In the blog ‘From Reading to Writing: Why the Essay Isn’t Working’ author Emma Dering made arguments about the negative impact of writing essays like the five-paragraph. Many of the opinions made in our week 4 class discussion were similar; Emma feels teachers are focusing on the essay itself and not enough on skills necessary to write and she wanted to know when the shift in focus happened. Because of the change, students lack the knowledge to think critically when reading material. Students not given the opportunity to become better readers and comprehend are ultimately having their education hindered, and students lack the preparation that will aid them in a secondary education. There was a time when understanding was more important than