how long is an essay 7th grade

essay Length Demystified: How Long Should Your 7th Grader's Essay Be?

As students transition into middle school, they encounter new academic challenges that require them to develop their writing skills. One of the most common questions that arise among 7th graders and their parents is: "How long should my essay be?" This question is not just about meeting a word count; it encompasses understanding the purpose of the essay, the expectations of teachers, and the importance of clarity and conciseness in writing. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the factors that influence essay length, provide guidelines for different types of essays, and offer tips to help your 7th grader craft a well-structured piece of writing.

Understanding the Purpose of the Essay

Before diving into specifics about essay length, it’s essential to understand the purpose of an essay. Essays are a way for students to express their thoughts, analyze information, and communicate ideas effectively. In 7th grade, essays often serve various purposes, each with its unique structure and style. Understanding these purposes can significantly enhance a student's writing skills and help them articulate their ideas more clearly. Below are the primary types of essays that 7th graders may encounter:

Persuasive Essays

Persuasive essays aim to convince the reader of a particular viewpoint or argument. In this type of essay, students must take a stance on an issue and provide compelling reasons and evidence to support their position. This often involves:

• Researching the Topic: Students need to gather facts, statistics, and expert opinions that bolster their argument. This research can come from books, articles, or credible online sources.
• Understanding Counterarguments: A strong persuasive essay acknowledges opposing viewpoints. Students should address these counterarguments and refute them with logical reasoning and evidence.
• Using Persuasive Language: The choice of words is crucial in persuasive writing. Students should use emotive language and rhetorical devices, such as ethos, pathos, and logos, to engage the reader and strengthen their argument.

Ultimately, the goal of a persuasive essay is not just to present information but to persuade the reader to adopt a particular perspective or take action.

Expository Essays

Expository essays are designed to explain a topic or provide information in a clear and concise manner. These essays often require thorough research and factual evidence to support the information presented. Key components of expository essays include:

• Clear Thesis Statement: A strong thesis statement is essential, as it outlines the main idea of the essay and guides the reader through the information presented.
• Logical Organization: Expository essays should be well-structured, often following a format that includes an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph should focus on a specific aspect of the topic.
• Use of Examples and Evidence: To effectively explain a topic, students should include relevant examples, facts, and statistics that enhance the reader's understanding.

Expository essays are not about personal opinions; instead, they focus on delivering information in an objective manner, making them a vital skill for academic success.

Narrative Essays

Narrative essays tell a story or recount personal experiences, allowing students to express their creativity and individuality. This type of essay often includes:

• Personal Reflection: Students are encouraged to share their thoughts and feelings about the experiences they describe, making the narrative more relatable and engaging.
• Descriptive Language: To create vivid imagery, students should use sensory details that allow readers to visualize the events and emotions being conveyed.
• Structured Plot: A narrative essay typically follows a clear structure, including a beginning (introduction), middle (the main events), and end (conclusion), which helps to maintain the reader's interest.

Narrative essays provide an opportunity for students to connect with their audience on a personal level, making storytelling an essential skill in writing.

Descriptive Essays

Descriptive essays aim to paint a picture with words, using sensory details to describe a person, place, or event. This type of essay focuses on creating a vivid experience for the reader through:

• Vivid Imagery: Students should use descriptive language that appeals to the senses—sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch—to immerse the reader in the experience.
• Strong Adjectives and Adverbs: The use of precise and evocative adjectives and adverbs can enhance the imagery and help convey emotions effectively.
• Organized Structure: While descriptive essays may not follow a strict format, they should still have a clear organization, often focusing on one aspect of the subject at a time.

Descriptive essays allow students to showcase their creativity and ability to express complex emotions and experiences through language.

Each type of essay has its own requirements and expectations, which can influence the length. Understanding the purpose behind the essay will help your 7th grader determine how much content is necessary to effectively convey their message. By recognizing the distinct characteristics of each essay type, students can tailor their writing to meet the specific demands of the assignment, ultimately enhancing their overall writing proficiency.

Factors Influencing Essay Length

Several factors can influence the length of a 7th grader's essay, and understanding these elements can help students produce more effective and appropriately sized written work. Below, we delve deeper into each factor that plays a significant role in determining how long an essay should be.

1. Assignment Guidelines

Teachers often provide specific guidelines regarding essay length, which can vary significantly from one assignment to another. These guidelines may include a word count, such as 500 to 800 words, or a page number, typically ranging from two to three pages, depending on the complexity of the topic and the level of detail required. It’s crucial for students to pay attention to these instructions, as they are designed to help them practice writing within certain constraints. Adhering to these guidelines not only demonstrates a student's ability to follow directions but also helps them develop essential skills in time management and organization. Moreover, understanding the importance of these parameters can prepare students for future academic writing tasks, where strict adherence to guidelines is often expected.

2. Type of Essay

As mentioned earlier, different types of essays have varying expectations, which can significantly impact their length. For instance, a persuasive essay may require more evidence and counterarguments, leading to a longer piece that thoroughly addresses opposing viewpoints. In contrast, a narrative essay might be shorter if it focuses on a single event or personal experience, allowing the writer to convey their story succinctly. Other types of essays, such as expository or analytical essays, may also have specific requirements that dictate their length. For example, an expository essay that explains a scientific concept may need to include definitions, examples, and explanations, which can contribute to a more extended format. Understanding the characteristics of each essay type can help students tailor their writing to meet the expectations of the assignment.

3. Topic Complexity

The complexity of the topic can also dictate essay length. A straightforward topic, such as "My Favorite Hobby," may require less explanation and detail, resulting in a shorter essay. Conversely, a more complex issue, such as "The Impact of Climate Change on Global Ecosystems," might necessitate a deeper exploration of various factors, scientific data, and multiple perspectives, resulting in a longer essay. Additionally, topics that require critical thinking and analysis, such as social issues or historical events, often demand more in-depth research and discussion, further contributing to increased length. Students should assess their chosen topic's complexity and adjust their writing accordingly, ensuring they provide adequate coverage of the subject matter without overwhelming the reader with unnecessary information.

4. Audience

Understanding the audience is vital when determining essay length. If the essay is intended for a younger audience, it may need to be simpler and shorter, using language and concepts that are easily digestible. Conversely, if the audience is more advanced, such as peers or educators, the essay might need to be longer and more detailed, incorporating sophisticated vocabulary and complex ideas. Additionally, the purpose of the essay can influence its length; for example, an essay meant to inform may require more extensive explanations and examples than one intended to entertain. Students should consider who will be reading their essay and adjust their writing style and length to effectively engage that audience, ensuring that the content is both appropriate and compelling.

