A writers guide.

To really be successful at writing essays it is

important to have a solid structure.
This enables you to do two things well
1. It ensures that you are answering your
question (or focusing your thesis)
2. It approaches what you are trying to say in a
logical (and hopefully convincing) fashion
 For the most basic structure of an essay you
need to begin with a thesis statement.
This is a statement of the position on which
you are going to be writing
If you are answering an essay question, it is a
restructuring of the question in the form of a
statement
Put simply, it is like the topic sentence of the
whole essay
 For example, if the question is;
What does a well structured essay look like?

Then your thesis statement might be

A well structured essay has a powerful but
simple structure which it uses to convince the
reader of an argument.
 Your thesis statement is the topic sentence in
your introductory paragraph
It is followed by an outline of the evidence
you are going to use to support your thesis
statement
In the most basic essay this will take the form
of a minimum of three points
The paragraph is completed by an
explanation or concluding sentence
 In the example of the question;
What does a well structured essay look like?

The thesis statement is;

A well structured essay has a powerful but
simple structure which it uses to convince the
reader of an argument.
 A well structured essay has a powerful but simple structure which it uses
to convince the reader of an argument.

Your first piece of evidence, or first point,

might be;
It begins with a strong introductory paragraph
which introduces the topic, states the points
it will use, and then explains how they
support the thesis.
 A well structured essay has a powerful but simple structure which it uses
to convince the reader of an argument. It begins with a strong
introductory paragraph which introduces the topic, states the points it
will use, and then explains how they support the thesis.

Your second point might be;

It follows this with a series of paragraphs which
takes each of the points in turn and shows
how they answer the question or support the
thesis statement.
 A well structured essay has a powerful but simple structure which it uses
to convince the reader of an argument. It begins with a strong
introductory paragraph which introduces the topic, states the points it
will use, and then explains how they support the thesis. It follows this
with a series of paragraphs which take each of the points in turn and
shows how they answer the question or support the thesis statement.

Then your third point might say;

It finishes with a conclusion that summarizes
the argument you have been making,
restates the points you have used, and
strongly puts your thesis statement.
 A well structured essay has a powerful but simple structure which it uses
to convince the reader of an argument. It begins with a strong
introductory paragraph which introduces the topic, states the points it
will use, and then explains how they support the thesis. It follows this
with a series of paragraphs which take each of the points in turn and
shows how they answer the question or support the thesis statement. It
finishes with a conclusion that summarizes the argument you have been
making, restates the points you have used, and strongly puts your thesis
statement.
The explanation, or concluding sentence
would then say;
This simple structure allows the essay writer to
make their argument clearly and logically.
 A well structured essay has a powerful but simple structure which it uses
to convince the reader of an argument. It begins with a strong
introductory paragraph which introduces the topic, states the points it
will use, and then explains how they support the thesis. It follows this
with a series of paragraphs which take each of the points in turn and
shows how they answer the question or support the thesis statement. It
finishes with a conclusion that summarizes the argument you have been
making, restates the points you have used, and strongly puts your thesis
statement. This simple structure allows the essay writer to make their
argument clearly and logically.

Your introductory paragraph is now complete

 The aim of the body of the essay is to take
each of the points that you outlined in your
introduction and show how they support your
thesis statement
It generally uses a paragraph for each point
Each paragraph restates the point, gives
evidence to support it, and then concludes
with an explanation, or concluding sentence.
The strongest essays use the concluding
sentence to link to the next point.
 The first point from our introduction was;
A well structured essay has a powerful but simple structure which it uses
to convince the reader of an argument. It begins with a strong
introductory paragraph which introduces the topic, states the points it
will use, and then explains how they support the thesis. It follows this
with a series of paragraphs which take each of the points in turn and
shows how they answer the question or support the thesis statement. It
finishes with a conclusion that summarizes the argument you have been
making, restates the points you have used, and strongly puts your thesis
statement. This simple structure allows the essay writer to make their
argument clearly and logically.
 So the first paragraph of the body might
begin with;
Any well structured essay will have a strong
introductory paragraph that outlines how the
writer is going to tackle the question or
support their thesis.
Notice that it deliberately links back to the
question, What does a well structured essay
look like?
 Any well structured essay will have a strong introductory paragraph that
outlines how the writer is going to tackle the question or support their
thesis.

