ESSAY

An essay is a group of paragraphs written about a single topic and a central main
idea. It must have at least three paragraphs, but a five-paragraph essay is a
common length for academic writing.

The Structure of an Essay

There are three main parts of an essay;

1. The introduction
This is the first paragraph of an essay. It explains the topic with general
ideas. It also has a thesis statement. This is a sentence that gives the main
idea. It usually comes at or near the end of the paragraph.
2. The main body
These are the paragraphs that explain and support the thesis statement
and come between the introduction and the conclusion. There must be
one or more paragraphs in the main body of an essay.
3. The conclusion
This is the last paragraph of an essay. It summarizes or restates the thesis
and the supporting ideas of the essay.

How to format an essay

1. Use double spacing (leave a blank line between each line of writing)
2. Leave 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) of space on the sides, and the top and
the bottom of the page. This space is called the margin.
3. If you type your essay, start the first line of each paragraph with five
spaces (one tab). This is called indenting. If you write by hand, indent
about 2 centimeters (3/4 inch). Alternatively, paragraphs can begin at
 the left-hand margin with no indentation. However, you must then
leave one line space between each paragraph.
4. Put the title of your essay at the top of the first page in the center.

Thesis statements

The thesis statement is the sentence that tells the main idea of the whole essay.
It can be compared to a topic sentence, which gives the main idea of a paragraph.
It usually comes at or near the end of the introductory paragraph.

How to write a strong thesis statement?

 A thesis statement gives the author’s opinion or states an important idea

about the topic. It should give an idea that can be discussed and explained
with supporting ideas:
The qualifications for getting into university in my country are
unreasonable.
When studying a foreign language, there are several ways to improve your
use of the language.
These are strong thesis statements. They can be discussed or explained.
 A thesis statement should not be a sentence that only gives a fact about
the topic:
In the Northern Hemisphere, the summer months are warmer than the
winter months.
This is not a strong thesis statement. It cannot be discussed or argued
about.
 A thesis statement should not state two sides of an argument equally;
There are advantages and disadvantages to using nuclear power.
 This could be atopic sentence, but it is not a thesis statement. It gives two
sides of an argument without giving a clear opinion of support or
disagreement. It could be revised like this:
Although there are some advantages, using nuclear power has many
disadvantages and should not be a part of our country’s energy plan.
This is a strong thesis statement. It clearly gives the writer’s opinion
about nuclear power.

Writing thesis statements

How to connect the thesis statement and the essay

The paragraphs in the main body of an essay should always explain the thesis
statement. In addition, each paragraph in the main body should discuss one part
of the thesis. Look at the following thesis statement. The topics to be discussed
are underlined:

To create a successful advertisement, it is necessary for advertisers to answer three

questions: What are we selling? Who are we selling it to? and How can we make
people want to buy it?

Possible topic sentences for each paragraph in the main body:

a. The first step in creating a successful advertisement is to completely

understand the product that is being sold and how it can be used.
b. A second important part of creating an advertisement is deciding who is
expected to buy the product.
c. Finally, a way must be found to create an ad that will make people want
to buy the product.
How to develop a thesis statement

One way to develop a thesis statement for an essay is to write opinions you have
about the topic. Begin, I think that ……… and complete the sentence with your
opinion. Then remove I think that ……. and the remaining words make a possible
thesis statement.

Topic: diet/ food

I think that a vegetarian diet is one of the best ways to live a healthy life.

I think that governments should restrict the use of chemicals in agriculture and
food production.

Outlining an Essay

An outline is a list of the information you will put in your essay.

An outline should;

- Begins with the essay’s thesis statement.

- Shows the organization of the essay.
- Tells what ideas you will discuss and shows which ideas will come first,
second, and so on.
- Ends with the essay’s conclusion.

Writing an outline before you write an essay will;

- Show you what to write before you actually begin writing.

- Help make your essay well organized and clearly focused.
- Keep you from forgetting any important points.
Writing an outline

- How to write an outline

Before writing an outline, you must go through the usual process of
gathering ideas, editing them, and deciding on a topic for your writing.
Writing an outline can be a very useful way of organizing your ideas and
seeing how they will work together.
To show how the ideas work together, number them. To avoid confusion,
use several different types of numbers and letters to show the
organization of the ideas. Use Roman numerals (I, II, III, IV, V, VI, etc) for
your essay’s main ideas; your introductions and thesis statement, your
main body paragraphs, and your conclusion. Write all of these first,
before going into more detail anywhere,
I. Introduction
II. First main idea
III. Second main idea
IV. Third main idea
V. Conclusion

Next, fill in more information for the paragraphs in the main body by
using capital Roman letters (A, B, C, etc). Use one letter for each
supporting idea in your main body paragraph. Complete this information
for each paragraph in the main body before going into more detail.

I. Introduction
II. First main idea
A. First supporting point
B. Second supporting point
…… and so on.
 Finally, use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc) to give details for your
supporting points. Not every supporting point will have details, and some
points will have several. It is not important to have the same number of
details for every supporting point.

