The Five Paragraph Essay and the Quotation

According to Tim Wilson, it's all about Paragraph 4.

Video:

How to write an essay

The 5 Paragraph Essay:

1. What do you need to do in paragraphs 2 and 3?
2. What does Tim mean when he says there's "a certain leeway" in these paragraphs?
3. What do you do with your best ideas? Why?
4. What do you add to paragraph for to give it a "crunch"?
5. What things might paragraph 4 contain?
6. Which paragraphs in an essay are usually shorter?
7. What does Tim mean when he says paragraph 5 is "exactly what it says on the bottle"?
8. what should you not do in paragraph 5?
9. In what way is an argumentative essay conducted like a friendly argument between friends?

Ordering ideas

Compare

In fact, dogs are a universal symbol of loyalty - and many cultures understand immediately what is meant by "man's best friend". I like dogs. I could go on and on, but I don't need to, as most people naturally understand when it comes to these friendly, faithful beings. But they are a creature to admire for other reasons - certain qualities they share with homo sapiens. They're such loyal and naturally faithful friends. Perhaps most importantly, dogs keep us grounded, keep us honest - even if we don't realise it. Like ourselves, they are natural explorers of the world – “get a dog and discover your own neighbourhood!"

 

 

I like dogs. They're such loyal and naturally faithful friends.  In fact, dogs are a universal symbol of loyalty - and many cultures understand immediately what is meant by "man's best friend". But they are a creature to admire for other reasons - certain qualities they share with homo sapiens. Like ourselves, they are natural explorers of the world – “get a dog and discover your own neighbourhood!". Perhaps most importantly, dogs keep us grounded, keep us honest - even if we don't realise it. I could go on and on, but I don't need to, as most people naturally understand when it comes to these friendly, faithful beings.  

A)"In fact, dogs are a universal symbol of loyalty - and many cultures understand immediately what is meant by "man's best friend". 

B)"I like dogs".

C) I could go on and on, but I don't need to, as most people naturally understand when it comes to these friendly, trustable beings. 

D) "But they are a creature to admire for other reasons - certain qualities they share with homo sapiens."

E)"They're such loyal and naturally faithful friends".

F) Perhaps most importantly, dogs keep us grounded, keep us honest - even if we don't realise it.

G) "Like ourselves, they are natural explorers of the world - get a dog and discover your own neighbourhood!"

 

1. A topic sentence making a general statement. 

2. A simple sentence developing this general idea.

3. A sentence with a further reflection or a bit more detail about it. 

4. A sentence giving another example of the general idea in the topic sentence. 

5. A sentence to enlarge on that example. 

6. A sentence giving the strongest example of the idea expressed in the topic sentence. 

8. A concluding sentence that ties all these ideas together simply.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Quotation:

1. Why does it require 3 sentences to use a quotation? What do the three sentences consist of?
2. Explain Tim's analogy between using a quotation and setting "a jewel in a ring"?
3. What are some alternatives to using a quotation? Why might these be useful?

More on using quotations here

What is the purpose of the following uses of quotation?

Historian John Doe has argued that in 1941 “almost all Americans assumed the war would end quickly” (Doe 223). Yet during the first six months of U.S. involvement, the wives and mothers of soldiers often noted in their diaries their fear that the war would drag on for years.

Harriet Jacobs, a former slave from North Carolina, published an autobiographical slave narrative in 1861. She exposed the hardships of both male and female slaves but ultimately concluded that “slavery is terrible for men; but it is far more terrible for women.”

President Calvin Coolidge’s tendency to fall asleep became legendary. As H. L. Mencken commented in the American Mercury in 1933, “Nero fiddled, but Coolidge only snored.”

1. Provide context for each quotation.

Do not rely on quotations to tell your story for you. It is your responsibility to provide your reader with context for the quotation. The context should set the basic scene for when, possibly where, and under what circumstances the quotation was spoken or written. So, in providing context for our above example, you might write:

When Franklin Roosevelt gave his inaugural speech on March 4, 1933, he addressed a nation weakened and demoralized by economic depression.

2. Attribute each quotation to its source.

Tell your reader who is speaking. Here is a good test: try reading your text aloud. Could your reader determine without looking at your paper where your quotations begin? If not, you need to attribute the quote more noticeably.

Avoid getting into the “he/she said” attribution rut! There are many other ways to attribute quotes besides this construction. Here are a few alternative verbs, usually followed by “that”:

add	remark	exclaim
announce	reply	state
comment	respond	estimate
write	point out	predict
argue	suggest	propose
declare	criticize	proclaim
note	complain	opine
observe	think	note

Different reporting verbs are preferred by different disciplines, so pay special attention to these in your disciplinary reading. If you’re unfamiliar with the meanings of any of these words or others you find in your reading, consult a dictionary before using them.

3. Explain the significance of the quotation.

Once you’ve inserted your quotation, along with its context and attribution, don’t stop! Your reader still needs your assessment of why the quotation holds significance for your paper. Using our Roosevelt example, if you were writing a paper on the first one-hundred days of FDR’s administration, you might follow the quotation by linking it to that topic:

With that message of hope and confidence, the new president set the stage for his next one-hundred days in office and helped restore the faith of the American people in their government.

4. Provide a citation for the quotation.

All quotations, just like all paraphrases, require a formal citation. For more details about particular citation formats, see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial. In general, you should remember one rule of thumb: Place the parenthetical reference or footnote/endnote number after—not within—the closed quotation mark.

Roosevelt declared, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” (Roosevelt, Public Papers, 11).

Roosevelt declared, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”1