Writing an Essay The five parts of a typical essay

The role of the thesis statement

The purpose of the paragraph

Every paragraph has a specific job

A BRIEF OVERVIEW

Mr. Matthew TabeekEnglish 090, Fall 2010

The Essay Diagram The typical college essay is made up of five parts.

The Introduction

Body Paragraph A

Body Paragraph B

Body Paragraph C

The Conclusion

That’s it!5

Paragraphs

1. The Introduction

Grab the reader’s attention! Introduce the

subject and provide some background.

The last sentence states the thesis – the main idea.

1. The Introduction

The thesis statement states the purpose of the essay. It conveys the main idea of the essay and often indicates how the main idea will be supported.

Ideally, it is a one-sentence summary of the whole composition located at the end of the introduction.

What’s the point?

2-4. Body Paragraphs (A, B, C)

The paragraph is a series of sentences developing ONE topic.

The topic of a paragraph is stated in ONE sentence.

This sentence is called the topic sentence.

The topic sentence states the thesis points in order (A,B,C).

2-4. Body Paragraphs (A, B, C)

A topic sentence may be developed and supported in a number of ways:

Details Explanations Information

2-4. Body Paragraphs

main idea

sentence

sentence

sentenc

esentence

sentenc

e

sentence

2-4. Body Paragraphs

Going off topic is an easy way to lose the reader.

CAUTION: Remember to stick to the specific thesis point.

5. The Conclusion: A Graceful Exit The first sentence of the conclusion

is a broad, thesis-level statement. It may restate the thesis.

The last sentence of the conclusion is satisfying and final-sounding.

Three types: 1. Summary2. A prediction3. A recommendation