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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

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: 8 01-‐863-‐8936 • U pdated F eb. 2 016

Web: w ww.uvu.edu/writingcenter • F acebook: U VUWritingCenter • T witter: @ uvuwritingctr

Basic Essay Format

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