Are you working on an essay deadline and have no idea to organize the structure? Here is a brief tutorial on how to write a simple yet organized essay. So far, this is the most effective structure of paper I always use in writing or composing an 'instant' essay. I will explain how to write the 5 essential paragraphs in an essay: 1 introductory paragraph, 3 body paragraphs and 1 conclusion paragraph. I will also explain other minor details, such as the usage of transitional words and contractions. I can guarantee that this format will totally come in handy and very easy to remember, once you practice using it. If you are interested, read on!
Disclaimer: I’m not a writing expert and only sharing the stuff I find helpful :) Plus, I am using the topic of St. Augustine for sentence examples, since this article came up when I was making an essay template for my student to write about St. Augustine.
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(Title of Article)
By (Your Name)
This is your first paragraph. Your first paragraph gives the introduction of the topic you are going to talk about. That is why this paragraph is also known as the ‘introduction paragraph’. Before further explanation, make sure that you have written an outline for your essay. Now, You can start writing your first paragraph by talking about the general things that will later direct your sentences toward your specific topic. For example, if you are going to talk about the influential life of St, Augustine, you can start from talking about various famous figures in Rome during the rise of the Roman empire. Later, in the next sentences, you can steer your topic towards the influential figure of St. Augustine. Then, settle down with your last sentence: your thesis statement, i.e.: St. Augustine is one of the most influential people in the Roman empire who gave a great contribution to Christian history. Hence, by organizing your thoughts, writing an essay would be simple.
The first thing you have to remember is to start your second paragraph with your topic sentence. Make sure to apply this step too for your third until your last paragraph. Those paragraphs are known as the ‘body’ of your essay. In the body of your essay, you can unravel the details of your topic sentence. For example, your topic sentence talks about St. Augustine’s brief childhood: St. Augustine had a lively childhood. The following sentences can elaborate on that detail, such as the name of St. Augustine’s parents and Carthage. In addition, you can check your draft of your essay’s outline to help you compose your paragraphs’ main points and details.
Next, make sure you also remember how to use transitional words to connect your paragraphs, like I just did here. I used the word ‘next’ to connect my idea in the second paragraph with the third paragraph. The examples of transitional words are: first, second, third, finally, then, next, after that, moreover, however, on the contrary, in addition, etc. Transitional words can help readers understand your flow of thoughts more easily. For example, in this paragraph’s topic sentence, you are opening the way for readers to focus on St. Augustine’s contribution to Christian history through his works: In addition, St. Augustine have written two famous books that help us learn more about Christianity-- namely, The City of God and Confessions.
Finally, the last step to write your essay is to do a quick grammar check. Re-read your sentences again from the top. Make sure that they are written in past tense if you are recounting a narrative, and present tense to pour out your opinion or analysis. Then, remember to avoid contractions in your essay as well (i.e. incorrect: don’t ; correct: do not). Use the correct capitalization too, such as beginning your sentence with a capital letter and using capital letters for proper nouns. Lastly, pay attention to the correct usage of punctuation, especially in ending your sentence with a period (or they are not a sentence at all).
Welcome, you have arrived at the last paragraph, or, also known as the ‘conclusion paragraph’. A conclusion paragraph contains two essential points. First, a conclusion paragraph summarizes all the points mentioned in the body paragraphs, like what we have just done: learning how to write an introductory paragraph, writing topic sentences, using transitional words and applying a quick grammar check. You may summarize the points you have written about St. Augustine: his brief childhood, his works, etc. Second, a conclusion paragraph re-emphasizes the thesis statement and connects it with a bigger ‘picture’. You can write something like this: through the influential life of St. Augustine in the Roman empire, our perspective on the history of Christianity will never be the same. Now, I have just shown you how to connect the thesis statement with a bigger ‘picture’, in this case, the change in our perspective of Christian history (because it was never mentioned in the earlier paragraphs). Take time to formulate the connection between your thesis statement and the ‘bigger’ picture that has always been the umbrella of your topic. Then, you are good to go. Although writing an essay may seem complicated in the beginning, you would be surprised how writing an essay is actually very simple when you have mastered the art of organizing one’s thoughts.
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Thank you for reading this post! If you have any questions, comment below or contact me on my Instagram @debrakalauserang (https://www.instagram.com/debrakalauserang/?hl=en) for fast response! You can also check out my article on Dayaknese Tattoos to observe the example according to my explanation above:
P.S.
If you are interested to know more about academic writing, you can check out the book ‘Fundamentals of Academic Writing’ by Linda Buler, the Longman Academic Writing Series.
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