5. Personal Writing Style

Every student has a unique writing style that can significantly affect the length of their essays. Some students may be more concise, preferring to express their ideas in a straightforward manner, while others may elaborate on their thoughts, providing additional details and examples. Encouraging your child to find their voice while adhering to the assignment guidelines is essential, as this balance can lead to more authentic and engaging writing. Additionally, students should be mindful of their audience and the type of essay they are writing, as these factors can influence how much detail is necessary. By developing their writing style and learning to adjust it based on the context, students can create essays that are not only appropriately lengthy but also reflective of their individual perspectives and insights.

General Guidelines for Essay Length

While there is no one-size-fits-all answer to how long a 7th grader's essay should be, there are general guidelines that can help students navigate their writing assignments effectively. Understanding these guidelines can not only assist in meeting the expectations of teachers but also help students develop their writing skills in a structured manner. Below are some key considerations regarding essay length, including word count, page count, and paragraph structure.

1. Word Count

For 7th graders, a typical essay length can range from 300 to 1,000 words, depending on the type of essay and the assignment requirements. Here’s a breakdown of the different types of essays and their corresponding word counts:

• Short Essays: 300-500 words (e.g., responses to prompts or reflections). These essays are often designed to encourage quick thinking and concise expression of ideas. They may require students to summarize a text or articulate their personal opinions on a topic.
• Standard Essays: 500-800 words (e.g., expository or narrative essays). These essays typically require more in-depth exploration of a subject. Students might be asked to explain a concept, tell a story, or analyze a character from a book, necessitating a more detailed approach.
• Longer Essays: 800-1,000 words (e.g., persuasive essays requiring extensive argumentation). These essays demand a higher level of critical thinking and organization, as students must present a clear argument, support it with evidence, and address counterarguments. This length allows for a more thorough exploration of the topic at hand.

2. Page Count

In terms of pages, a standard essay for a 7th grader typically ranges from 1 to 3 pages, depending on formatting (double-spaced, 12-point font, etc.). Here’s a rough estimate of how word count translates into page count:

• 1 Page: Approximately 250-300 words. This is often sufficient for a brief overview or a single idea, making it ideal for quick assignments or reflections.
• 2 Pages: Approximately 500-600 words. This length allows for a more detailed examination of a topic, providing enough space for an introduction, body, and conclusion.
• 3 Pages: Approximately 750-900 words. This is suitable for more complex topics that require extensive discussion, analysis, or argumentation, allowing students to delve deeper into their subject matter.

3. Paragraph Structure

Essays should be structured into paragraphs, each focusing on a single idea. A well-organized essay not only enhances readability but also helps convey the writer's message more effectively. A general guideline for paragraph length is as follows:

• Introduction: 1 paragraph (approximately 100-150 words). The introduction should grab the reader's attention, provide background information, and present the thesis statement, which outlines the main argument or purpose of the essay.
• Body Paragraphs: 3-5 paragraphs (approximately 100-200 words each). Each body paragraph should begin with a topic sentence that introduces the main idea of the paragraph. This should be followed by supporting details, examples, and explanations that reinforce the topic sentence. The number of body paragraphs can vary based on the complexity of the topic and the depth of analysis required.
• Conclusion: 1 paragraph (approximately 100-150 words). The conclusion should summarize the main points discussed in the essay, restate the thesis in light of the evidence presented, and offer final thoughts or reflections. It serves as the last opportunity to leave a lasting impression on the reader.

4. Consideration of Audience and Purpose

When determining the appropriate length for an essay, it is also essential to consider the audience and purpose of the writing. For instance, if the essay is intended for a classroom setting, the teacher's expectations and grading criteria should guide the length and depth of the content. Conversely, if the essay is meant for a broader audience, such as a school publication or a competition, students may want to expand their ideas further to engage readers effectively.

5. Importance of Revision

Finally, regardless of the initial word count or page length, students should always prioritize revision. The first draft of an essay is rarely perfect; it is through the revision process that students can refine their arguments, clarify their ideas, and enhance the overall quality of their writing. Encouraging students to seek feedback from peers or teachers can also provide valuable insights that contribute to a more polished final product.

In conclusion, while there are general guidelines regarding essay length for 7th graders, it is crucial for students to adapt their writing to meet specific assignment requirements and to develop their unique voice as writers. By understanding the importance of word count, page count, paragraph structure, audience, and revision, students can become more confident and effective communicators.

Tips for Writing a Well-Structured Essay

Now that we have established the factors influencing essay length and general guidelines, here are some tips to help your 7th grader write a well-structured essay:

1. Start with an Outline

Encourage your child to create an outline before they start writing. An outline serves as a roadmap for the essay, helping to organize thoughts and ensuring that the essay has a logical flow. It can include:

• Introduction with a thesis statement: The introduction should grab the reader's attention and provide background information on the topic. The thesis statement, typically found at the end of the introduction, should clearly state the main argument or purpose of the essay.
• Main points for body paragraphs: Each body paragraph should focus on a single main point that supports the thesis. These points should be arranged in a logical order, whether chronologically, thematically, or in order of importance.
• Supporting details and examples: For each main point, your child should include supporting details, such as facts, statistics, quotes, or anecdotes. These details help to substantiate the argument and make it more persuasive.
• Conclusion summary: The conclusion should summarize the main points discussed in the essay and restate the thesis in light of the evidence presented. It’s also a good opportunity to leave the reader with a final thought or call to action.

2. Focus on Clarity and Conciseness

While it’s essential to meet the length requirements, clarity and conciseness should be prioritized. Encourage your child to express their ideas clearly and avoid unnecessary fluff. Each sentence should contribute to the overall argument or narrative. Here are some strategies to enhance clarity:

• Use simple language: Encourage your child to use straightforward vocabulary that is appropriate for their audience. Complex words can confuse readers and detract from the message.
• Avoid jargon: Unless the essay is for a specialized audience, it’s best to avoid technical terms or jargon that may not be understood by all readers.
• Be specific: Instead of vague statements, encourage your child to provide specific examples and details that illustrate their points. This makes the writing more engaging and informative.

