Times are changing. Not only are the technological changes showing through phones, computers, and iPods, but technological advances are now starting to show in the class room setting. No, I’m not just talking about the spell check and new applications that the new Microsoft word program offers; I’m talking about “New Essays.”
Essays as we know them have evolved into a completely new genre. So new, and different is this genre that it still not completely accepted by all teachers. Some prefer the old ways of writing, pen and paper, showing your true talents and attributes. Others prefer the five paragraph typical essay, spellchecked and clean, and flowing in order. But recently, because of the wonderful world of the web and hyperlinks, types of essays called “New Essays” have been developed. These new essays create a new excitement getting the reader involved, and giving the reader a choice in how they read the paper. Some of the most common type of these essays are the Hierarchically Arranged Essay, the Organic Essay, and the Hypertext Essay. In these new essays, you are able to read them multiple times, and each time the piece will have a different effect on you because of the choices you made while reading it. But the question is then formed, if you can read it and extract different information from the paper, are you missing out on all the information? If you can come to the end of the essay and have a different concluding paragraph than some else, I believe that you haven’t obtained all of the information. Of course, you’ll be in more agreement with the author, but is this really a false agreement, because behind the text the author is agreeing with the reader who took the other path? One good thing about a New Essay is it brings a variety of differences to the table, you can read through a piece taking both sides, rather than having them worked them together into one argument. You can see the different sides for what they are and you have a sense that multiple voices are conveying this information; not one opinionate person.
What words would you offer to a teacher who was against the ideas of the new essay? Do you find the academic five paragraph essay restricting or comforting? On choosing which way to write, which would you rather use to display your information? When it comes to reading, would you rather read a typical five paragraph essay or one of the modern types?
19 comments:
I think that the new essays are good in that they create a new way to convey a message. Its good to have different ways to express something in order to help benefit all ideas. I personally like the old way of writing because im use to it, but I dont mind trying out new ideas or new ways to write an essay. I think that teachers should stick to the old way of doing them to keep everything organized and on track, but its good to integrate some new essay structures to a new english class.
In all honesty i feel comfortable in writing a 5 paragraph essay. i think is by far the most boring of them all, but since no teacher since now ever talked about new essays and that sort of thing i guess its hard to be comfortable with anything else. i think we should learn how to do the new essay in high school to get a feel for it. mainly because there is a chance we will use it in college, like we are now. Isnt that what high school is suppose to be for learning some stuff here and there that we will further advance in college.
I like the idea of new essays personally. I think that we have had to write the typical 5 paragraph paper for some many years through high school and grade school that a change is a good thing. This way the writer can swing your attitude towards a certain idea or their opinon. The new essay brings a new skill and new level to writing which i think is very good for english classes.
I think the new essay is interesting but can be hard to follow which makes it hard for the writer to get his or her message across. I like writing essays that aren't traditional but sometimes to make an essay formal it is easier to make it a five paragraph one. Hopefully I will be able to make a new essay succesfully and be able to get my point across
I think we'll be tied to traditional academic forms like the 5 paragraph essay for some time. Like others said, that is good in some ways cause we know what's expected of us as readers when we sit down and try to extract meaning from a text. The new essay form isn't likely to be very useful in its complete form...but what may be useful is figuring out it's characteristics and drawing from them in more traditional genres to "pop wheelies" and show jur uber leet skillz with writing.
So the new essays are a cool way to express your message, but in my opinion, it is much harder to follow. The structure of the five paragraph essay is more comfortable, mostly because that is what we are taught and use throughout all of our writing projects. Although the new essay can really expand your writing, and really explore the meaning of your essay.
I like the idea of the new essays. The traditional style of the five paragraph essay is pretty boring. The new essays give a chance to express yourself and new ways of writing. It will definitly take time to get these essays used though. They are a lot more complicated and take a lot more thought. I like the idea of them though.
New Essays allow for people to not restrict themselves to a single format. Idea's take different points of views to be understood easily, both in words and in format. Technology has allowed people to choose what way they want to write.
There's always room to expand on new ideas and thoughts. Innovating ways to write an essay besides just using a pen and paper. I like writing my essays first in pen and paper than using the computer to make it more refined. I'm open to new ways to write papers.
I like the concept of the new essay but it definitly takes a lot of work and creativity to be able to get the message across to the reader. I think it is best done when the reader gets perspectives from all different people with different ideas. In the essay we read it says it can help you become a better reader in that you have to read more closely and piece togehter the information. I think both essays are good and teachers should assign both and expect to get a good mix of both new and traditional essays because of students prefrences.
