You can think of any essay as consisting of three parts: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. You might see some small variations, but for the most part, that is the structure of any essay.
Kaboom! That, the sound of the entire universe forming in an instant, giving rise to apples, toenails, and what we know today as the humble five-paragraph essay. Since that fortuitous moment, the five-paragraph essay has become the favorite assignment among English teachers, to the bemusement of students. Although many educators, professionals, and youths have valid criticisms about the form, the five-paragraph essay is an important component of developing writing skills and critical thought.
basic parts of an essay
The body paragraphs are the main part of your essay burger. Each body paragraph presents an idea that supports your thesis. This can include evidence from a literary source, details that build out your thesis, or explanations for your reasoning.
A burger needs a solid, sturdy bottom bun. Otherwise, the burger would fall apart. The same holds for a conclusion. A good conclusion holds the essay together, while offering a unique finishing touch to the whole thing.
The introduction is the first paragraph of the essay, and it serves several purposes. This paragraph gets your reader's attention, develops the basic ideas of what you will cover, and provides the thesis statement for the essay. The thesis statement is usually only one sentence and is made up of the topic, focus, and three main points of the essay.
Be sure that each sentence in the paragraph directly addresses both your topic sentence and your thesis statement. If you have a point to make that is not directly connected to the topic sentence, it does not belong in the paragraph. You might write a different paragraph on that other point, but you may not stick it into any old paragraph just because you thought of it at that point. (You can't stick a red towel into a load of white laundry without causing damage to the rest of the clothes, and you can't stick a point that' off-topic into a paragraph without doing damage to the rest of the essay. Keep your laundry and your paragraph points separate!)
The conclusion is the last paragraph of the essay. This paragraph brings the essay to a close, reminds the reader of the basic ideas from the essay, and restates the thesis statement. The conclusion should not contain new ideas, as it is the summation of the content of the essay. The restatement of the thesis is a simpler form that the one originally presented in the introduction.
Before we finish, it is important to remember that the format of the five-paragraph essay is the foundation of nearly every other essay you'll write. When you get ready to write longer papers, remember that the job of the introduction and conclusion are just the same as they are in the five-paragraph essay. Also, when you write longer papers, change your idea of support from three body paragraphs to three (or two or four) body sections, with as many paragraphs as necessary in each section (just as you had as many sentences you needed in each body paragraph).
Almost every course you will encounter in college will include writing assignments. One of the most common writing assignments is known as an essay. While the content and style of essay projects will vary across the disciplines, there are a number of key components that all good essays include. This section of the guide walks you through some of the basic components of the essay genre. Here are some general thoughts before you get started.
Almost every course you will encounter in college will include writing assignments. One of the most common writing assignments is known as an essay. While the content and style of essay projects will vary across the disciplines, there are several key components that all good essays include. This section of the guide walks you through some of the basic components of the essay genre. Here are some general thoughts before you get started.
Hence, regular essays are more prevalent in the academic sphere, and the task is usually to write something like a 500-words essay on a given topic. The essay outline in such a case will vary and might be altered with additional subheadings. However, an argumentative essay is a more complex version.
Based on an essay outline of 5 parts indicated above, it is clear that the content of each of the five paragraphs is unique. However, it all revolves around topics that students interrogate. For example, if authors are examining the medical benefits of marijuana, the introduction part should introduce readers to this topic. Here, writers can offer the context of the theme by discussing the debate around medical marijuana. In the argument section, scholars should state the medicinal benefits of marijuana by citing research evidence. In the counter argument section, scholars should discuss ideas that challenge the claims made in the previous section. On the other hand, the rebuttal section should challenge the ideas in the counter argument part, while the conclusion segment should confirm some reasons as to why marijuana has medical benefits.
The third section of 5 parts of an essay, which is the second part of the main text, focuses on counter arguments. Ideally, it makes no sense for a writer to outline arguments in favor of an issue without recognizing divergent views. In this case, the counter argument section is where authors mention discussions by critics and scholars that undermine the claim established in the thesis statement. To make sure the entire paper is scholarly, writers should also back up these counter arguments with evidence from academic sources.
When you first learn how to write an essay, you are usually taught how to write the five-paragraph essay. As you develop as a writer and move on to higher grades, you'll write longer and more complex essays that will have more than five paragraphs. Yet no matter how many paragraphs your essay includes, it still needs to perform the same function: present a compelling argument in favor of or against a certain position.
The first part of your essay will be the introduction and it should begin by telling the reader specifically what topic your essay is addressing. Near the end of your introduction should be your thesis statement, which is a clear and concise statement that presents your argument. The last sentence of the introduction should be a transitional sentence that relates to the first body paragraph of the essay.
The second part of the essay should be the first body paragraph, and it should present the strongest point that proves your thesis statement. The first sentence in this paragraph should tie into the transitional sentence in the introduction. Subsequent sentences should describe specific examples that relate to the point you are arguing in the paragraph. Like the last sentence in the introduction, the last sentence in this paragraph should be transitional and lead into the argument you will present in the next body paragraph.
The third part of the five-paragraph essay should present the second most compelling argument in support of your thesis. The first sentence should tie into the transitional sentence in the first body paragraph and you should clearly state the argument you are presenting in this paragraph near the beginning of the paragraph. Use examples to support this argument in subsequent sentences and end the paragraph with a transitional sentence into your third and final body paragraph.
The final body paragraph is the fourth part of the five-paragraph essay, and this section should present your weakest argument in support of your thesis statement. Although this may be your weakest argument, do not suggest this in the essay or overcompensate by providing too many examples; structure it in the same way you did the previous two body paragraphs. End the third body paragraph with a concluding statement that makes it obvious to the reader that this is the final major point you will make.
The final part of the five-paragraph essay is the conclusion. This paragraph should restate the thesis statement, but the restatement must not be a duplicate of the thesis statement itself. The conclusion should also summarize the three major points you addressed in each body paragraph. The final sentence of the conclusion should be a clear signal that the essay has ended; it may also include an application to your argument or something that the reader can think about after he has finished reading the essay.
The essay itself usually has no section headings. Only the title page, author declaration and reference list are written as headings, along with, for example, appendices. Check any task instructions, and your course or unit handbook, for further details.
Content in assignment introductions can vary widely. In some disciplines you may need to provide a full background and context, whereas other essays may need only a little context, and others may need none.
There are some exceptions. For example, if an assignment brief specifically directs the essay focus or requires you to write broadly about a topic. These are relatively rare or are discipline-specific so you should check your task instructions and discipline and subject area conventions.
Below are examples of an opening statement, a summary of the selected content, and a statement at the end of the introduction which tells the reader what the essay will focus on and how it will be addressed. We've use a fictional essay.
The body of the essay should be organised into paragraphs. Each paragraph should deal with a different aspect of the issue, but they should also link in some way to those that precede and follow it. This is not an easy thing to get right, even for experienced writers, partly because there are many ways to successfully structure and use paragraphs. There is no perfect paragraph template.
HomeTopicOutlineThesisBodyIntroductionConclusionFinishSampleLinksUse this Sample Basic Essay as a ModelThe essay below demonstrates the principles of writing a basic essay. The different parts of the essay have been labeled. The thesis statement is in bold, the topic sentences are in italics, and each main point is underlined. When you write your own essay, of course, you will not need to mark these parts of the essay unless your teacher has asked you to do so. They are marked here just so that you can more easily identify them. 2ff7e9595c
Comments