3. Use Transitional Phrases

Transitional phrases help guide the reader through the essay, creating a seamless flow of ideas. Encourage your child to use phrases like "firstly," "in addition," "on the other hand," and "in conclusion" to connect ideas and paragraphs smoothly. Here are some additional transitional phrases to consider:

• To add information: Furthermore, Moreover, Additionally
• To compare: Similarly, Likewise, In the same vein
• To contrast: Conversely, However, Nevertheless
• To illustrate: For example, For instance, Specifically
• To conclude: Ultimately, In summary, Overall

4. Revise and Edit

After completing the first draft, it’s crucial to revise and edit the essay. Encourage your child to check for grammatical errors, awkward phrasing, and overall coherence. Here are some steps to follow during the revision process:

• Take a break: After finishing the first draft, it can be helpful to take a short break before revising. This allows your child to return to the essay with fresh eyes.
• Read for content: During the first round of revision, focus on the content. Does each paragraph support the thesis? Are there any gaps in logic or missing information?
• Check for grammar and punctuation: In the second round, focus on grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Encourage your child to use tools like grammar checkers or to consult a grammar guide if they are unsure.
• Read aloud: Reading the essay aloud can help identify areas that need improvement. This technique allows your child to hear how the essay flows and catch any awkward phrasing or unclear sentences.

5. Seek Feedback

Encourage your child to seek feedback from peers, teachers, or family members. Constructive criticism can provide valuable insights and help improve the quality of the essay. Here are some tips for effectively seeking and utilizing feedback:

• Choose the right audience: Encourage your child to share their essay with individuals who are familiar with the topic or have experience in writing. This can include teachers, classmates, or family members who enjoy reading.
• Ask specific questions: When seeking feedback, your child should ask specific questions about areas they are unsure of, such as clarity, argument strength, or organization. This can lead to more constructive and useful feedback.
• Be open to criticism: Encourage your child to approach feedback with an open mind. Not all suggestions will be applicable, but being receptive to criticism can lead to significant improvements in their writing.
• Implement changes thoughtfully: After receiving feedback, your child should carefully consider which suggestions to implement. It’s important to maintain their voice and perspective while making necessary adjustments.

By following these tips, your 7th grader can develop the skills needed to write a well-structured essay that effectively communicates their ideas and arguments. With practice and dedication, they will become more confident and proficient writers.

Determining the appropriate length for a 7th grader's essay can be a daunting task, but understanding the factors that influence essay length and adhering to general guidelines can make the process easier. Remember that the goal of writing an essay is not just to meet a word count but to communicate ideas effectively and engage the reader. By focusing on clarity, structure, and revision, your 7th grader can develop their writing skills and produce essays that are not only the right length but also impactful and meaningful.

Understanding Essay Length Requirements

When it comes to essay length, it's essential to consider the specific requirements set by teachers or educational institutions. Typically, a 7th-grade essay might range from 300 to 800 words, depending on the assignment's complexity and the subject matter. For instance, a simple narrative essay may require fewer words, while a research-based argumentative essay could demand a more extensive exploration of the topic. Understanding these parameters can help students gauge how much content they need to include while ensuring they stay within the expected limits.

The Importance of Structure

A well-structured essay not only helps in organizing thoughts but also contributes to the overall length. A standard essay structure includes an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each section serves a distinct purpose: the introduction presents the main idea and hooks the reader, the body paragraphs elaborate on the topic with supporting details and examples, and the conclusion summarizes the key points and reinforces the thesis. By adhering to this structure, students can effectively manage their content and ensure that they are meeting the length requirements without unnecessary filler.

Clarity and Conciseness

While it may be tempting for students to pad their essays with extra words to reach a specific length, clarity and conciseness should always take precedence. Encouraging students to express their ideas clearly and succinctly will not only enhance the quality of their writing but also make it easier for them to stay within the desired word count. They should focus on eliminating redundant phrases and unnecessary jargon, opting instead for straightforward language that conveys their message effectively. This approach not only improves readability but also engages the reader more effectively.

The Role of Revision

Revision is a critical step in the writing process that can significantly impact the final length and quality of an essay. After completing a draft, students should take the time to review their work, looking for areas where they can expand on ideas or, conversely, where they may need to trim excess content. This process allows them to refine their arguments, enhance their vocabulary, and ensure that each sentence contributes meaningfully to their overall message. By revising their essays, students can achieve a balance between meeting length requirements and maintaining the integrity of their ideas.

Encouraging Exploration and Creativity

As they continue to grow as writers, encourage them to embrace the writing process, explore different styles, and express their unique voice. Writing is not just a skill; it is an art form that allows individuals to share their perspectives and experiences. By experimenting with various genres, such as poetry, short stories, or persuasive essays, students can discover what resonates with them and develop their personal writing style. This exploration can lead to a more authentic and engaging writing experience, ultimately resulting in essays that are not only the right length but also rich in content and creativity.

Building Confidence for Future Challenges

With practice and guidance, they will become more confident in their writing abilities, ready to tackle the challenges of higher grades and beyond. Writing is a skill that builds upon itself; the more students write, the more proficient they become. By providing constructive feedback and celebrating their successes, parents and educators can foster a positive writing environment that encourages growth. As students advance through their academic careers, the ability to articulate thoughts clearly and effectively will serve them well, not just in essays but in all forms of communication.

In conclusion, while determining the appropriate length for a 7th grader's essay may seem challenging, it is an opportunity for growth and development. By focusing on the essential elements of essay writing—length requirements, structure, clarity, revision, and creative expression—students can enhance their writing skills and produce essays that are both impactful and meaningful. With continued practice and encouragement, they will be well-equipped to navigate the complexities of writing in higher grades and beyond.

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The Guide to 7th Grade: Reading and Writing

Review reading and writing curricula for 7th grade, including what to expect and resources to support learning..

Seventh graders are able to focus more on growing the skills they began to develop in the 6th grade without the added stress to adjusting to the new middle school environment. By 7th grade, it is expected that students have acclimated to life as a middle school student and are therefore expected to work more independently and organize their time and schedules with less (but still some) guidance.

In general, in 7th grade, students build on the skills they learned in 6th grade by writing and reading more complex and longer texts and essays. This work will prepare them for 8th grade where they will cement and further their skills, ultimately setting them up for success in high school.

Read on for what to expect this year, and shop all seventh grade resources at The Scholastic Store . 

7th Grade Reading

In 7th grade, students deepen their ability to analyze the texts they read and provide evidence from the text to do so. Specifically, 7th graders learn to examine texts more closely and use details from the text in order to develop ideas, analyze, and make inferences.

