Example of ripple strategy use
in planning a five paragraph essay

The classic five paragraph essay can be learned as a series of problem-solving strategies.

One problem all writers have to solve is determining what they know about their topic. An easy way to solve that problem is through ripple strategy, a kind of focused brainstorming, ideally suited to the five-paragraph essay.

A student writing problem

Glenn has finished a writing skeleton™ for a five paragraph essay on the working thesis "computers can hurt you." Here is his writing skeleton™ with the keywords for each topic sentence in bold.

• Computers can hurt you because computer use can cause eyestrain.
• Computers can hurt you because computer use can cause repetitive stress injury to hands.
• Computers can hurt you because computer use can cause neck strain.
  

Ripple along each topic sentence

Instead of trying to think of everything he knows about computer related injuries, Glenn applies a systematic problem solving approach.

Working with the first point of his writing skeleton™, Glenn uses ripple strategy, systematically working outward from himself and his personal network to increasingly distant sources.

Personal experience

"Using the computer doesn't bother me except when I have to use one of those folding chairs in the computer lab. What hurts there isn't my eyes."

Personal network

"Mom had to get special glasses because the eye doctor said working at the computer was causing her headaches. I can use that in my first paragraph.

Wider network, secondhand information

"What else? Can't think of anything I've heard or read on eyestrain.

Published information

"Guess I'll have to look up eyestrain somewhere.

In a few minutes, Glenn mined his personal experience and his network and came up with one definite piece of evidence (his mom's experience) his fall-back plan of doing "library" research.

Depending on the assignment specifications, two sources may give Glenn all the evidence he needs to develop his first body paragraph for his five paragraph essay.

But wait; there's more.

Before Glenn gets finished noting those potential information sources, he gets another thought.

Wider network

"Wait a minute. That eye doctor at that place that just opened. Maybe I could interview him. He's on my paper route."

After Glenn finishes rippling through his first point, he will apply the same strategy in turn to the second and third points of his five-paragraph essay.

Repeat rippling until it is a habit

If you use the rule of thumb that you need to do something 28 times to make it a habit, your students would have to apply the ripple strategy consciously in six different five paragraph essays before you could reasonably expect students to use it regularly and well.

If you don't have students write five paragraph essays regularly (by which I mean completing at least one essay every other week), you have almost no chance of having students master the strategy or any other writing strategy. Learning to write takes practice over time.

Habitual use breeds speed, efficiency

Once using the ripple strategy becomes a habit, students' brains will run through the process in a flash. What's more important, their brains will keep working while the students are at soccer practice or play rehearsal.

Students' planning time will become more productive as they effectively tell their brains what to look for each time they plan a five paragraph essay.

Teaching ripple strategy

For convenience, I recommend you teach students to apply the ripple strategy to a single point of their writing skeleton at a time, taking each topic sentence in turn.

When you teach any strategy, you have to teach rather than present. Students must understand what they are doing and why they are doing it. They also need to experience how the strategy accomplishes something they want to do. That something might be passing English, or it might just be getting to soccer practice early.

You also must monitor students' use of a strategy. If they don't use it well, or don't use it at all, you have to reteach.

Ripple strategy is built into the 40 questions of my peer learning activity Talk It Out. The materials are designed for repeated reuse so students master efficient, effective strategies for planning essays.