Structuring An Academic Essay

STRUCTURING AN ACADEMIC
ESSAY
By: Sara Baalbaki

WHAT IS AN ESSAY?
- An essay is a piece of writing that usually has five or more
paragraphs.
- An essay is written about one topic that has several main points.
- The main points are introduced in an introductory paragraph and
supported in body paragraphs.

Essay
Structur
e
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CC BY-SA-NC
THE FIRST PART OF THE ESSAY: THE
INTRODUCTION
• An introductory paragraph is the first paragraph in an essay. It contains two

parts:
1) The Attention Getter/Hook: these sentences grab your reader’s attention
2) The Thesis Statement: one sentence that tells your reader the main idea
and states the main idea of your entire essay.

WAYS TO START YOUR INTRODUCTION
• Examples
• Strategy • Today’s gnome owners become
• Provide some interesting tomorrow’s leaders.
background about the topic in the
form of a general statement
• “Gnomes are creatures to be loved,
not feared!”
• Use a thought-provoking quotation Dr. S. Rosner
• Ask a question about your topic • Why don’t many people like gnomes?
• State a surprising fact or a puzzling • In 1693, the first gnome was brought
statement to America.
• Start with a short story/anecdote • Little Susie looked out her window,
only to see her precious gnome,
Willard, was being stolen….
WAYS TO START YOUR
INTRODUCTION
• Strategy • Examples
• State a common misconception • People don’t learn bad habits from
gnomes.
• Describe a problem
• Everyone knows what a problem
gnome-napping has become in our
society.
• Give an analogy • Gnomes are just like children.
• Show how the topic is related to • Most people know how difficult it is
the reader’s experience to take care of garden gnomes.
THE FUNCTIONS OF A THESIS
STATEMENT
To announce the topic to the reader
To reflect a judgment about the topic
To provide the reader with a blueprint

of what is to come in the paper
EXAMPLE
An Introduction
In response to our world’s

Mentions the author’s
growing reliance on artificial name an the name of
light, writer Paul Bogard argues the text and briefly
states what the text is
that natural darkness should be about.
preserved in his article “Let
Thesis statement:
There be dark”. He effectively clearly lays out the
builds his argument by using a author’s purpose and
explains the devices
personal anecdote, allusions to the author uses to
art and history, and rhetorical achieve that purpose
questions.
SECOND PART OF THE ESSAY: THE
BODY
• The body consists of one or more paragraphs following the introduction.
• Each paragraph supports the main idea of your essay by breaking it

down into smaller ideas or sub-topics.
• Each body paragraph consists of a topic sentence and several

supporting sentences.
• A conclusion sentence draws the paragraph together.

EXAMPLE
Body Paragraph
Topic sentence stating the
Finally, Bogard makes subtle yet efficient use of rhetorical main focus of the
questioning to persuade his audience that natural darkness paragraph
preservation is essential. He asks the readers to consider
Evidence- quotations or
“what the vision of the night sky might inspire in each of us,
paraphrases of ideas from
in our children or grandchildren?” in a way that brutally
the text
plays to each of our emotions. By asking this question,
Bogard draws out heartfelt ponderance from his readers Analysis: Ask yourself
about the affecting power of an untainted night sky. This
rhetorical question tugs at the readers’ heartstrings; while Why he included this to persuade
the reader may have seen an unobscured night skyline
before, the possibility that their child or grandchild will never
get the chance sways them to see as Bogard sees. This How is it persuasive? What does it
strategy is definitively an appeal to pathos, forcing the do to help the reader become
audience to directly face an emotionally-charged inquiry that convinced of the author’s
will surely spur some kind of response. By doing this, Bogard argument
Concluding sentence
develops his argument, adding gutthral power to the idea
THIRD PART OF AN ESSAY: THE
CONCLUSION
• The conclusion paragraph is the last paragraph in

the essay.
• It completes the essay by summarizing or

repeating the most important ideas.
• The conclusion can also include an opinion, a

prediction, or a solution to a problem.
A CONCLUSION SHOULD:
• Summarize your ideas
• Restate your thesis statement in different words
• Ends with a strong statement to leave the reader thinking

about your topic
EXAMPLE
Conclusion
Writing as a reaction to his disappointment that

artificial light has largely permeated the General information
prescence of natural darkness, Paul Bogard
argues that we must preserve true, unaffected Thesis
darkness. He builds this claim by making use of statement
a personal anecdote, allusions, and rhetorical
questioning.
REMEMBER
• Your essay should not explain whether you agree with [the
author's] claims, but rather explain how the author builds an
argument to persuade their audience.
• Do describe the HOW: How does the author make the point?
• Don't spend more than a sentence or two describing what the
passage is about and what the point of the passage is.
• Do pay attention to how the author uses particular techniques and
elements to make the writing more convincing, persuasive, and
powerful. How and why do these features work?
• Do focus on what the author does, why he or she does it, and what
effect this is likely to have on readers
BASIC ESSAY STRUCTURE
Introduction
Thesis Statement
Body
Conclusion

Structuring An Academic Essay

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STRUCTURING AN ACADEMIC

By: Sara Baalbaki

- An essay is a piece of writing that usually has five or more

- The main points are introduced in an introductory paragraph and

supported in body paragraphs.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under

• An introductory paragraph is the first paragraph in an essay. It contains two

1) The Attention Getter/Hook: these sentences grab your reader’s attention

and states the main idea of your entire essay.

• Give an analogy • Gnomes are just like children.

To announce the topic to the reader

To reflect a judgment about the topic

To provide the reader with a blueprint

In response to our world’s

• The body consists of one or more paragraphs following the introduction.

• Each paragraph supports the main idea of your essay by breaking it

• Each body paragraph consists of a topic sentence and several

• A conclusion sentence draws the paragraph together.

• The conclusion paragraph is the last paragraph in

• It completes the essay by summarizing or

• The conclusion can also include an opinion, a

• Summarize your ideas

• Restate your thesis statement in different words

• Ends with a strong statement to leave the reader thinking

Writing as a reaction to his disappointment that

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