Essay structure

Focus on the structure of an essay, elicit suggestions, clarify, and add important information:

Introduction including the thesis statement (usually the last sentence), which states what exactly

your argument is about.

The thesis statement could also list the topics you are going to focus on or state that you are going

to talk about advantages and disadvantages.

The thesis statement determines what you are going to include in the individual paragraphs.

Question: Look at the model essay and find the argument/thesis statement:

Answer: The writer agrees that travel broadens the mind and is going to talk about a number of

ways it has benefited the society. Thus the individual paragraphs should show these benefits.

Individual paragraphs: content – see the answer above; one idea = one paragraph

Useful linking devices: formal/neutral

Register: formal/neutral

Tone: general

Conclusion: summarizes the writer’s findings, the conclusion is linked to the introduction.

Question: Check how this is achieved in the model essay.

Answer: The essay should be structured the way that by reading the introduction and the

conclusion, the reader finds out what the main argument is about. Based on the thesis statement,

the reader is informed what the individual paragraphs are about and only reads them if interested

in further detail.

©Pavla Milerski