In addition, they analyze the relationships between elements within one text and across multiple texts while supporting this analysis by citing evidence from the text.

In order to build reading skills, your 7th grader:

• Analyzes texts using the text as evidence to support the analysis.
• Makes inferences about texts and uses evidence from the text to support the inferences.  
• Understands the message or ideas in a text and uses evidence to support these claims.
• Understands, tracks the progress of, and summarizes the main idea of a text, using evidence from the text.
• Analyzes and explains the relationship between different elements such as character and setting.
• Analyzes the impact of specific language and word choice used in a text.
• Understands how the different structures used in a text, such as poetry or drama, affect the text.
• Compares and contrasts the different perspectives and points of views in a text.
• Determines the author’s point of view in a text using evidence from the text.
• Compares different versions such as a stage version, film, or audio version of a text, paying specific attention to the way in which elements such as lighting, scenery, or audio sounds affect the message of the text.
• Compares a historical account of an event, person, or place with a historical fiction text about the same period.
• Read a variety of texts, including stories, poetry, drama, non-fiction, or informative texts.
• Compares multiple texts written by different authors about the same topic and determines how their different perspectives are presented through their presentation of facts and the inferences they make. 

7th Grade Writing

Similar to the work they do in reading, 7th graders deepen their writing skills by using analysis, paying close attention to detail and providing reasons, proofs, and examples for the ideas they express. 7th graders write a variety of genres, including informative pieces, opinion pieces, and narratives and they complete both short-term and long-term writing assignments.

There is also particular attention paid to research and teaching students to do their own independent research and research projects as described below, specifically through the use of digital resources.

In order to build writing skills, your 7th grader:

• Introductions
• Acknowledgements of opposing claims
• Logical and orderly presentations of reasons and evidence
• The use of  appropriate transitions, words, and phrases to connect claims
• A concluding sentence or paragraph which supports the argument made
• A formal tone and style
• Use supporting claims and evidence that are based on credible texts and resources
• Include an introduction that has an explanation of what follows
• Develop topics through the use of facts, detailed quotations, and examples and subject specific terms and definitions
• Include transitions that connect concepts and paragraphs
• Include a conclusion that supports the presented idea(s)
• Maintain a formal “essay type” style
• Integrate other forms of media and formats, such as graphs, charts, headings, and audio or video when appropriate
• A narrator, characters, and a point of view
• Descriptive detail and sensory language to describe characters, settings, and experiences
• Dialogue details and descriptions of characters, setting, and experiences
• A clear structure with a logical order and flow, as shown through the use of transition words
• A conclusion that is connected to and builds on the narrative
• Plans, revises, and edits writing, specifically with guidance from teachers and peers, focusing specifically on trying new approaches and making sure the writing has a purpose and appeals to its audience
• Uses technology and the Internet to produce and publish writing
• Works with others and cites sources
• Works on multiple, short research projects that answer a specific question and cite multiple sources, while gathering additional questions for later research
• Uses both print and digital resources to conduct research, focusing on using appropriate search terms and reliable sources
• Uses quotes and a standard format for citation
• Uses research to analyze and make inferences

Shop the best resources for seventh grade below! You can find all books and activities at  The Scholastic Store . 

Explore other grade guides: 

• Kindergarten
• First Grade
• Second Grade
• Third Grade
• Fourth Grade  
• Fifth Grade
• Sixth Grade
• Eighth Grade

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How to Write A 7th Grade Level Essay

In seventh grade, your child is now in the middle of their academic career. They have spent a long time developing a great number of skills, and their writing skills are no different. They are going to start writing more sophisticated and challenging pieces this year, and the writing prompts are going to be more challenging moving forward. Their prompts are also going to be less separated into categories; there may be a number of ways to answer a prompt, depending on the specific assignment.

Here are some examples for the kinds of writing prompts your child may see in seventh grade:

• Write about a time when you could tell you had let someone down. How did you feel? This is a good opportunity to write a narrative essay. Explaining the events with dialogue can be especially impactful here, detailing what happened, with whom, and what was said in dialogue. 
• Write a review about the most recent movie or TV show you loved and try to convince other people to see it. This would be a persuasive response, along with a good deal of informative writing. Your child will have to describe the show, why they like it, and why it would be a good idea for others to see it. They may talk about the show’s messages, the artistry of the film, or even the importance of it in popular culture. 
• Write a poem about the way you feel when you sit down to take a test. This is a prompt that asks your child to exercise their creative skills, while tapping into their narrative writing. This particular prompt can even be a helpful window for you to see how your child feels about tests and whether they are starting to experience any testing anxieties. Their poems should make use of literary devices they’ve learned about like similes and metaphors, but can also be quite abstract at this level.

If your child is struggling with writing prompts or with writing in general, it may be a good idea to enroll them in Reading Genie. The teachers at Reading Genie give your child kind and helpful feedback, building their skills along with their confidence. The prompts at Reading Genie are fun and engaging, and your child will have the opportunity to share their work with their classmates for peer reviews. 

You can also work on writing prompts with your child at home. Even just discussing the ideas and questions in the prompts can be helpful for your child to better understand what they need to do and what they need to think about in the future. You can even have fun with the prompts, too!

Genie Academy offers a range of after-school educational activities for students, encompassing areas such as  mathematics ,  reading ,  writing , and  coding . Spread across New Jersey, we offer  tutoring in Plainsboro ,  tutoring in Hillsborough ,  tutoring in East Brunswick ,  tutoring in South Brunswick ,  tutoring in Marlboro , and  tutoring in South Plainfield , these programs are specifically crafted for students from Pre-Kindergarten to 8th grade.

Source: https://www.journalbuddies.com/prompts-by-grade/7th-grade-writing-ideas/

Topics: Essays , Writing Skills , Writing Stlyes , Seventh Grade , Writing Prompt

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Short narrative essay for grade 7

Ai generator, “the day i stood up for a friend”.

In seventh grade, I faced a situation that changed how I viewed friendship and courage. It was a normal day at school when I noticed my friend Sam being teased by a group of kids during lunch. They made fun of his new glasses, calling him names and laughing. Sam looked uncomfortable, but he didn’t say anything. I felt bad for him but also unsure of what to do. Part of me wanted to stay quiet and avoid getting involved, but another part of me knew it wasn’t right to stand by and watch.