The next part of that paragraph will give the

evidence for this point
In this essay it might say;
A strong introduction means that the reader
already knows the argument that the writer is
going to use. It demonstrates that what is being
said makes sense. Most importantly, it shows
how what they are saying will answer the
question.
 Any well structured essay will have a strong introductory paragraph that
outlines how the writer is going to tackle the question or support their
thesis. A strong introduction means that the reader already knows the
argument that the writer is going to use. It demonstrates that what is
being said makes sense. Most importantly, it shows how what they are
saying will answer the question.
The concluding sentence in this paragraph
links it back to the question and, hopefully,
leads logically to the next point
If the introduction is strong it means the essay is
more likely to be well structured and each point in
the body will support the writers thesis.
 Any well structured essay will have a strong introductory paragraph that
outlines how the writer is going to tackle the question or support their
thesis. A strong introduction means that the reader already knows the
argument that the writer is going to use. It demonstrates that what is
being said makes sense. Most importantly, it shows how what they are
saying will answer the question. If the introduction is strong it means the
essay is more likely to be well structured and each point in the body will
support the writers thesis.
So the first paragraph of the body is the first
point in the introduction, gives the evidence
for that point and shows how it supports the
thesis, while linking to the next point
 The next paragraph of the body is,
obviously, the next point from the
introduction and does the same things
A well structured essay has a powerful but simple structure
which it uses to convince the reader of an argument. It
begins with a strong introductory paragraph which
introduces the topic, states the points it will use, and then
explains how they support the thesis. It follows this with a
series of paragraphs (the body)which take each of the points
in turn and shows how they answer the question or support
the thesis statement. It finishes with a conclusion that
summarizes the argument you have been making, restates
the points you have used, and strongly puts your thesis
statement. This simple structure allows the essay writer to
make their argument clearly and logically.
The bulk, or body, of the essay is also crucial
to a well structured essay. It should take each
of the points made in the introduction in turn
and use at least a paragraph to show how
they support the thesis of the writer. It is in
the body that the evidence is discussed. In a
literary essay quotes from the text are
utilized to support the thesis. In a well
structured essay the body leads the reader to
the conviction that the thesis is sound.
 The final point in the body of the essay
should be based on the final point from the
introduction
Once again it needs to relate this point back
to the question and provide evidence for the
writers thesis
Rather than linking to the next point, the final
body paragraph leads into the conclusion
A well structured essay has a powerful but simple
structure which it uses to convince the reader of an
argument. It begins with a strong introductory paragraph
which introduces the topic, states the points it will use,
and then explains how they support the thesis. It follows
this with a series of paragraphs (the body)which take each
of the points in turn and shows how they answer the
question or support the thesis statement. It finishes with a
conclusion that summarizes the argument you have been
making, restates the points you have used, and strongly
puts your thesis statement. This simple structure allows
the essay writer to make their argument clearly and
logically.
The final part of a well structured essay is the
conclusion, or concluding paragraph. The
function of this paragraph is to summarize
the argument that has been presented. It
restates the points that were used in
evidence. It also returns to the original thesis
statement or question to show that this has
clearly been answered. In this way, the
concluding paragraph is a crucial part of a
good essay structure.
 Now that the argument of the essay has been
presented it is time to present the conclusion
At this time it is important to restate the
thesis that the essay has been arguing
Briefly touching on the points covered shows
how they were used to provide evidence
The paragraph ends with a strong statement
of the thesis of the essay
In some ways it is the reverse of the
introduction
 Remember the question;
What does a well structured essay look like?

So the opening sentence to the concluding

paragraph might say;
A simple structure, which progressively covers
the evidence in order to convince the reader
of an argument, is the basis of a well
structured essay.
 A simple structure, which progressively covers the evidence in order to
convince the reader of an argument, is the basis of a well structured essay.

Each of the points are then restated to remind

the reader of the logic of the evidence.

A clear and precise introductory paragraph sets

out the thesis. The body of the essay deals
with each of the points of evidence in more
detail. A concluding paragraph summarizes
the logic of the essay.
 A simple structure, which progressively covers the evidence in order to
convince the reader of an argument, is the basis of a well structured
essay. A clear and precise introductory paragraph sets out the thesis. The
body of the essay deals with each of the points of evidence in more
detail. A concluding paragraph summarizes the logic of the essay.

Then the final sentence is a strong statement

of the thesis of the essay

Anyone who can present a piece with these

features will have presented an essay which is
well structured.
 A simple structure, which progressively covers the evidence in order to
convince the reader of an argument, is the basis of a well structured
essay. A clear and precise introductory paragraph sets out the thesis. The
body of the essay deals with each of the points of evidence in more
detail. A concluding paragraph summarizes the logic of the essay.
Anyone who can present a piece with these features will have presented
an essay which is well structured.

And there we have it, a well structured essay.

 With this sort of structure, it doesnt matter
what question you are answering
Nor does it matter if you are simply
presenting an argument without a question
Provided you have a thesis statement and can
provide at least three points to support it, you
have enough for an essay
Now it is your turn