How to making essay
Despite
the fact that, as Shakespeare said, "the pen is mightier than the
sword," the pen itself is not enough to make an effective writer. In fact,
though we may all like to think of ourselves as the next Shakespeare, inspiration
alone is not the key to effective essay writing. You see, the conventions of
English essays are more formulaic than you might think – and, in many ways, it
can be as simple as counting to five.
The
Five Paragraph Essay
Though
more advanced academic papers are a category all their own, the basic high
school or college essay has the following standardized, five paragraph
structure:
Paragraph 1: Introduction
Paragraph 2: Body 1
Paragraph 3: Body 2
Paragraph 4: Body 3
Paragraph 5: Conclusion
Paragraph 2: Body 1
Paragraph 3: Body 2
Paragraph 4: Body 3
Paragraph 5: Conclusion
Though
it may seem formulaic – and, well, it is - the idea behind this structure is to
make it easier for the reader to navigate the ideas put forth in an essay. You
see, if your essay has the same structure as every other one, any reader should
be able to quickly and easily find the information most relevant to them.
The Introduction
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The
principle purpose of the introduction is to present your position (this is also
known as the "thesis" or "argument") on the issue at hand
but effective introductory paragraphs are so much more than that. Before you
even get to this thesis statement, for example, the essay should begin with a
"hook" that grabs the reader’s attention and makes them want to read
on. Examples of effective hooks include relevant quotations ("no man is an
island") or surprising statistics ("three out of four doctors report
that…").
Only
then, with the reader’s attention "hooked," should you move on to the
thesis. The thesis should be a clear, one-sentence explanation of your position
that leaves no doubt in the reader’s mind about which side you are on from the
beginning of your essay.
Following
the thesis, you should provide a mini-outline which previews the examples you
will use to support your thesis in the rest of the essay. Not only does this
tell the reader what to expect in the paragraphs to come but it also gives them
a clearer understanding of what the essay is about.
Finally,
designing the last sentence in this way has the added benefit of seamlessly
moving the reader to the first paragraph of the body of the paper. In this way
we can see that the basic introduction does not need to be much more than three
or four sentences in length. If yours is much longer you might want to consider
editing it down a bit!