As the teasing continued, I could feel my heart pounding. I took a deep breath, stood up, and walked over to where Sam was sitting. “Hey, leave him alone,” I said, my voice shaking. The group looked surprised, but they stopped laughing. I wasn’t sure if they would listen, but after a few moments, they backed off and left.

Sam looked up at me, grateful but still a little embarrassed. “Thanks,” he said quietly. I could tell it meant a lot to him, and in that moment, I realized how important it is to stand up for others, even when it’s difficult.

That day, I learned that doing the right thing isn’t always easy, but it’s necessary. Standing up for my friend made me feel stronger and showed me the power of kindness and courage. It also reminded me that true friends are there for each other, no matter what.

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How Long is An Essay in 7th Grade?

Confused about what’s expected of you for your first essay assignment in seventh grade? All of the frequently asked questions about the format of essays will be addressed in this article.

Students should be honing their fundamental writing abilities by the seventh grade, including brainstorming, researching, outlining, drafting, and revising. Students in the seventh grade should regularly practice writing a variety of essay types, such as narrative, persuasive, expository, and creative essays, in order to hone these skills.

The following essay prompts offer age-appropriate starting points to help seventh graders flex their writing muscles.

Table of Contents

There is frequently a word count requirement for essays . However, in the case of an in-class essay test, the general rule is that you should aim to complete an introduction, two TEEL body paragraphs, and a conclusion within the allotted 40 minutes.

How Long Should the Introduction Be?

Your introduction should only be 3-4 sentences. Get straight to the point within your opening sentence. The best openings demonstrate you have clearly planned your arguments.

Take five minutes to consider your argument and consider how you will support it in the body paragraphs before you begin writing. Then, the first sentence just needs to offer your direct response to the question itself.

How Long Should Each Body Paragraph Be?

When writing the body paragraphs, keep the TEEL structure in mind at all times. Each paragraph should have:

• Clearly define your argument in your topic sentence. (1 sentence)
• Give at least one example taken directly from the text. Make sure that you have chosen this quote carefully to best support your claim. Use quotation marks whenever appropriate. (1 sentence)
• Analysis of the quote and elaboration Did the author use a particular method? What can be taken away from this example to support your point of view? (2-3 sentences)
• Link – connect the discussion back to the topic sentence to further emphasize the idea in this paragraph. (1 sentence)

How Long Should the Conclusion Be?

Only 2 or 3 sentences should make up your conclusion. It presents your concluding response to the query. You can provide a summary of the two key concepts you examined in the two body paragraphs and make a final assessment of how you interpreted the question.

The Length of Each Part in an Essay

The Length of Different Kinds of Essays

The Length of Essays in Different Grades

How Long is a Typical Paragraph Required for 7th Grade?

Among teachers, this is a constant point of contention. Based on what our MEAP requires and a progression up the grades, we have established limits at each grade level. These requirements ensure that our students must provide examples and details to strengthen the paragraph’s supporting arguments. Each paragraph written by a student in our fifth grade must contain at least 40 words (although they are always free to write more). 80 words must be learned by the sixth grade.

In 7th grade, students must write 100 words , and in 8th grade, it is 125 words. There are also requirements for sentences. A 5th-grade paragraph must have at least 5 sentences (topic sentence, body/support sentences, and a clincher). 6th graders must have 6 sentences, while 7th and 8th graders must include at least 8 sentences. See How Long is An Essay in 6th Grade , and 8th Grade .

Narrative Essay Writing Prompts

Narrative essays share a personal experience to tell a story, usually to make a point rather than merely to entertain. These questions for narrative essays encourage students to describe and think back on a story that has special meaning for them.

• Embarrassing Pasts – As people age, they occasionally feel ashamed of the toys, television shows, or nicknames they once enjoyed. Give an example of something you once enjoyed but now find embarrassing. Why is this embarrassing right now?
• Bonds of Hardship – Families can become closer when facing challenges. Describe something that your family endured together that strengthened your relationships.
• There’s No Place Like Home – What unique qualities does your hometown possess? What makes this trait unique?
• New Kid in Town – Being new to a town or school can be difficult because you don’t know anyone or exciting because nobody knows you or your past. Tell us about a time when you were the new kid.
• Finders Keepers – Describe a time when you misplaced (or found) something important. How did that experience affect your opinion of the saying, “Finders keepers; losers weepers?”
• Follow the Leader – Tell about a time when you held a leadership position. How did it make you feel? What did the experience teach you?
• April Fools – Write about the best prank you’ve ever played on someone (or had played on you). What made it so funny or clever?
• Bon Appetit – Special meals have the power to evoke strong memories. Write about a specific meal that stands out in your memory. What was so memorable about it?
• Bon Voyage – Family trips and vacations also create lasting memories. Your favorite family vacation memory should be the focus of an essay.
• Batter Up – In your essay, describe a worthwhile lesson you picked up from playing your preferred sport.
• Best Friends Forever – Describe your relationship with your best friend and why it means so much to you.
• The Real Me – What is something about you that you wish your parents, teachers, or coaches truly understood?
• TV – Describe what about your favorite television program you find so compelling or relatable.

Persuasive Essay Writing Prompts

The goal of persuasive essays is to persuade the reader to agree with the writer’s viewpoint or take a particular course of action. Seventh graders are given the tools they need to write effectively about a topic they are passionate about thanks to these essay prompts.

• Outdated Laws – What is one law, family custom, or educational regulation that you believe needs to be altered? Persuade your parents, the government, or the administration of your school to implement the change.
• Bad Ads – Advertising can have a powerful impact on consumers. Which product has been advertised that, in your opinion, shouldn’t have been? Justify the removal of these advertisements from media outlets.
• Puppy Love – You want a pet, but your parents don’t think you need one. What would you say to persuade them to change their minds?
• Lights, Camera – Which book has always captured your attention? Write a paper persuading a filmmaker to make a movie about it.
• Snooze Button – Tweens and teens require more sleep, according to studies. Make a case for a later start time for school in your proposal.
• Body Shop – By using altered images of models, magazines can have a negative impact on their readers’ body image. Persuade the editor of a teen magazine not to publish photos of models that have undergone extensive editing.
• It Can’t Be Over – The network is canceling your favorite television show. Write a paper persuading the station that they are mistaken.
• Curfews – Children under the age of 18 are not permitted in some malls during specific hours without adult supervision. Is this fair or unfair, in your opinion? Defend your position.
• Team Spirit – Should homeschooled students be permitted to participate in athletic teams at public or private schools? Why or why not?
• Smartphones – All of your friends have the latest smartphone, but you only have a “dumb phone.” Should your parents upgrade your phone, or are smartphones for middle school kids a bad idea?
• Bullies – Some dogs, such as pit bulls or Dobermans, are labeled “bully breeds.” Is this moniker accurate or unfair?
• Money Can’t Buy You Love – While some studies have shown that people with higher incomes may be happier, contrary to popular belief, money cannot buy happiness. Do you believe this to be true? Why or why not?
• Ratings – Age restrictions, TV show ratings, and warning labels all exist for music, video games, and movies. Child safety features are available on computers and smartphones. Do adults have too much control over what kids watch and listen to or do these restrictions serve a valuable purpose?

