THE ESSAY

- a paragraph in an extended form; a sequence of connected paragraphs, organized around one

central idea

- a paragraph has a topic sentence, a body, a conclusion

- an essay has an introduction, a body, a conclusion

INTRODUCTION: - prepares the reader for what follows;

- contains the thesis statement, the essay’s central idea (it must be general enough to
include all the topic sentences in the essay);

BODY: - the longest part;

- it explains and supports the thesis statement (usually focusing around 3 main points);

CONCLUSION: - signals the end of the essay and leaves the reader with a final thought.

1. INTRODUCTION

SUPPORTING MATERIAL

1st supporting paragraph

2. BODY
2nd supporting paragraph

3rd supporting paragraph

3. CONCLUSION
STEPS FOR WRITING AN EFFECTIVE ESSAY:

 NARROW THE TOPIC – focus on one specific aspect of the general topic

e.g. History of the Desert Warfare Rommel’s February 1942

Counteroffensive in Lybia

The Army of The Future The Infantry Rifle of 2015

 WRITE THE THESIS STATEMENT – it must clearly state, in sentence form, the
essay’s central point, the main idea supported by the essay. It must be as specific as possible,
limited and direct.

The following thesis statements are developed into sentences.

The leadership and the examples set by my

commanders helped me mature greatly and
made my army experience both educational
My Army experience was really good. and exciting.

My uncle, a house painter who lives in a

tree house, and my niece, a very successful
My family includes several unusual people. one-armed mechanic, typify the sort of odd
folk inhabiting my family.

 ORGANIZING/WRITING THE BODY – the body supports and discusses the thesis
statement. Developing the body is basically reduced to derivating topic sentences from the thesis
statement, which will be further analyzed in separate paragraphs.

e.g: Thesis statement: There are three things to be observed before buying an used car.

Topic sentence 1: Decide exactly how much you can spend initially and how much maintenance the
car might need.

Topic sentence 2: Choose a car of a size to meet your needs.

Topic sentence 3: Shop around and don’t assume that the first dealer you visit has the best
bargains.

 GIVE YOUR ESSAY A SENSE OF CLOSURE AND FINALITY, BY WRITING

IN THE END A MEMORABLE CONCLUDING STATEMENT.