Essay Writing Tips For Beginners: Learning How to Structure Your Paper

Once you get to middle school (aka. Junior High School) you will be introduced to a new type of writing known as the essay. In it’s simplest form the essay is a very basic style of academic writing that is meant to critically examine a unique idea or concept.

There are actually various types of essays that students are expected to write. These include narrative essays, argumentative essays, research essays and so on. However, no matter what type of essay you have been assigned to write the structure is always the same.

Today, for the sake of the beginners we are going to talk about how an essay is structured and why.

• The Introduction

The introduction is the first paragraph in any essay. In a long-form essay (more than 5 paragraphs) the introduction may be several paragraph long and take up an entire section. You will find out more about that when you get to college.

No matter how long your essay is the introduction should include the who, what, where, and why of the paper. It should also be where you state your purpose for writing and introduce your thesis.

The Thesis, for those who do not know, is the author’s singular main point. Basically it is a bold statement about what you have learned/ what you intent to prove by writing this paper. Your essay’s thesis should be clear, concise, and insightful.

• Body Paragraphs

The next part of the essay is called the body. This is where your main arguments will be brought up and defended using clear evidence points.

There is no rule about how many body paragraphs an essay should have, however most student written essays are expected to have at least 3.

Each body paragraph should focus on one main point or idea that reflects back to and defends the thesis. It is common practice to list your body paragraphs in order of weakest argument to strongest. (With the strongest argument tying into the conclusion.)

• The Conclusion

The conclusion is the “wrapping up” point of the essay where all of the main points are re-stated and the author’s purpose for writing (the thesis) is proven to be true.

Typically, the conclusion mirrors the original introduction and ties together any of the remaining questions that the reader may have about the topic being explored.

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