Essay Structure

Benefits of a well-structured essay

There are many advantages of having a well-structured paper (clear intro, body paragraphs, and conclusion); here are some of the largest upsides.

General essay structure

There is no perfect way to structure your essay, but having a general idea of what you're getting yourself into could be helpful. A strong essay includes the following:

1. Beginning (introduction)
2. Middle (body paragraphs)
3. End (conclusion)

Just don't forget that each body paragraph will need a main focus or idea with unique supporting points to back it up.

Building your introduction and thesis

Introduction

Generally, there are three parts to a strong essay introduction.

1. Hook: Your hook will draw the reader in, typically introducing the essay's topic within the first sentence.
2. Transition sentence: This will be your second to third sentence in your opening paragraph, providing background or content for what will come next: your thesis.
3. Thesis: Your thesis is the bread and butter of your assignment, providing a clear, specific focus for the paper going forward. You tell

Notice how general the hook is compared to how specific the thesis statement is?

You should aim to keep your first sentence short and to the point, and then slowly go from a broad focus to a more detailed view of what is to come in the essay.

Thesis statement

The thesis is a crucial component of the introduction. It clearly states what your paper is about. This gives the reader a sense of what's coming up in your paper.

Supporting resources

• Hooks and attention grabbers (George Brown College)
• Tips and examples for writing thesis statements (OWL Purdue)

Body paragraphs

It's helpful to think of body paragraphs as their own mini-story with a beginning (topic sentence), middle (supporting sentences), and end (wrap-up sentence).

Here's a breakdown of what you should include within the body of your essay.

Example from RMIT University's English Teaching materials:

"There are several serious health hazards directly linked to smoking. The link between smoking and cancer is well known. As well, smoking is linked to other lung diseases like emphysema and bronchitis. Smokers also have a greater risk of heart disease later in life. This is evidenced in recent court cases in the USA where smokers have been awarded damages from tobacco companies. Further, there is substantial research that even passive smoking can have long-term effects on health. Clearly, smoking is a dangerous habit and should be avoided."

• Topic sentence: This sentence opens your paragraph and states the main idea. Your paragraph should focus on only one main idea.
• Supporting sentences: next, you build your idea and support it with quotes, paraphrases, or examples.
• Wrap-up: concluding sentence. Typically, this is where you conclude the paragraph before proceeding to the next one.

Supporting resources

• Four steps to writing a coherent paragraph (STU)

Conclusion

The goal of the concluding paragraph is to summarize the main ideas. You could try the following when writing your conclusion:

• Restate the thesis using different words and expressions.
• Summarize the main key points (but don't include details or supporting ideas).
• Wrap-up with questions for further study, solutions, or recommendations. We only suggest this if it is part of your instructions for your paper/assignment.