Sarah Montesclaros

Professor Thomas
UWRT 1102
January 31, 2016
Reading Annotations
In Memorial of the 5 Paragraph Essay by Kevin Snodgrass, the writer takes a funny way
to tell of how he stopped using the basic five paragraph form when it comes to writing.
Snodgrass describes the five paragraph structure in the form of a friend. He states he loved to
make his writing simple and traditional, and most of all he loved hanging out with the new
friends he met every year in elementary school which shows how the form of writing is too
simplistic considering elementary aged children use it. Snodgrass tells the story in the form of a
narrative, explaining how the structure has followed him throughout high school. Unfortunately,
during (his) senior year, a new kid named creative writing came to (his) school which took the
five paragraph structures place. Snodgrasss abilities as a writer were enhanced once he dropped
his old habits. The freedom brought from creative writing allows students to take a risk and step
away from tradition. The five paragraph structure is easy to use, but it holds us back from
becoming better writers. Teachers place large emphasis for sticking to the rules and we follow
them because we want high grades, but this detracts from our personal creativity. Once students
master the ability to write proper essays, then they should be able to advance to creative writing.
I think that most students thoroughly understand the five paragraph structure by high school, so
teachers should explain alternative writing methods then rather than having students broaden
their abilities by the time they reach college.
In Navigating Genres by Kerry Dirk, the writer explains the importance of genres. Genres
are difficult to explain and define, but they are needed in our life. Genres typically include
common features, which can cause strict regulations that can skew what a genre is. Writers
develop their own personal styles and should not be forced to follow what a genre sets out. Dirk
states I realized that perhaps I had been granted more freedom in writing this essay than is
typical of an already established, although never static, genre which shows how she aims to
break boundaries. In Dirks writing, she places anecdotes and pairs them with explanations. The
anecdotes provide examples to the reader that makes the text easier to comprehend. Dirk also
states I will admit that the word genre used to have a bad reputation and may still make some
people cringe. Some writers feel that genres set up a form that writers can just fill in. Writing
isnt that easy. The use of genres can cause the themes and storylines to seem repetitive. Dirk
states her mixed feelings about genres, but at the end of the day we need them because they
shape the world around us. We have genres for everything; clothes, writing, music, art. Its good
to have common similarities, but people should also be able to create their own works rather than
following a typical guideline.