GUIDE TO WRITING AN ESSAY

An essay normally has three parts: 1. An introductory paragraph 2. A body (at least one, but usually two or more paragraphs) 3. A concluding paragraph

THE INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH

All writers will agree that the most difficult part of writing is getting started. Getting started can prove easy if you remember the purposes of an introduction: It introduces the topic of the essay It gives the general background of the topic It often indicates the overall plan of the essay It should arouse the readers interest in the topic The introduction has two parts: A general statement, which introduces the topic of the essay and gives general background information on the topic and A thesis statement, which states the main focus of the essay, may indicate the method of organisation of the entire essay and is usually the last sentence in the introductory paragraph

THE BODY OF THE ESSAY

An essay is longer and more complex than a paragraph, so it is very important to organise your thoughts and to plan your paragraphs accordingly. Each paragraph develops a subdivision of your topic. It starts with an introductory or topic sentence, is followed by two or more supporting points and ends with a concluding sentence. Make sure that there are logical transitions between paragraphs and that the beginning of each paragraph somehow connects and is a logical continuation of the previous paragraph.
The Writing Centre, London Metropolitan University www.londonmet.ac.uk/writingcentre

THE CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH

The final paragraph in an essay is the conclusion, which tells the reader that you have completed the essay. The concluding paragraph usually consists of: A summary of the main points, or a restatement of your thesis in different words and Your final comment on the subject, based in the information you have provided. It is always useful to introduce the conclusion with a conclusion transition signal such as To conclude or In conclusion. Remember to NEVER introduce new points in your concluding paragraph; this is meant to include a summary of arguments you have already presented, NOT present new ones. In sum, the skeleton of an essay could look like this:

ESSAY
I. INTRODUCTION General Statement Thesis statement II. BODY A. Topic sentence 1. Support 2. Support 3. Support (Concluding sentence) B. Topic sentence 1. Support 2. Support 3. Support (Concluding sentence) C. Topic sentence 1. Support 2. Support 3. Support (Concluding sentence) III. CONLUSION Restatement or summary of the main points Final comment
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PATTERNS OF ESSAY ORGANISATION

Chronological Order This is order by time and is used in almost all academic disciplines. Some of its uses are: To explain processes, e.g. how to plan a community meeting, how to perform a Physics experiment To describe events over a period of time (e.g. in biography, autobiography, history, narrative writing) Logical Division of Ideas This is a form of essay organisation that is used to group related items according to qualities they have in common. Logical division can prove useful in planning an academic paper because it can help you divide a broad subject into several categories or groups and in that way focus the topics for discussion. Cause and Effect Order In a cause and effect essay, you discuss the reasons or causes for something; then you discuss the results. There are two ways of organising a cause and effect essay: block organisation and chain organisation. Block organisation Discuss all the causes as a block (in one, two or more paragraphs, depending on the number of causes). Then discuss all of the effects as a block. Chain organisation Discuss a first cause and its effect, a second cause and its effect, a third cause and its effect, and so on. Usually, each new cause is the result of the preceding effect. The discussion of each new cause and its effect begins with a new paragraph. Comparison and Contrast Order This is a very common and useful method of essay organisation. In comparing and contrasting two things (e.g. processes, apparatuses, time periods, e.t.c.), you can try two methods: Discuss all the similarities in a block (in one, two or more paragraphs) and then all the differences as another block. Make sure that the balance between similarities and differences is good. Decide on which areas/aspects you are going to focus. Then discuss one similarity followed by one difference in the same area as one block, then a second similarity followed by a second difference for a second area, and continue in this way.
The Writing Centre, London Metropolitan University www.londonmet.ac.uk/writingcentre

The key to writing successful comparison and contrast essays is the appropriate use of comparison and contrast words, such as the following: COMPARISON STRUCTURE WORDS
SENTENCE CONNECTORS Similarly Likewise Also too CLAUSE CONNECTORS and both and not only but also neither nor OTHERS like (+ noun) just like (+ noun) similar to (+ noun) (be) the same as (be) similar to (be) alike to compare to/with

CONTRAST STRUCTURE WORDS

SENTENCE CONNECTORS However In contrast In/by comparison On the other hand On the contrary CLAUSE CONNECTORS while whereas but OTHERS differ from compared to/with (be) different (from) (be) dissimilar to (be) unlike

Good luck with your essay!

The Writing Centre, London Metropolitan University www.londonmet.ac.uk/writingcentre