Although there is a common formula to writing a five-paragraph essay, students soon learn that each teacher has their own unique preferences. I can remember a teacher that didn’t allow students to use the transition, “on the other hand,” unless they had already used, “on the one hand.” Some insist on transitional sentences, others do not. Some want a student’s thesis statement in the middle of the introduction, while others want it at the beginning or even at the end. As a result, students…