I. Introduction
II. First main idea
A. First supporting point
1. First detail
2. Second detail
B. Second supporting point
…… and so on.
1. First detail
2. Second detail
…… and so on

Evaluating an Outline

Outline checklist

Before you start writing your essay, check your outline for organization, support,
and topic development. If possible, ask a friend or your lecturer to check your
outline too.

Organization

 Paragraphs in the right order

 Supporting points and details in the right order

Support

 Each main idea related to the thesis statement

  Each supporting point related to the paragraph’s main idea
 Each detail related to the paragraph’s supporting points
Topic development

Topic development

 Enough (and not too many) main ideas to develop the thesis statement
 Enough (and not too many) supporting points for each main point
 Enough (and not too many) details for each supporting point

Introductions and conclusions

The importance of introductions and conclusions

Based on the previous explanation, introduction and conclusion are two of the
three main parts of an essay. Without an introduction and a conclusion, an essay
is just a group of paragraphs. The introduction and the conclusion work together
to make the topic and main ideas of the essay clear to the reader.

The introduction

The first paragraph of an essay is called the introduction. The introduction …….

- Is usually five to ten sentences.

- Catches the reader’s interest.
- Gives the general topic of the essay.
- Gives background information about the topic.
- States the main point (thesis statement) of the essay.

The introduction is often organized by giving the most general ideas first and
then leading to the most specific idea, which is the thesis statement, like this:

General ideas

Specific idea
(Thesis statement)
How to write a strong introduction

- Introduces the topic clearly

- Gives several sentences of information about the topic
- States the thesis (the main idea) of the essay

Any of the following will make an introduction weak:

- It doesn’t give enough information about the topic or gives too much
information about it.
- It talks about too many different topics
- It does not state a clear thesis

How to make an introduction interesting

To make an introductory paragraph interesting for the reader, you can include;

- Interesting facts or statistics

- A personal story or example
- An interesting quotation

The Conclusion

The conclusion is the final paragraph of the essay. A good concluding paragraph;

- Summarizes the main points of the essay

- Restates the thesis (using different words)
- Makes a final comment about the essay’s main idea
- May emphasize an action that you would like the reader to take

Don’t introduce new ideas in a conclusion. A conclusion only restates or gives

further commentary on ideas discussed in the essay.
Unity and Coherence

Unity is the connection of all ideas to a single topic. In an essay, all ideas should
relate to the thesis statement, and the supporting ideas in a main body
paragraph should relate to the topic sentences.

Coherence is related to unity. Ideas that are arranged in a clear and logical way
are coherent. When a text is unified and coherent, the reader can easily
understand the main points.

Example of an effective essay:

Next Time, Try Chinese Medicine

The last time I had a cold, a friend suggested that instead of taking the usual cold medicines, I visit
the traditional Chinese doctor in our city. Although I knew nothing about Chinese medicine, I
decided to try it. When I walked into the Chinese doctor’s surgery, I was amazed. It was not at all
like my usual doctor. There were shelves up to the ceiling full of glass containers filled with
hundreds of different dried plants and other things I could not identify. Could this really be a
doctor’s surgery? It seemed very strange to me. When I met the doctor, he explained that Chinese
medicine is thousands of years old. The plants in the jars in his office were herbs. These herbs
could be mixed together to make medicines. He explained the philosophy of Chinese medicine.
The philosophy of traditional Chinese medicine is not the same as the philosophy of modern
medicine, but it is useful for curing many health problems.

Modern medicine focuses on illness. If a patient with a cough visits a modern doctor, then the
doctor will give the patient a medicine to stop the cough. If the patient also has a fever, the doctor
may give a different medicine to stop the fever. For every person with a cough, the doctor will
probably recommend the same cough medicine. The philosophy of modern medicine is to stop
problems like coughing and fever as quickly as possible. Western doctors usually see illness as an
enemy. They use medicine like weapons to fight diseases.

Chinese medicine, in contrast, has a different philosophy. Instead of focusing on a patient’s health
problems, Chinese medicine tries to make the patient’s whole body well again. Specifically,
doctors of Chinese medicine believe that inside people, there are two types of energy, called
‘yang’, that are active. When these two energies are in equal balance, a person is healthy. When
there is an imbalance-too much yin, for example-a person becomes unhealthy. A doctor of
Chinese medicine doesn’t try to stop a person’s cough by giving a cough medicine. Instead, the
doctor gives a mixture of herbs that will restore balance in the patient’s body. As a result, when the
body is in balance, the cough will stop naturally.

The Chinese doctor’s herbs seemed strange to me at first, but they made me feel better. My cold
wasn’t cured instantly, but I felt healthy again after a few days. For a very serious health problem, I
would probably visit a modern hospital, but the next time I catch a cold, I am going back to the
Chinese doctor. Chinese medicine definitely works for some health problems.