But Alex’s professor doesn’t like it. She underlines the first two sentences, and she writes, “This is simply too general. Get to the true point.” She underlines the third and sentences that are fourth and she writes, “You’re just restating the question I asked. What’s your point?” She underlines the sentence that is final and then writes within the margin, “What’s your thesis?” because the very last sentence when you look at the paragraph only lists topics. It doesn’t make an argument.
Is Alex’s professor just a grouch? Well, no—she is trying to show this student that college writing isn’t about following a formula (the model that is five-paragraph, it is about making a quarrel. Her first sentence is general, the way she learned a five-paragraph essay should start. But through the professor’s perspective, it’s far too general—so general, in reality, she didn’t ask students to define civil war that it’s completely outside of the assignment. The 3rd and fourth sentences say, in a lot of words, they just restate the prompt, without giving a single hint about where this student’s paper is going“ I am comparing and contrasting the reasons why the North and the South fought the Civil War”—as the professor says. The sentence that is final which will make an argument, only lists topics; it doesn’t begin to explore how or why something happened.
You can guess what Alex will write next if you’ve seen a lot of five-paragraph essays. Her first body paragraph will begin, “We can easily see a few of the different reasoned explanations why the North and South fought the Civil War by looking at the economy.” What is going to the professor say about that? She may ask, “What differences can we see? What part of the economy have you been speaking about? (więcej…)
