Basic
E ssay
F ormat
Note:
T his
d ocument
s hould
o nly
b e
u sed
a s
a
r eference
a nd
s hould
n ot
r eplace
a ssignment
g uidelines.
A
b asic
e ssay
c onsists
o f
t hree
m ain
p arts:
i ntroduction,
b ody,
a nd
c onclusion.
F ollowing
t his
f ormat
w ill
help
y ou
w rite
a nd
o rganize
a n
e ssay.
H owever,
f lexibility
i s
i mportant.
W hile
k eeping
t his
b asic
e ssay
format
i n
m ind,
l et
t he
t opic
a nd
s pecific
a ssignment
g uide
t he
w riting
a nd
o rganization.
Parts
o f
a n
E ssay
Introduction
Introduction
The
i ntroduction
g uides
y our
r eader
i nto
t he
p aper
b y
i ntroducing
t he
t opic.
I t
s hould
begin
w ith
a
h ook
t hat
c atches
t he
r eader’s
i nterest.
T his
h ook
c ould
b e
a
q uote,
a n
analogy,
a
q uestion,
e tc.
A fter
g etting
t he
r eader’s
a ttention,
t he
i ntroduction
s hould
give
s ome
b ackground
i nformation
o n
t he
t opic.
T he
i deas
w ithin
t he
i ntroduction
Thesis Statement
should
b e
g eneral
e nough
f or
t he
r eader
t o
u nderstand
t he
m ain
c laim
a nd
g radually
become
m ore
s pecific
t o
l ead
i nto
t he
t hesis
s tatement.
( See
t he
I ntroductions
Main Idea
handout
f or
f urther
i nformation.)
Thesis
S tatement
Main Idea
The
t hesis
s tatement
c oncisely
s tates
t he
m ain
i dea
o r
a rgument
o f
t he
e ssay,
s ets
limits
o n
t he
t opic,
a nd
c an
i ndicate
t he
o rganization
o f
t he
e ssay.
T he
t hesis
w orks
a s
Main Idea
a
r oad
m ap
f or
t he
e ntire
e ssay,
s howing
t he
r eaders
w hat
y ou
h ave
t o
s ay
a nd
w hich
main
p oints
y ou
w ill
u se
t o
s upport
y our
i deas.
Body
The
b ody
o f
t he
e ssay
s upports
t he
m ain
p oints
p resented
i n
t he
t hesis.
E ach
p oint
i s
Conclusion
developed
b y
o ne
o r
m ore
p aragraphs
a nd
s upported
w ith
s pecific
d etails.
T hese
details
c an
i nclude
s upport
f rom
r esearch
a nd
e xperiences,
d epending
o n
t he
assignment.
I n
a ddition
t o
t his
s upport,
t he
a uthor’s
o wn
a nalysis
a nd
d iscussion
o f
t he
t opic
t ies
i deas
together
a nd
d raws
c onclusions
t hat
s upport
t he
t hesis.
R efer
t o
“ Parts
o f
a
P aragraph”
b elow
f or
further
i nformation
o n
w riting
e ffective
b ody
p aragraphs.
Transitions
Transitions
c onnect
p aragraphs
t o
e ach
o ther
a nd
t o
t he
t hesis.
T hey
a re
u sed
w ithin
a nd
b etween
paragraphs
t o
h elp
t he
p aper
f low
f rom
o ne
t opic
t o
t he
n ext.
T hese
t ransitions
c an
b e
o ne
o r
t wo
w ords
(“first,”
“ next,”
“ in
a ddition,”
e tc.)
o r
o ne
o r
t wo
s entences
t hat
b ring
t he
r eader
t o
t he
n ext
m ain
p oint.
The
t opic
s entence
o f
a
p aragraph
o ften
s erves
a s
a
t ransition.
( See
t he
T ransitions
h andout
f or
f urther
information.)
Conclusion
The
c onclusion
b rings
t ogether
a ll
t he
m ain
p oints
o f
t he
e ssay.
I t
r efers
b ack
t o
t he
t hesis
s tatement
and
l eaves
r eaders
w ith
a
f inal
t hought
a nd
s ense
o f
c losure
b y
r esolving
a ny
i deas
b rought
u p
i n
t he
essay.
I t
m ay
a lso
a ddress
t he
i mplications
o f
t he
a rgument.
I n
t he
c onclusion,
n ew
t opics
o r
i deas
t hat
were
n ot
d eveloped
i n
t he
p aper
s hould
n ot
b e
i ntroduced.
( See
t he
C onclusions
h andout
f or
f urther
information.)
Citations
If
y our
p aper
i ncorporates
r esearch,
b e
s ure
t o
g ive
c redit
t o
e ach
s ource
u sing
i n-‐text
c itations
a nd
a
Works
C ited/References/Bibliography
p age.
R efer
t o
t he
M LA
F ormat,
A PA
F ormat,
o r
T urabian
F ormat
handout
f or
h elp
w ith
t his.
UVU
W riting
C enter
•
L ibrary
2 08
•
p h:
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•
U pdated
F eb.
2 016
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•
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