Structure

Note the relationship between the parts of the essay:

• • The thesis introduces the main idea of the essay: the topic and the position of the writer about the topic; additionally, the thesis may introduce the points of support for the thesis. For my classes, the points of support should be stated.

  • The topic sentences in the body paragraphs introduce the points of support from the thesis. Those points should be introduced in the order that they will be discussed in the body.

  • The purpose of the body paragraphs is to support the thesis.

  • The body of each paragraph in an essay serves two purposes:

    • Sentences support the topic sentence of the paragraph

    • Sentence support the thesis

  • The conclusion returns to the main idea of the essay, the thesis. While it may summarize, it should do more: It should explain the significance of the essay's main idea, the thesis.

    • One way to address significance of the essay's thesis is to answer question "So what?"

    • Another way to address significance is to discuss the points discussed from some fresh perspective or to discuss them as they relate to some larger context.

  • While the "hook" is the opening of the paper, something interesting to draw the reader in, it should clearly connect to the ideas in the conclusion, so choosing it after drafting the conclusion is a good idea.

Rao, Valli, Kate Chanock, and Lakshmi Krihnan. “Visual Guide to Essay Writing.” Sydney, AU: Association for Academic Language and Learning, 2007. James Cook University.

Includes graphics and explanations of the parts of the academic essay.

http://www.jcu.edu.au/tldinfo/writingskills/documents/RaoChanockVisualGuidetoEssayWriting.pdf <<n< o <<Link is no longer available; document can be accessed at the following link:

https://library2.lincoln.ac.nz/documents/essayWritingVisualGuide.pdf

See attached document for additional information and resources.