Expository Essay Writing Prompts

Expository essays give factual information or a process description. These questions can act as springboards for the explanation process.

• School’s in Session – Which type of education do you prefer—public, private, or homeschooling? Describe how your decision is advantageous.
• Admiration – Who do you look up to in history or in your own life? Write an essay describing how their character or contributions to their community have earned your respect.
• Global Community – Which location would you choose if you could reside anywhere in the world? Explain why you want to live in your ideal community.
• Peer Problems – Peer pressure and bullying can make life as a middle school student difficult. Explain a time when you were subjected to pressure or bullying and how it affected you.
• Order Up – Your favorite dish is being taught to a friend. Give your friend step-by-step instructions so they can make the dish again.
• Addictions – The effects of drug or alcohol addiction are widespread. Share information about the harm that these substances’ use causes to families and communities.
• Serve Others – Serving in the community is a rewarding experience. Describe a time you volunteered. What did you do and how did it make you feel?
• City or Country Mouse – Do you reside in an urban or rural area? Describe your preferences for living there and why.
• Aspirations – What do you intend to do when you grow up? Explain why you’d choose that career or what you’ll do to prepare for it.
• Point in Time – People occasionally bury time capsules so that future generations can understand the past. What would you include to provide a true portrait of contemporary life?
• Hobbyist – Your friend wants to start your favorite pastime. Explain it to him.
• SOS – In a nearby city, a natural disaster has destroyed residences and commercial buildings. Specify what you can do to assist.
• Wonder Twin Power – Some superheroes can fly or become invisible. What superpower, if any, would you choose to have, and why?

Creative Essay Writing Prompts

Fictional stories are the basis of creative essays. To captivate and entertain the reader, they make use of plot, character, and dialog. These questions will inspire you to write.

• Fan Fic – Your favorite characters from a book, movie, or television program should be the subject of a short story.
• Cats vs. Dogs – Two different species of animals serve as your pets. A day at home alone should be described in a story from their perspective.
• Time Travel – You find a time machine in your backyard. What happens as soon as you enter?
• Dream State – Consider a time when you awoke in the middle of a vivid dream. If the dream wasn’t cut short, what would have happened?
• New Door – Just now, you came across a door that you’ve never seen before. What transpires if you pass through it?
• Secret Keeper – Your best friend has been hiding something from you, you learn. Why didn’t your friend tell you the secret and what is it?
• Fridge Fun – From the viewpoint of a food item in your refrigerator, compose a story.
• Desert Island – You’ve just found an unexplored island. What happens next?
• Fly on the Wall – Despite being unable to hear them, you can see two people talking animatedly. Write a story about what they might be saying.
• Special Delivery – In the mail, you discover a damaged package. About how it got from the sender to you, write a narrative.
• A Mile in My Shoes – In the thrift shop, you choose a pair of shoes and put them on. You find yourself abruptly thrust into someone else’s life. Describe what happens.
• Mission to Mars – Imagine that you’re a pioneer to start a colony on Mars. Describe a typical day on your new planet in your essay.
• Snow Days – You and your family are stranded inside due to snow for a week. There is no electricity or phone service. What are your hobbies?

Conclusion: An Essay in 7th Grade

Hopefully, writing essays now doesn’t seem as intimidating. As always, practicing is the best way to get ready. You’ll see a significant improvement quickly if you use these instructions as practice to structure your next essay. The whole paragraph can be written in fifteen minutes or less (again with practice).

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11 Rules for Essay Paragraph Structure (with Examples)

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

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How do you structure a paragraph in an essay?

If you’re like the majority of my students, you might be getting your basic essay paragraph structure wrong and getting lower grades than you could!

In this article, I outline the 11 key steps to writing a perfect paragraph. But, this isn’t your normal ‘how to write an essay’ article. Rather, I’ll try to give you some insight into exactly what teachers look out for when they’re grading essays and figuring out what grade to give them.

You can navigate each issue below, or scroll down to read them all:

1. Paragraphs must be at least four sentences long 2. But, at most seven sentences long 3. Your paragraph must be Left-Aligned 4. You need a topic sentence 5 . Next, you need an explanation sentence 6. You need to include an example 7. You need to include citations 8. All paragraphs need to be relevant to the marking criteria 9. Only include one key idea per paragraph 10. Keep sentences short 11. Keep quotes short

Paragraph structure is one of the most important elements of getting essay writing right .

As I cover in my Ultimate Guide to Writing an Essay Plan , paragraphs are the heart and soul of your essay.

However, I find most of my students have either:

• forgotten how to write paragraphs properly,
• gotten lazy, or
• never learned it in the first place!

Paragraphs in essay writing are different from paragraphs in other written genres .

In fact, the paragraphs that you are reading now would not help your grades in an essay.

That’s because I’m writing in journalistic style, where paragraph conventions are vastly different.

For those of you coming from journalism or creative writing, you might find you need to re-learn paragraph writing if you want to write well-structured essay paragraphs to get top grades.

Below are eleven reasons your paragraphs are losing marks, and what to do about it!

Essay Paragraph Structure Rules

1. your paragraphs must be at least 4 sentences long.

In journalism and blog writing, a one-sentence paragraph is great. It’s short, to-the-point, and helps guide your reader. For essay paragraph structure, one-sentence paragraphs suck.

A one-sentence essay paragraph sends an instant signal to your teacher that you don’t have much to say on an issue.

A short paragraph signifies that you know something – but not much about it. A one-sentence paragraph lacks detail, depth and insight.

Many students come to me and ask, “what does ‘add depth’ mean?” It’s one of the most common pieces of feedback you’ll see written on the margins of your essay.

Personally, I think ‘add depth’ is bad feedback because it’s a short and vague comment. But, here’s what it means: You’ve not explained your point enough!

