"But most people today aren’t learning the times tables, and long division. They just use a calculator." Let me fix that for you: Most people learn the times

"But most people today aren’t learning the times tables, and long division. They just use a calculator." Let me fix that for you: Most people learn the times table, and long division. Then they just use a calculator. The American 5 paragraph essay is an extraordinary artificial academic construct, completely divorced from the real world. It aims to be systematically taught and systematically graded, during the developing stages of education where it is often difficult to get students to express any written thoughts at all. Using it outside of that context is a mistake. Composing a real-world essay is an exercise in considering an audience, preparing suitable arguments, making points more or less firmly, and hopefully providing some value.