The three-paragraph essay is the simplest form where each paragraph is dedicated to a section.

There are those who say that an essay should consist of at least three body paragraphs, but it’s
okay if you include more paragraphs in this section. This begs the question: how many paragraphs
comprise a long essay?

In academic works, your paragraphs are likely to be a bit longer than most of what you see in blog
posts and other articles. An academic paragraph can contain between 100 to 200 words, which
translates to about five and ten paragraphs in a 1000 word essay, answering how long are college
essays supposed to be.

The points to be covered

The number of points that you need to cover in your essay should determine the number of
paragraphs that you are going to include in your essay. Each paragraph revolves around a single
idea that connects to the central idea of your essay. In the planning of your essay, you will have to
consider and research on all the major elements that are required in the body text. You can
assume that each paragraph will take each one of these ideas. Availability of information needed
to cover each area will require you to have more paragraphs. That is the answer to how long
should college essays be?