[geeks] essays

[Kurt Huhn]

> I'm having an arguement withsome.  Are essays allowed to have only one
> paragraph?
> 

Absolutely not!

Bear with me here because it's been over ten years since I took an
English class.

According to my high-school English teacher, An essay should have a
minimum of 5 paragraphs.  The construction is as follows:
- Paragraph 1: Opening paragraph. Explain the theory, argument, or
proposition.  Make your views known and clear.
- Paragraph 2: Supply a case history, acknowledged truth, commonly
accepted fact, or other irrefutable evidence to support the claims you
made in paragraph 1.
- Paragraph 3: Similar to paragraph 2, but you may diverge slightly, and
use less commonly accepted truths or "facts".
- Paragraph 4: As paragraph 1.  Examples or arguments presented in this
paragraph must be irrefutable.  This is your "strong" paragraph, and is
the last paragraph where you have an opportunity to present supporting
material.
- Paragraph 5: Closing arguments.  Draw the three paragraphs above (1,
2, and 3) together in such a way as to illustrate the presentations you
made in paragraph 1.  This paragraph will be how you show that facts as
presented support your claims.

The same applies to research papers, business presentations, arguments
to buy an Octane (whoops, how'd that get there :), and so on.  It can be
divided up into multi-paragraph (or even multi-page) sections, but those
are the basic guidlines, as taught to me 15 yrs ago in high school.  I
have no doubt that the rules have changed to be "easier" on students,
but I've found the above format to be *most* effective.

Kurt