five-paragraph essay, it is crucial that I not only clarify the parts of the essay and their make-up, but that I present a visual metaphor that embodies all of these parts. The vast majority of the students I teach at the Annex do not have an understanding of how to tackle writing an essay. I have found that the parts of a "flashlight" very effectively represent all of the parts of the five-paragraph essay. Usually I draw this flashlight, without naming the parts, on a transparency and project it on a screen. I hand out this same unlabeled flashlight to my students. Because some of them have been in my classes previously, the minute I ask what in the world a flashlight has to do with the five-paragraph essay, hands go up.
Students tell me what to write next to the parts, starting with the tiny light bulb that represents the
thesis
. The threads of the bulb screw into the neck of the body and represent the three
controlling idea sentences: a, b, and c
. These four sentences make up the introductory paragraph. Students are often relieved when they learn that the introductory paragraph
can be
as simple as four sentences: a thesis and three controlling idea sentences. Students who are familiar with the flashlight metaphor always point out how the three controlling idea sentences actually
set up
the next three paragraphs.
These three controlling idea sentences, copied from the introductory paragraph, open the next three paragraphs, which in the flashlight are the three batteries. The
controlling idea sentences
in the introductory paragraph
become the topic sentences that open each of the three support paragraphs,
which in the flashlight metaphor are the
juice
that power the light.
This is where the graphic organizers that the students have completed come in. It is these organizers on which the students have made observations and gathered evidence that the students will use as the
juice
in their support paragraphs, or in their batteries, to stay with the metaphor. What they discover is that they have already done the hard work of making observations and gathering evidence and now, they are ready to use this in their essays.
When I ask what makes up the fifth paragraph, previous students know it is the
conclusion
, and that it is a variation of the introductory paragraph. It can be as simple as a variation on the thesis statement and the three controlling idea sentences in the introduction. But, in the flashlight metaphor, it is this end piece that must be screwed on securely if the batteries are to connect and make the light shine. Students come to understand that unless all the parts of the flashlight are in place, the light, which is the point of their essay, will not shine. Their idea will not get across.
It is also easy to impress upon them that if a battery is missing or put in upside down, the contacts will not be made. Putting the batteries in so that each contacts the other is an effective way to discuss
transitions between paragraphs
. These contact points are what connect each part to the next in the flashlight.
Metaphor for the five-paragraph essay
(chart available in print form)