Do you want to become a better writer but you're not sure where to start?
In the United States, it's a rite of passage to write what's called a 'five paragraph essay.'
You know, an intro, a three-part thesis, a body paragraph corresponding to each of those
three parts, and a conclusion.
In the United States, it's a rite of passage to write what's called a 'five paragraph essay.'
You know, an intro, a three-part thesis, a body paragraph corresponding to each of those
three parts, and a conclusion.
They're also a far cry from the kind of writing that's expected in college.
My name is Lusia Zaitseva I teach writing at Harvard University, and I'm also the founder
of IvyWrite.
Today I'll be discussing the top two things you have to know to leave the five-paragraph
essay behind and write like an actual, honest-to-goodness college student.
In high school, it can feel like your job is just to show that there are things inside
your head so you can get a grade and move on to the next assignment.
It can also feel like an obstacle course of do's and don'ts, a possibly pointless errand
of executing a 'formula' one time at 3 in the morning before a paper is due, handing
it in, and never thinking about it again.
But guys: at that rate, why even bother?
What good does that do to you or anyone else?
That brings me to the first key difference between writing in high school and writing
in college level.
In college, you have to actually TEACH your reader something, because you yourself have,
in the process of thinking about the topic, learned something.
Don't just 'explore' an issue, describe, or evaluate a text to tell us if it's good or
bad unless someone is specifically asking for your opinion; assume we can read just
as well as you can & remember you're not a food critic.
Instead, go down the rabbit hole, find out what's at the bottom, and then come back up
and tell us what you found.
How you come to that understanding—the process of first encountering something and then coming
up with an argument or 'thesis' about it—is something I'll address in a later video.
But for now, just remember that even a teacher or professor who has spent decades thinking
about something can learn from you.
And nothing excites us, your readers, more than learning from you.
If you haven't had this experience yet, then you'll just have to trust me that it's a pretty
gratifying feeling for you, the writer, too.
That brings us to the second biggest thing that differentiates college- and high-school
level writing.
You've gotta actually have something worthwhile to say.
That's why a thesis like "This poem allusion, metaphor, and symbolism" is, again no offense
if you've written something like this in the past, super boring.
Who cares?
Good for the poem, good for the poet; what good does it do me?
This gets at something I'll explore more in a later video, called 'stakes.'
What's at stake when you argue something?
In other words, if we say who cares or so what, do you have a compelling answer?
If you're going to teach your reader something, it has to be non-obvious and genuinely worth
learning.
Like really and actually.
Because if you're not interested in it yourself, if it doesn't matter to you, how can you possibly
expect it to matter to your reader?
Of course, there are a lot of other things that make a college-level paper a college-level
paper, from the depth of thinking required to the non-trivial stylistic and formal elements
that signal to your reader, 'I'm not a complete amateur, and I vaguely know what I'm doing.
I'll get to all of that in my upcoming videos, but if you keep these two things in mind when
you write, you will already be head and shoulders above most of your peers.
Have you ever written a five-paragraph essay?
Does your country have a different 'formula' that students learn?
Let me know in the comments below.
I'd also love to hear your thoughts on what you'd like me to talk about in a future video!
If you liked *this* video and found it helpful, give it a thumb's up and remember to click
subscribe and turn on notifications so you'll know when I come out with my next video.
See you next time!
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