Essay writing is one of the most common school assignments. While most students fear these writing tasks, teachers love them for a number of reasons. Essays not only improve a student’s writing skills but also serve as an evaluation tool. Most students don’t plan their essays, and this leads to problems when presenting their arguments.
If you always have a problem composing your essays, it is time to do something about this. Learning the structure of essays is the first step in improving your essay writing skills.
This guide examines the typical structure of essays that you can use for all your writing tasks.
Basics of Essay writing
An essay gives you a chance to argue logically in response to a specific question. The reasoned argument communicates your ideas and helps your teacher assess your understanding of different topics. Your essay must have a foundation on evidence and critical reasoning.
Essays can take different formats, including analytical, argumentative interpretive, comparative essays, problem and solution essay and cause, and effect writing.
In all these writings, you have to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of a topic. Writing an outline ensures proper organization of all ideas in your essay.
1. The introduction
The introduction lays the foundation of your paper, and it is thus the most important section. It is a single paragraph where you should clearly set out the aims of your essay. Here, you also state what you want to achieve and briefly highlight the main points in your essay.
In the introduction, you give a context of the topic you’ve chosen, state your argument, and indicate how to answer the question. Your thesis or point of view must feature in the introduction. This is the roadmap that guides the rest of the writing.
A good introduction has a hook to entice the reader to read on to the end. It can be a statistic, question, anecdote, or a shocking fact. The idea is to create the best first impression and lure the reader deeper into the essay.
2. The Body
You can have 2-4 paragraphs for your essay body, depending on the writing requirements. The idea is to examine different ideas in your argument in each paragraph. A good paragraph starts with a powerful topic statement, which leaves no doubt about what you wish to handle.
The supporting sentences provide enough support for your argument, and in the end, you have a transitional hook before jumping to the next paragraph. The last sentence should seamlessly link to the next paragraph without leaving the reader hanging.
3. The Conclusion
Here, you should restate the main points in your essay and link them with your thesis. The idea is to show that your arguments have helped your thesis. You should not leave your readers in doubt about the custom thesis writing.
At this point, don’t give any new information but instead remind the reader of what you have covered and why it is important. It is a chance to leave a lasting impression on your readers.
While every essay type has unique requirements, these are the main sections every paper should have. Read the guidelines carefully and create an outline before you start writing.