Introduction

Essay Structure

Writing an academic essay means fashioning a coherent set of ideas into an argument. Because
essays are essentially linear—they offer one idea at a time—they must present their ideas in the
order that makes most sense to a reader. Successfully structuring an essay means attending to a
reader's logic.

The focus of such an essay predicts its structure. It dictates the information readers need to know
and the order in which they need to receive it. Thus your essay's structure is necessarily unique to
the main claim you're making. Although there are guidelines for constructing certain classic
essay types (e.g., comparative analysis), there are no set formula.

What are the main types of academic essays?

If we look at the intent of the academic essay we can define three main types:

• Descriptive – describes a subject, e.g.; a person, place or event.

• Expository – explains a concept or theory.

• Argumentative – presents an argument through reasoning and the use of evidence.

Organizing an Essay

There are many elements that must come together to create a good essay. The topic should be
clear and interesting. The author’s voice should come through, but not be a distraction. There
should be no errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, or capitalization. Organization is one of
the most important elements of an essay that is often overlooked. An organized essay is clear,
focused, logical and effective.

Organization makes it easier to understand the thesis. To illustrate, imagine putting together a
bike. Having all of the necessary tools, parts, and directions will make the job easier to complete
than if the parts are spread across the room and the tools are located all over the house. The same
logic applies to writing an essay. When all the parts of an essay are in some sort of order, it is
both easier for the writer to put the essay together and for the reader to understand the main ideas
presented in the essay.

Example:

An essay has 3 parts: an introduction, body and a conclusion.

Introduction: • the first paragraph in an essay.

• provides some background information on the topic

• starts general and gradually gets more specific

• ends in a thesis statement

• thesis statement: = “map” to the rest of your essay

= identifies the main topic

= lists your ideas about the topic in the order in which they will be discussed

eg. EBooks are cheap and convenient, despite their technological drawbacks.

topic idea #1 idea #2 idea #3

Body Paragraphs: • each body paragraph discusses 1 idea mentioned in your thesis statement

• start each body paragraph with a topic sentence that introduces that idea:

eg. First, ebooks are cheaper than traditional print books

• then provide supporting details and explanations for that idea, using a

transition signal each time you bring up a new point (e.g. first, finally, for

example, in addition, moreover, as a result):

 • if the body paragraph is long, summarize the idea again in a concluding sentence

eg. In short, ebooks are easier to buy, read, and produce than print books.

Conclusion: • often begins with a concluding signal (e.g. In conclusion, To sum up)

• restates main ideas in a new way.

• usually shorter than the introductory paragraph

1
Determine the type of essay you’re writing. In general, essays have the same basic
components: an introduction that sets the stage for your essay, body paragraphs that discuss your
ideas and arguments, and a conclusion that wraps everything up. However, depending on the
type of essay you’re writing, you may need to choose different organizational schemes.
 For example, a high-school AP essay should have a very clear structure, with your introduction
and thesis statement first, 3-4 body paragraphs that further your argument, and a conclusion that
ties everything together.
 On the other hand, a creative nonfiction essay might wait to present the thesis till the very end of
the essay and build up to it.
 A compare-and-contrast essay can be organized so that you compare two things in a single
paragraph and then have a contrasting paragraph, or you can organize it so that you compare and
contrast a single thing in the same paragraph.
 You can also choose to organize your essay chronologically; starting at the beginning of the
work or historical period you’re discussing and going through to the end. This can be helpful for
essays where chronology is important to your argument (like a history paper or lab report), or if
you’re telling a story in your essay.
 Persuasive essays can have several different organizational structures:
 The “support” structure begins with your thesis laid out clearly in the beginning and supports it
through the rest of the essay.
 The “discovery” structure builds to the thesis by moving through points of discussion until the
thesis seems the inevitable, correct view.
 The “exploratory” structure looks at the pros and cons of your chosen topic. It presents the
various sides and usually concludes with your thesis.

2
Read your assignment carefully. If you’ve been given an assignment or prompt, read it
carefully. It’s crucial to understand what your instructor is asking for before you organize and
write your essay.
 If you haven’t been given an assignment, you can always run ideas by your instructor or advisor
to see if they’re on track.
 Ask questions about anything you don’t understand. It’s much better to ask questions before you
put hours of work into your essay than it is to have to start over because you didn’t clarify
something. As long as you’re polite, almost all instructors will be happy to answer your
questions.

3
Determine your writing task. How you organize your essay will also depend on what your
writing task is. This is usually in the assignment or prompt. Look for keywords like “describe,”
“analyze,” “discuss,” or “compare.” These will tell you what your writing “job” is -- what the
essay needs to accomplish.

