What do you write when your professor asks you to write an introductory essay? The first thing to look at will be the essay format. You can choose to go with the more traditional recommended format which is 5 paragraphs or the newer alternative. Neither is better than the other and both are acceptable. Although, you must follow one format.
Just like other essay writing, the piece takes three major essential sections. Each section has separate but related content with a coherent flow. They have the following areas:
- Introduction
- Body
- Conclusion
This format is a guideline on how to arrange your essay for it to have a good flow. However, it would help if you kept in mind your main topic to guide your work and writing.
Parts of the essay
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Introduction
The introduction of the essay should include an introductory statement that will guide the reader on what to expect from the essay. You then have to follow it with a thesis statement, this is intended to summarize your entire essay. Now that your reader has an idea of what your essay is about, you can provide some transition paragraph to lead them into the body section. The last part of this section is where you introduce your readers to the topic and give them a factual or conceptual summary.
The primary purpose of an introduction is to introduce the topic so that the reader will be curious. The reader should get a briefing of what the whole document contains.
You can do this by beginning with a quote, a question, or an analogy. It will attract the reader. The introduction should also give the background information on the topic. The introduction should be precise in a way that the reader can understand the topic. And slowly become more certain and lead them into the thesis statement. The introduction section should be interesting to capture the attention of the reader.
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Thesis statement
It states the main topic of the essay. The thesis statement gives a limit to the subject and indicates the organization of the piece. It is like a map of the entire work. It shows the reader what you entail to say and supports the ideas of the main topic.
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Body
It supports the critical points of the topic that are in the thesis. The points form paragraphs that explain the specific elements of the subject. These elements may include research and experiences or even both, depending on the type of task. In addition to this, you should discuss the data analysis of the topic and conclusions concerning the data collected results.
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Transitions
These are sentences or words that connect the paragraphs and also to the thesis statement. Apart from connecting the sections, they also help in the flow of the topic. Transitions help the reader to move to the next point. The transition words include; first, in addition to, next.
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Conclusion
It summarizes all the main points. It correlates with the thesis statement and leaves the reader with the final thought. In conclusion, make sure you don’t introduce anything new. It is because findings are for summarizing the main topic and the thesis statement.
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Citations
Reference the necessary texts. Therefore, it requires research, and from your research, you need to cite exactly where you got your information.
Fundamental Essay Format
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Parts of a paragraph
When writing an essay, a paragraph gives more details to the main topic and supports the thesis statement. Every section has its topic sentence, supporting details, and making sure you conclude every paragraph. Remember, the main topic and the topic sentence determine the scope and the length of the section.
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Topic sentence
The main idea usually stipulates in the topic sentence. Your thoughts should be in line with the thesis statement.
The topic sentence is always at the beginning of the paragraph. A topical sentence also serves as a connection between sections.
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Supporting details
supporting details give more information to the topic sentences and the thesis statement. The reference should correlate with the assignment guidelines and rules. It should also include the writer’s analysis.
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Concluding sentence
Every paragraph should have a summary of the ideas in paragraph. It can also serve as a transition to the following section.
Conclusion
Writing an essay is an easy task. You have to follow the basic essay format. Also, make your content appealing and with a good flow. Pay attention to the essay writing instruction as you prepare your work.