If you’re writing one-, two- or three-sentence essay paragraphs, you’re costing yourself marks.

Always aim for at least four sentences per paragraph in your essays.

This doesn’t mean that you should add ‘fluff’ or ‘padding’ sentences.

Make sure you don’t:

a) repeat what you said in different words, or b) write something just because you need another sentence in there.

But, you need to do some research and find something insightful to add to that two-sentence paragraph if you want to ace your essay.

Check out Points 5 and 6 for some advice on what to add to that short paragraph to add ‘depth’ to your paragraph and start moving to the top of the class.

• How to Make an Essay Longer
• How to Make an Essay Shorter

2. Your Paragraphs must not be more than 7 Sentences Long

Okay, so I just told you to aim for at least four sentences per paragraph. So, what’s the longest your paragraph should be?

Seven sentences. That’s a maximum.

So, here’s the rule:

Between four and seven sentences is the sweet spot that you need to aim for in every single paragraph.

Here’s why your paragraphs shouldn’t be longer than seven sentences:

1. It shows you can organize your thoughts. You need to show your teacher that you’ve broken up your key ideas into manageable segments of text (see point 10)

2. It makes your work easier to read.   You need your writing to be easily readable to make it easy for your teacher to give you good grades. Make your essay easy to read and you’ll get higher marks every time.

One of the most important ways you can make your work easier to read is by writing paragraphs that are less than six sentences long.

3. It prevents teacher frustration. Teachers are just like you. When they see a big block of text their eyes glaze over. They get frustrated, lost, their mind wanders … and you lose marks.

To prevent teacher frustration, you need to ensure there’s plenty of white space in your essay. It’s about showing them that the piece is clearly structured into one key idea per ‘chunk’ of text.

Often, you might find that your writing contains tautologies and other turns of phrase that can be shortened for clarity.

3. Your Paragraph must be Left-Aligned

Turn off ‘Justified’ text and: Never. Turn. It. On. Again.

Justified text is where the words are stretched out to make the paragraph look like a square. It turns the writing into a block. Don’t do it. You will lose marks, I promise you! Win the psychological game with your teacher: left-align your text.

A good essay paragraph is never ‘justified’.

I’m going to repeat this, because it’s important: to prevent your essay from looking like a big block of muddy, hard-to-read text align your text to the left margin only.

You want white space on your page – and lots of it. White space helps your reader scan through your work. It also prevents it from looking like big blocks of text.

You want your reader reading vertically as much as possible: scanning, browsing, and quickly looking through for evidence you’ve engaged with the big ideas.

The justified text doesn’t help you do that. Justified text makes your writing look like a big, lumpy block of text that your reader doesn’t want to read.

What’s wrong with Center-Aligned Text?

While I’m at it, never, ever, center-align your text either. Center-aligned text is impossible to skim-read. Your teacher wants to be able to quickly scan down the left margin to get the headline information in your paragraph.

Not many people center-align text, but it’s worth repeating: never, ever center-align your essays.

Don’t annoy your reader. Left align your text.

4. Your paragraphs must have a Topic Sentence

The first sentence of an essay paragraph is called the topic sentence. This is one of the most important sentences in the correct essay paragraph structure style.

The topic sentence should convey exactly what key idea you’re going to cover in your paragraph.

Too often, students don’t let their reader know what the key idea of the paragraph is until several sentences in.

You must show what the paragraph is about in the first sentence.

You never, ever want to keep your reader in suspense. Essays are not like creative writing. Tell them straight away what the paragraph is about. In fact, if you can, do it in the first half of the first sentence .

I’ll remind you again: make it easy to grade your work. Your teacher is reading through your work trying to determine what grade to give you. They’re probably going to mark 20 assignments in one sitting. They have no interest in storytelling or creativity. They just want to know how much you know! State what the paragraph is about immediately and move on.

Suggested: Best Words to Start a Paragraph

Ideal Essay Paragraph Structure Example: Writing a Topic Sentence If your paragraph is about how climate change is endangering polar bears, say it immediately : “Climate change is endangering polar bears.” should be your first sentence in your paragraph. Take a look at first sentence of each of the four paragraphs above this one. You can see from the first sentence of each paragraph that the paragraphs discuss:

When editing your work, read each paragraph and try to distil what the one key idea is in your paragraph. Ensure that this key idea is mentioned in the first sentence .

(Note: if there’s more than one key idea in the paragraph, you may have a problem. See Point 9 below .)

The topic sentence is the most important sentence for getting your essay paragraph structure right. So, get your topic sentences right and you’re on the right track to a good essay paragraph.

5. You need an Explanation Sentence

All topic sentences need a follow-up explanation. The very first point on this page was that too often students write paragraphs that are too short. To add what is called ‘depth’ to a paragraph, you can come up with two types of follow-up sentences: explanations and examples.

Let’s take explanation sentences first.

Explanation sentences give additional detail. They often provide one of the following services:

Let’s go back to our example of a paragraph on Climate change endangering polar bears. If your topic sentence is “Climate change is endangering polar bears.”, then your follow-up explanation sentence is likely to explain how, why, where, or when. You could say:

Ideal Essay Paragraph Structure Example: Writing Explanation Sentences 1. How: “The warming atmosphere is melting the polar ice caps.” 2. Why: “The polar bears’ habitats are shrinking every single year.” 3. Where: “This is happening in the Antarctic ice caps near Greenland.” 4. When: “Scientists first noticed the ice caps were shrinking in 1978.”

You don’t have to provide all four of these options each time.

But, if you’re struggling to think of what to add to your paragraph to add depth, consider one of these four options for a good quality explanation sentence.

>>>RELATED ARTICLE: SHOULD YOU USE RHETORICAL QUESTIONS IN ESSAYS ?

6. Your need to Include an Example

Examples matter! They add detail. They also help to show that you genuinely understand the issue. They show that you don’t just understand a concept in the abstract; you also understand how things work in real life.

Example sentences have the added benefit of personalising an issue. For example, after saying “Polar bears’ habitats are shrinking”, you could note specific habitats, facts and figures, or even a specific story about a bear who was impacted.

Ideal Essay Paragraph Structure Example: Writing an ‘Example’ Sentence “For example, 770,000 square miles of Arctic Sea Ice has melted in the past four decades, leading Polar Bear populations to dwindle ( National Geographic, 2018 )

In fact, one of the most effective politicians of our times – Barrack Obama – was an expert at this technique. He would often provide examples of people who got sick because they didn’t have healthcare to sell Obamacare.

