Thomas Nunnally equates five-paragraph format essays with square cucumbers found at farmer's markets: they have an established structure but no argument. The real square cucumbers are students who need a formula to write competently. By providing students with a real audience, a teacher can show that he or she takes students' desires -- and identities -- seriously. Students are incorporated into the writing process and become aware that the role they play is invaluable. Once they invest in their work, students can make the choices that real writers make -- when to take risks, when to use certain rhetorical strategies, when to pursue certain arguments and avoid others. With a definite structure like the five-paragraph theme, according to the author, we are implicitly teaching students that their identities must be tamed and contained before they can be expected to communicate in a meaningful way.