1. Introduction
Introductory statements
Thesis statement
Introduce supporting ideas (optional)
2. Body
First supporting idea
Transition, topic sentence
Discussion, examples, and analysis
Conclusion (optional)
Second supporting idea
Transition, topic sentence
Discussion, examples, and analysis
Conclusion (optional)
Third supporting idea
Transition, topic sentence
Discussion, examples, and analysis
Conclusion (optional)
3. Conclusion
Transition, statement reflecting back on thesis
Restate key points
Ending statement that provokes thought (optional)
Essay Writing Tips
Your essay should start with an introductory paragraph. Often, essays begin with a general introductory statement. This statement could be an anecdote, description, striking statistic, a fact that will lead to your essay, etc. Beginning this way, you will use the first few sentences to prepare, or "lay the groundwork" for your essay, and use the last sentence of the first paragraph to present your essay.
However, your essay statement can be anywhere in your introduction. In a longer essay, you can even wait to present your essay until the second paragraph or later.
Also for a longer essay, you should begin to introduce a few supporting ideas in the first couple of paragraphs. These supporting ideas should be the topics that you will discuss in full in your body paragraphs.
For a short essay, presenting supporting ideas during the introduction is optional.
Your second paragraph generally begins the body of the paper.
This paragraph should begin with a topic sentence that introduces the first supporting idea to support your essay. You should use the middle of the paragraph to discuss your support, give examples, and analyze the significance of these examples. Your last sentence of the body paragraph could be used to draw a conclusion for that supporting idea, or to transition into the next paragraph.
Your next two body paragraphs should follow the same format as your first body paragraph. They should each have a separate topic sentence and supporting ideas, but the three paragraphs should work together to prove your essay. If you are writing a longer paper, you will have more than three body paragraphs, but they should all follow this format.
The form of your conclusion, like your introduction, is flexible. One good way to conclude an essay is to begin the last paragraph with a statement that reflects on what has been stated and proved, without repeating it exactly. Then you should briefly restate your key points to gently remind the reader how well you proved your essay. Your conclusion should end with a statement or idea that leaves a strong impression and provokes further thought.
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