The Dreaded Hook

I am guilty of teaching my students that they need a hook, that their thesis needs three parts, and that they have to complete a 5 paragraph essay. While I want them to break free from that, so many are hesitant to start writing if there is nothing concrete for them to see and cross off a checklist. I do the same brainstorm strategies as the other teachers, and there's nothing creative about how I teach writing. I can see some students zoning out, and yet, if they don't have that 5 paragraphs, they can't pass the CAHSEE or write a coherent essay that has some sort of organizational pattern.  

I'm going to absolutely agree with Jane on this one.  Although I am not a teacher right now, I did go through the credential program to obtain my  Single Subject English credential and was taught, both in class and in observation, that these were the essentials to teach your high school students.  The Hook always seemed the most cruel to me.  It sets up a block that many students simply could not overcome, despite brainstorming and outlining, and any other prewriting activity that their particular teacher deemed important.  I have always found that writing the introductory paragraph to any essay, academic or other, is my biggest hurdle when it comes to writing. Add in that the opening sentence has to SPECTACULAR and it's no wonder students can't seem to get their flow going.

I do think it necessary to  showcase the fact that it is not simply high schools pigeon-holing students into this pattern of writing: Hook, thesis w/ three main points, topic sentences, and a conclusion restating your thesis.  Colleges, including our own, are guilty of the same crime.  When taking the GWE I asked a professor to explain the process to me.  As a transfer student I was unaware of the requirements and my previous school had no such test.  her advice to me was to be "as elementary as possible."  I knew exactly what she meant.  The topic was on alternative energy sources, if I remember correctly, and I produced the world's best five paragraph essay that no English major should ever write past the age of eighteen.  It felt wrong.  It felt like I was dumbing myself and my writing down.  It felt like I was in high school again.  And I scored 11/12.

We have been reading pieces about helping students break the mold on the five paragraph essay.  We have been told that it is no longer "the way to write."  Then we continue to judge students based on these archaic conventions of writing.  How is that fair?  How can we teach students new and interesting ways to write when we know very well that they will be judged on how well they adhere to the old rules.  To me, it's all wonderful in theory, but until we find a better way to judge writing that does not follow such a strict format, we really shouldn't criticize students who follow the patterns because they might know very well that following that pattern is their way of succeeding.