II

Write a thesis statement. Make this a unique observation, a powerful argument, an

 interpretation of a particular work or event, or another relevant statement that is not simply
stating the obvious or summarizing a larger work.
 A thesis statement acts as the “road map” for your paper. It tells your audience what to expect
from the rest of your essay.
 A good thesis statement is usually disputable, meaning someone might challenge or oppose your
idea. While that can sound scary, it’s crucial to have a disputable thesis, because otherwise
you’re probably arguing something that’s so obvious it’s not worth spending time on.
 Include the most salient points within your thesis statement. For example, your thesis may be
about the similarity between two literary works. Describe the similarities in general terms within
your thesis statement.
 Consider the “So what?” question. A good thesis will explain why your idea or argument is
important. Ask yourself: if a friend asked you “So what?” about your thesis, would you have an
answer?
 The “3-prong thesis” is common in high school essays, but is often frowned upon in college and
advanced writing. Don’t feel like you have to restrict yourself to this limited form.
 Revise your thesis statement. If in the course of writing your essay you discover important points
that were not touched upon in your thesis, edit your thesis.

III

1
Create an outline of the points to include in your essay. Use your thesis statement to
determine the trajectory of your outline. For example, if you will compare and contrast two
different topics, outline the similarities and the differences.
 Determine the order in which you will discuss the points. If you’re planning to discuss 3
challenges of a particular management strategy, you might capture your reader's attention by
discussing them in the order of most problematic to least. Or you might choose to build the
intensity of your essay by starting with the smallest problem first.

2
 Avoid letting your sources drive your organization. Don’t feel like you have to copy
the structure of the source you’re drawing from or discussing. For example, a very common
mistake in beginning essays written about literature is to reiterate the plot point-by-point,
building your argument along with it. Instead, focus on the most important idea of each
paragraph. Even if you have to present your evidence in a different order than it appears in your
source, your paragraph will have a better flow.
 For example, a solid paragraph about Hamlet’s insanity could draw from several different scenes
in which he appears to act insane. Even though these scenes don’t all cluster together in the
original play, discussing them together will make a lot more sense than trying to discuss the
whole play from start to finish.

3
Write topic sentences for each paragraph. A clear topic sentence will assist with essay
organization. Devote each paragraph to discussing only the point of its topic sentence.
Discussing tangential information will create a disorganized essay.
 Ensure that your topic sentence is directly related to your main argument. Avoid statements that
may be on the general topic, but not directly relevant to your thesis.
 Make sure that your topic sentence offers a “preview” of your paragraph’s argument or
discussion. Many beginning writers forget to use the first sentence this way, and end up with
sentences that don’t give a clear direction for the paragraph.
 For example, compare these two first sentences: “Thomas Jefferson was born in 1743” and
“Thomas Jefferson, who was born in 1743, became one of the most important people in America
by the end of the 18th century.”
 The first sentence doesn’t give a good direction for the paragraph. It states a fact but leaves the
reader clueless about the fact’s relevance. The second sentence contextualizes the fact and lets
the reader know what the rest of the paragraph will discuss.

4
 Use transitional words and sentences. Create coherence for your essay by using
transitional words that connect each paragraph to the one before it. Beginning paragraphs with
words such as "likewise" and "in contrast" will allow your reader to follow your train of thought.
 Transitions help underline your essay’s overall organizational logic. For example, beginning a
paragraph with something like “Despite the many points in its favor, Mystic Pizza also has
several elements that keep it from being the best pizza in town” allows your reader to understand
how this paragraph connects to what has come before.
 Transitions can also be used inside paragraphs. They can help connect the ideas within a
paragraph smoothly so your reader can follow them.
 If you’re having a lot of trouble connecting your paragraphs, your organization may be off. Try
the revision strategies elsewhere in this article to determine whether your paragraphs are in the
best order.
 The Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin - Madison has a handy list of transitional
words and phrases, along with the type of transition they indicate.

5
Craft an effective conclusion. Include a restatement of your thesis using other words and
summarize your essay's main points. To create a captivating conclusion, offer insights about the
implications of your argument or findings for further thought or investigation.

 You can try returning to your original idea or theme and adding another layer of sophistication to
it. Your conclusion can show how necessary your essay is to understanding something about the
topic that readers would not have been prepared to understand before.
 For some types of essays, a call to action or appeal to emotions can be quite helpful in a
conclusion. Persuasive essays often use this technique.
 Avoid hackneyed phrases like “In sum” or “In conclusion.” They come across as stiff and
cliched on paper.