How to Write an Essay

Since our essays demand above average quality, I am writing this tutorial as a guide to the kind of
work we expect.
This guide will concentrate on the general structure of an essay as opposed to the details of APA
and MLA, but the example essay uses MLA. (For experienced writers, take note of my guide on where to
place your citation and the use of direct quotes. Newbies do not have to stress on that, for it will be
heavily insisted during the face to face training).
What is an essay?
Essays are brief, non-fiction compositions that describe, clarify, argue, or analyze a
subject.
Achieving any of the aforementioned pillars of essays demands more than just putting sentences
and paragraphs together. You need convincing arguments, logical flow, and impeccable organization.
For logical flow and organization, an essay is usually divided into 3 parts:

 Introduction
 Body (main part)
 Conclusion
We advise that your paragraphs be equally sized. The introduction, the body paragraphs, and the
conclusion should have the same size. Most writers ignore the importance of the introduction and
conclusion and just piece together a few sentences to form the introduction and the conclusion.
Depending on the size of your essay, your paragraphs should be ideally 100 to 150 words.
Let's go through the parts of an essay.
Introduction
The introduction leads the reader to the main point or argument of the essay, also known as a
thesis statement.
In the introduction, you should give a general overview of the argument, define terms, and
logically show the argument you are trying to make.
For our essays, the thesis statement is the last sentence of the introductory paragraph. The thesis
statement should be deep, coherent, and well-formulated to represent the argument of the essay.
Unless asked, please avoid putting a citation or direct quotation in the introduction since we
assume this your own synthesis of the topic and argument.
Do not use the expression "This paper will try to find out…" or "This paper studies blah…" as
your thesis statement unless it's a research paper. I will provide links to guide you in writing thesis
statements.
 Here is an example of an introduction of a paper titled "The Causes and Effects of the

Impending Environmental Crisis to Humanity."

Today's capitalistic society has inevitably led to the destruction of the environment, a

heavy price that might threaten the posterity of humanity. With the existing knowledge,

numerous researches were done, together with the visible effects witnessed, global warming is

no longer a general theory but a veritable issue that the world has to deal with. Furthermore, the

increased destruction of flora and fauna can no longer be ignored. Humanity's social, as well as

economic pursuits are seen as the major reasons behind the existing conditions. The world's

capitalistic economy driven by profit-minded corporations is responsible for the environmental

crisis through the extensive use of fossil fuels and unfriendly environmental practices carried out

during mining, which leads to the deplorable natural, social and economic conditions that exist

today.

Here are links to help you with the whole concept of the thesis statement:

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/01/

https://www.kibin.com/essay-writing-blog/thesis-statement-examples/

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/01/

I strongly advise that you check the information in the above links in detail.

Body
 This is the main part of your essay and will consist of 1 to 10 paragraphs depending on

the size of your essay. Each paragraph handles one major idea. Mixing ideas together

simply chokes your attempt at creating an argument.

Generally, a paragraph is a mini-essay on its own. It has an introduction, a body, and a

conclusion. The introduction of a paragraph is called a topic sentence. A topic sentence is the

first sentence of the body paragraph, and it points towards the argument of the paragraph.

Do not use subtitles unless requested, or it's a research paper. Topic sentences should be enough.

Do not put a citation on the first sentence of the paragraph. We advise that you cite or put

a direct quote in the middle of the paragraph. Also, do not put citation as the last sentence.

We generally require writers to put at least one direct quote in each body

paragraph(unless the paper does not require citation or the use of sources) and remembering to

keep the total plagiarism at a max of 12%. Sentences that are not direct quotes should not be

caught plagiarized!!

Below are links you should check out to help you on the whole issue of paragraphing and

topic sentences.

