Getting Off Topic

When writing an essay it makes it more effective to get off the topic and quickly associate it to the ultimate goal of the essay. For example, Nancy Sommers' "I Stand Here Writing," is an essay that takes several different "off topic" stories and relates to one central theme. This allows the paper to be more personal and also allows it to have more a creative flow. In addition, in Sommers' article it allows her to freely move from example to example and cover many different kinds of examples. It allows to her to talk about her own personal accounts as well as other examples from her life. I think in my paper that would have helped because it would have made it easier for me to move out of the five-paragraph theme structure. The task of having to associate the "off topic" story/example to the central theme forces you to move out of the strict five-paragraph model. Also, it would have made my paper more interesting. It wouldn't just be a critical view of to pieces of art; it would have some kind of personal touch. Also, it would read more like a natural train of thought, than an essay.