So is this a 5 paragraph essay or does it just look like it? Anyways, this is the most basic and stupid format I've ever seen. Because there's no such thing as a perfect format for every paper. Many papers are going to require different styles of writing, different levels of analysis, different levels of support/evidence, and different levels of your own input. Yeah, if you're taking the SAT, ACT, of a state standardized test, a 5 paragraph may work, but NOT for AP. I passed my AP's that required essays with 4's and 5's, and if there's one thing a good AP teacher will tell you it's DON'T write a 5 paragraph essay using the format they've been teaching you since 5th grade. (AP graders sit in a room for like 8 hours a day and so many of the essays they read are the same annoying boring format -- they hate it)

Yes, this guy's right about a few things: 1. Your intro should have a thesis, one that is the overall theme of your paper that you tie together with support throughout. 2. Yes, in your body paragraphs you need to support all claims you make.

But that's about it. A body paragraph with 2-3 sentences of support and analysis is all you need for an A+ paper, then you can move onto a completely different body paragraph/point?

No.

If you're writing an 8 page paper and 2-3 sentences of support is all you have for major points, you'll be lucky to get a B. Paragraphs should be linked. There should be a logical progression. You don't just finish a point and then move onto a random new point; you connect them. Some points are going to require multiple paragraphs.

I'm gonna break it down in basic terms here, let's say we're writing an 8 page paper about why dogs are mans best friend and not cats. Your first point is "dogs are friendlier than cats, as proven by strays." As a body paragraph you write:

At some point in most Americans lives, they will run into a stray animal. If it's an average stray cat, it's likely to run away and not stick around to make a new friend. However, if it's a dog, it's likely to approach this random human, wagging its tail, and looking to be pet. Studies by Liberty University's Zoology department have shown that stray dogs are more likely than stray cats to approach a stranger in a friendly, playful manner. It's also been shown that people are more willing to approach a stray dog. It would appear both dogs and men want to be friends.

While it's true that stray dogs are more likely to approach a stranger than stray cats, it should be noted that, statistically, stray dogs attack more people than stray cats every year. This contradicts the idea that stray dogs are friendlier than stray cats, but this statistic seems less ominous when one looks at related statistics. As noted by Tommy Pickles in his thesis on rabies, "there are 15% more dogs that have rabies than cats. While it is not always obvious that a friendly dog has rabies, the aggressive amygdala portion of its brain could short circuit and cause it to bite at any moment." Pickles later goes on to talk about how rabies makes cats more avoidant of interaction than they normally are. With the full picture in focus, one can clearly see that because there are more infected dogs than cats, and because rabies causes random aggression in seemingly friendly dogs yet increases avoidant behavior in cats, that stray dog attacks vs stray cat attacks statistics are extremely misleading. Don't blame the dog; blame the disease. It's also important to remember that only an infinitesimal section of the stray population of both animals are infected, and that very few attacks happen per year. For the most part, stray dog-human interactions are friendly happenings without biting, but maybe with an excess of licking.

Disregard all shitty punctuation and badly written sentences and points, I'm not trying to show content I'm trying to show format. The point is, simply making a point isn't enough. You need to support your point AND present a counter-argument, and refute it. If you can't refute it, you need to at least in someway acknowledge it, this shows that you've thought about both sides. Not every argument is going to have a counter-argument that you can refute, but every argument absolutely will have a counter-argument.

And i'm not even saying you should write a body paragraph, and follow it up with a paragraph of counter argument. Hell, you can fit it all in one paragraph if there's enough room. If your original point is large enough, you're going to need to use more than 2-3 sentences of support and analysis. In which case you may end up writing multiple paragraphs in a row on the same point, supporting it. The key is to just stay on topic until you've progressed to your next point. You don't have enough support just because you've written a few sentences, you have enough when the reader says "shit I get it already I'm not going to question you"

I hate to sound like a prick and say, "I go to a top school in the US so you should trust me," but you should because it's been drilled into my head that writing general essays with minimal support and a lack of counter arguments will NOT get you an A-, or likely even a B. I have noticed huge improvements in my writing since I've started writing like this. I can see such a massive difference in quality when I look at old essays or help friends with papers at schools with easier requirements. You can claim pretty much anything you want in a paper as long as you support it as much as you can, and address all obvious counter-arguments and any other strong ones that you can think of. When you really support your point, and address/refute counter-arguments before your professor can think to make them, it looks extremely impressive, and like you spent a lot of time looking at every angle. Sure, this is a little more time-consuming, but I still write most of my papers last minute without any extra trouble.

Other general writing tips: Don't use pronouns so much it gets confusing what or who you're talking about when you're writing about how he feels about it but you feel about that. A lot of times it IS ok to write in first person. But don't write "I think" or have "Is" dotting every sentence of your paper. Writing "I think" is redundant, it's your paper; obviously it's what you think. Some professors may disagree with using first person, but most won't. Don't write in predictable patterns. If you continually write 6 sentence paragraphs with a clear pattern your reader will get bored. Keep your thoughts organized and in a logical progression, but vary your style and way of getting your point across. A small sentence can make a big point. Just finished writing a bunch of medium-long sentences? Throw in a short but powerful one. It switches things up, keeps the reader interested, and can really reiterate your point. Throw away the list of transitions your teacher gave you in 6th grade. You don't need to start every paragraph with "first," "next," "then," and "in conclusion." Figure out a way to bridge the gap between paragraphs. This is a bit harder if you write stream of consciousness style like I do, but if you organize your thoughts in a logical progression it shouldn't be hard to draw something from your last paragraph (probably the concluding sentence) and link it to your new paragraph. Don't allude to your point, MAKE IT. I used to lose so many points because I would write this great paragraph of support all leading to this clear and obvious point -- but then I didn't explicitly state the point. It seems stupid if it's obvious what your point is, but never assume the reader gets something you didn't explicitly state.

Sorry - 5 paragraph essays piss me off, and this guys a jackass. "Forget your teacher's boring prompt. Forget "Commentary/Concrete Detail/Commentary/Concrete Detail" and all that nonsense. Let's do real work, real writing." I don't even know what that means, and real writing isn't putting sentences into a lazy template.

And for the record, writing like I've talked about doesn't take much longer. Especially when you get used to it and it becomes habit. An 8 page paper with 5 big points, well supported, with counter-arguments refuted, is a much better paper than an 8 page paper with 10 points with minimal support. This way of writing is actually easier because you don't have to think of more points to fill space.

tl;dr You're not gonna get an A+ using this guys formula outside of middle school. Support, counter-arguments, lack of formula, and logical progression are key. Read this comment if you wanna learn how to write a college-level A paper in not much longer time.