<p>I've always heard when writing an essay for the SAT that one should use the typical five-paragraph essay structure (intro, one paragraph from personal experience, one paragraph from history, one paragraph from literature, conclusion)
this is what i've been accustomed to doing</p>
<p>however, i was looking at the college board website and read an essay (which they said scored a 6/6), and it was more an analytical essay of a personal experience rather than the stereotypical five paragraph essay:</p>
<p>SAT</a> Sample Essay</p>
<p>Is the five paragraph essay structure so popularized because it's dependable?
Because I would find it a lot easier to write an essay like the one shown above (going into great detail about one experience).
I'm not sure if that would actually get me a good score or not, though. </p>
<p>What do you think? Please help?</p>
<p>Its good if the essay is 5 paragraphs. But in those 5 paragraphs u can use any example(s) u wish.</p>
<p>You’ll learn later on that the prototypical 5-paragraph essay is really elementary (it’s strongly frowned upon junior and senior year at my HS). What I do is write an essay without any mold. Sometimes this means having more or less than three body paragraphs, sometimes this means having a prolonged introduction (where I have a couple body paragraphs before I reach my thesis), sometimes two plus paragraphs are for the same example, sometimes I have a counterexample, etc. I basically write with the structure that puts forth the most logical proof, whatever that may be.</p>
<p>If I were an essay grader and saw the typical five paragraph essay, I would automatically mark it down like half a point or so (but that’s just me).</p>
<p>A three-paragraph essay can get you a 12, but it’s generally safer to stick to a four or five paragraph structure. Do whatever allows you to write best, but keep that in mind.</p>