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/606/01/

http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/paragrph.html

I will use an example body paragraph so that we can solidify the points above.
 Over-dependence on fossil fuels is one of the major contributors to the degeneration of

the environment. The world's production primarily depends on fossil capital, a form of economy

informally referred to as business-as-usual. The repercussions of which are quite detrimental,

involving dangerous climatic change. The birth of fossil fuels can be traced back to the domestic

use of coal by the Romans, but the environmental impacts were minimal due to the slow

consumption. However, the rise of the fossil economy first occurred in Britain in the late 1850s,

where the country produced 60 percent of the global carbon dioxide emissions generated from

fossil fuels (Malmo 17). After James Watt had coupled the combustion of coal to a rotating

wheel, the use of fossil fuels surged to an all-time high, with economies benefiting from

increased production as well as transportation. It is evident that fossil capital has proven to be

overwhelmingly profitable for two centuries. Currently, China is the biggest fossil economy of

the 21st century. As Malmo explains, it was impossible for cotton manufacture in Lancashire in

the nineteenth century to create a linkage between his investment in the steam engine and "the

extent of the Arctic sea ice, the salinity of the Nile Delta ….or the diversity of the amphibian

species (16)." However, in the contemporary world, business-as-usual occurs with total disregard

to the knowledge of the ever-increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. If the relevant

actors proceeded to harvest the abundance of renewable energy surrounding humanity, all the

energy consumed globally could be produced from water, wind, and solar power at little to no

extra cost

Can we look at another body paragraph again? Just to get the trick.

Oil pollution is an issue that leads to serious negative ramifications to the environment.

This occurs through oil spillage. According to Fentiman, a study conducted in Ojbo and Apoi

areas in Africa revealed that crude oil contains various compounds that are toxic to marine life
and it is a major contributor to the mortality in shellfish, oysters, finfish, and birds (93). Further

research has revealed that pollutants have a pronounced impact on the growth and reproduction

capacity of marine organisms. Oil spillage often occurs in ships ferrying oil to various ports and

during oil extraction from the ground. The fauna and flora that are affected by the oil cannot be

used by the local communities who depended upon them for their livelihoods. For instance, the

Oloma people in the Niger Delta extensively used the Mangrove wood for fuel and also in

making items of various such as trays, hats, and fish traps. After an oil spillage that occurred in

the region, it was reported that the mangrove exploded whenever they attempted to ignite it as

fuel (Fentiman 94). Sadly, environmental degradation through oil spillage is a pressing issue that

the corporations responsible chose to ignore, portraying a purely capitalistic drive.

Conclusion

This is the last paragraph of your essay. It's generally a summary of the essay. Here, you

restate the thesis and thereafter consolidate your arguments into one piece.

Avoid putting a quote or citation in the conclusion; we assume you should have

done that in the body paragraphs.

Let's look at an example!

It is clear that capital is often made to dominate all aspects of natural and human life.

Transnational companies pursue the generation of profits at the expense of destroying nature,

which consequently leads to the destruction of future generations. Global warming causes a

myriad of adverse climatic conditions. Therefore, if fossil driven economies are left unchecked,

the environmental crisis will no longer be a future occurrence but a present one. Numerous
people in Latin America have voiced their concerns against the detrimental effects corporations

are having on their countries as well as their ways of life. More efforts need to be put into

curtailing the use of fossil fuels and the destruction of the environment in general. Renewable

energy is the future, and unless humanity realizes this, the impending crisis will not be averted.

Did you miss anything?

Here is a summary

a. All paragraphs should be ideally equal-sized

b. The introduction MUST have a thesis statement (The last sentence)

c. Avoid putting a citation or direct quote in the introduction

d. A body paragraph MUST start with a topic sentence

e. Do not use subtitles unless requested, or it's a research paper.

f. Do not cite or use a direct quote as the topic sentence

g. Use at least one direct quote in each body paragraph

h. Never put a direct quote or citation at the last sentence of a paragraph

i. Restate your thesis in conclusion (Use different expressions)

j. Avoid putting a direct quote or conclusion in the thesis.

k. Read the links.

You can go back to the example and get the points straight.

This will be our ground rules