I believe that the new essays are great. I think they create another great way for us to express ourselves. I think this would be a bit hard to get used to seeing as it is so new. I personally would stick to the old traditional way of writing just because I am used to it, but once I adapted to the new essay I'm sure I would use it more and more. I think most people will continue to use the old way because right now it is more organized and easy for us to use.
I think that a teacher against the new essay needs to broaden their mind. A new essay doesn't mean that the five paragraph essay is dying out or something. It's just a new way to share information. I think that a five paragraph essay and a new essay could be written for the exact same thing and each would provide different information better. For example, a five paragraph essay might explain a complex idea better but a new essay can explain data better by having charts and stuff.
I think that both essays are good and can, depending on the material, be better for one thing or another. I can't really decide which I would like to use better because I like experimenting with new things (the new essay) but I'm already used to and comfortable with the old five paragraph essay.
Though i do feel that the new essay is a cool abstract idea, I feel much more comfortable reading and writing a traditional essay. It may be the most 'boring' some people say, but there can be much more straight forward rhetoric in a one. With new essays the ideas they are trying to convey are seemingly unorganized and just a cluster f of paragraphs floating around. It is more to the point of the topic. Maybe the reader doesn't want to spend hours trying to put everything in a new essay to sense when the traditional essay offers that up front.
However, i do feel that it is good to have more than one type of essay under your belt. And teachers should look at this for future acceptable types.
I think that these new essays are very important in the new world of not only technology but also the new world of visual text. Teachers that are against the "new essays" I believe are almost stuck in the past and need to think that through a little more closely. I think that traditional essays are very important because you still need to know how to write essays in the traditional ways for a job later in life but in that regard many businesses are starting to use different forms of visual texts such as blogs and wikis so it is just as important to learn the other forms of writing essays.
I do like the idea of a new essay but before all you pencil pushers flip their notebooks up in a fit of rage let me finish. I would much rather write a 5 paragraph essay in a academic setting or with a teacher who is much more liberal and open to the idea of a new essay then that of a teacher who scorns the very idea of it. Now when it comes down to reading one or the other that again comes down to content. If it is a very serious highly factual and referenced topic I'd rather a well formated 5 paragraph essay then a confusing and possibly hard to read New Essay where I might even finish the essay before I get to read everything in it!
honestly it depends upon the subject matter. formal ways of writing are not evil, and new essays are not the best way to write every time. come on, someone who wants to know the possible side effects of an inflamed pancreas doesnt want to have to navigate through a maze of hyperlinks to find a metaphore that only suggests possible answers. in that case, a five paragraph essay, or some linear form of writing would be best. on the other hand, other subjects, like legalizing a certain illegal substance (cough cough..pot), could be expressed well through the new essay format for its innovative viewpoint. it depends on the content of the essay itself.
I feel like the new essay was more interesting and fun to create, however, since I had never constructed one before, I had a hard time knowing how to format particular parts of the new essay. I think since all I have known is the traditional five paragraph essay, I am still more comfortable with that form of writing. However, I feel the new essay format is much more interesting and exciting to both create and read.
I like doing the new essays more. The 5 pages essay might be more comfortable, but I need change, something that grabs my attention. Reading words is soooo stone age and now that we can create pictures on the fly and add them into an essay, who not do it? The way things are going I think essays will become better. I mean better as in they will work better at conveying the intended message and providing more info.
On a regular basis I do not find the five paragraph essay to be restricting. In some instances where the topic is immensely broad and there is much information that you want to share I do think that the traditional essay can be rather restricting. In an essay where I would have to present a lot of information where there and there are many sides to what I was talking about, I think I would most like to use the new essay form. I think if I used the new essay form I would not have to worry about with structure and transitions as I would about just getting the information in there.
As far as reading goes, I don't know which one I would prefer the most. When I read essays in the new essay form there is always a 50/50 chance that I may or may not understand what was written after I finished reading it. On the contrary though, when I read an essay written in a traditional form it is not very likely that I not understand what was being talked about. But, I have found that I like to read new essays because I have a choice in the order that I go, I like seeing all of the different fonts, and I like how the writing is everywhere. So I don't know if I prefer one over the other. Maybe if it is not very important for me to read it, I wouldn't mind seeing it in a new essay form but otherwise I may need to read it in the traditional form.
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