he 5PE remains a useful tool in the pedagogi-cal kit. Most college writing instructors have eschewed the 5PE,contending that it limits what writing can be,
This sentence highlights the tension in the debate. On one hand, the five paragraph essay is described as a “useful tool,” but on the other hand, many instructors reject it because it restricts creativity and complexity. I think this shows that the format itself is not necessarily bad, but how it is used may be the real issue.