What effect did this have? It showed the real-world impact of his ideas. It humanised him, and got him elected president – twice!

Be like Obama. Provide examples. Often.

7. All Paragraphs need Citations

Provide a reference to an academic source in every single body paragraph in the essay. The only two paragraphs where you don’t need a reference is the introduction and conclusion .

Let me repeat: Paragraphs need at least one reference to a quality scholarly source .

Let me go even further:

Students who get the best marks provide two references to two different academic sources in every paragraph.

Two references in a paragraph show you’ve read widely, cross-checked your sources, and given the paragraph real thought.

It’s really important that these references link to academic sources, not random websites, blogs or YouTube videos. Check out our Seven Best types of Sources to Cite in Essays post to get advice on what sources to cite. Number 6 w ill surprise you!

Ideal Essay Paragraph Structure Example: In-Text Referencing in Paragraphs Usually, in-text referencing takes the format: (Author, YEAR), but check your school’s referencing formatting requirements carefully. The ‘Author’ section is the author’s last name only. Not their initials. Not their first name. Just their last name . My name is Chris Drew. First name Chris, last name Drew. If you were going to reference an academic article I wrote in 2019, you would reference it like this: (Drew, 2019).

Where do you place those two references?

Place the first reference at the end of the first half of the paragraph. Place the second reference at the end of the second half of the paragraph.

This spreads the references out and makes it look like all the points throughout the paragraph are backed up by your sources. The goal is to make it look like you’ve reference regularly when your teacher scans through your work.

Remember, teachers can look out for signposts that indicate you’ve followed academic conventions and mentioned the right key ideas.

Spreading your referencing through the paragraph helps to make it look like you’ve followed the academic convention of referencing sources regularly.

Here are some examples of how to reference twice in a paragraph:

• If your paragraph was six sentences long, you would place your first reference at the end of the third sentence and your second reference at the end of the sixth sentence.
• If your paragraph was five sentences long, I would recommend placing one at the end of the second sentence and one at the end of the fifth sentence.

You’ve just read one of the key secrets to winning top marks.

8. Every Paragraph must be relevant to the Marking Criteria

Every paragraph must win you marks. When you’re editing your work, check through the piece to see if every paragraph is relevant to the marking criteria.

For the British: In the British university system (I’m including Australia and New Zealand here – I’ve taught at universities in all three countries), you’ll usually have a ‘marking criteria’. It’s usually a list of between two and six key learning outcomes your teacher needs to use to come up with your score. Sometimes it’s called a:

• Marking criteria
• Marking rubric
• (Key) learning outcome
• Indicative content

Check your assignment guidance to see if this is present. If so, use this list of learning outcomes to guide what you write. If your paragraphs are irrelevant to these key points, delete the paragraph .

Paragraphs that don’t link to the marking criteria are pointless. They won’t win you marks.

For the Americans: If you don’t have a marking criteria / rubric / outcomes list, you’ll need to stick closely to the essay question or topic. This goes out to those of you in the North American system. North America (including USA and Canada here) is often less structured and the professor might just give you a topic to base your essay on.

If all you’ve got is the essay question / topic, go through each paragraph and make sure each paragraph is relevant to the topic.

For example, if your essay question / topic is on “The Effects of Climate Change on Polar Bears”,

• Don’t talk about anything that doesn’t have some connection to climate change and polar bears;
• Don’t talk about the environmental impact of oil spills in the Gulf of Carpentaria;
• Don’t talk about black bear habitats in British Columbia.
• Do talk about the effects of climate change on polar bears (and relevant related topics) in every single paragraph .

You may think ‘stay relevant’ is obvious advice, but at least 20% of all essays I mark go off on tangents and waste words.

Stay on topic in Every. Single. Paragraph. If you want to learn more about how to stay on topic, check out our essay planning guide .

9. Only have one Key Idea per Paragraph

One key idea for each paragraph. One key idea for each paragraph. One key idea for each paragraph.

Don’t forget!

Too often, a student starts a paragraph talking about one thing and ends it talking about something totally different. Don’t be that student.

To ensure you’re focussing on one key idea in your paragraph, make sure you know what that key idea is. It should be mentioned in your topic sentence (see Point 3 ). Every other sentence in the paragraph adds depth to that one key idea.

If you’ve got sentences in your paragraph that are not relevant to the key idea in the paragraph, they don’t fit. They belong in another paragraph.

Go through all your paragraphs when editing your work and check to see if you’ve veered away from your paragraph’s key idea. If so, you might have two or even three key ideas in the one paragraph.

You’re going to have to get those additional key ideas, rip them out, and give them paragraphs of their own.

If you have more than one key idea in a paragraph you will lose marks. I promise you that.

The paragraphs will be too hard to read, your reader will get bogged down reading rather than scanning, and you’ll have lost grades.

10. Keep Sentences Short

If a sentence is too long it gets confusing. When the sentence is confusing, your reader will stop reading your work. They will stop reading the paragraph and move to the next one. They’ll have given up on your paragraph.

Short, snappy sentences are best.

Shorter sentences are easier to read and they make more sense. Too often, students think they have to use big, long, academic words to get the best marks. Wrong. Aim for clarity in every sentence in the paragraph. Your teacher will thank you for it.

The students who get the best marks write clear, short sentences.

When editing your draft, go through your essay and see if you can shorten your longest five sentences.

(To learn more about how to write the best quality sentences, see our page on Seven ways to Write Amazing Sentences .)

11. Keep Quotes Short

Eighty percent of university teachers hate quotes. That’s not an official figure. It’s my guestimate based on my many interactions in faculty lounges. Twenty percent don’t mind them, but chances are your teacher is one of the eight out of ten who hate quotes.

Teachers tend to be turned off by quotes because it makes it look like you don’t know how to say something on your own words.

Now that I’ve warned you, here’s how to use quotes properly:

Ideal Essay Paragraph Structure Example: How To Use Quotes in University-Level Essay Paragraphs 1. Your quote should be less than one sentence long. 2. Your quote should be less than one sentence long. 3. You should never start a sentence with a quote. 4. You should never end a paragraph with a quote. 5 . You should never use more than five quotes per essay. 6. Your quote should never be longer than one line in a paragraph.

The minute your teacher sees that your quote takes up a large chunk of your paragraph, you’ll have lost marks.

Your teacher will circle the quote, write a snarky comment in the margin, and not even bother to give you points for the key idea in the paragraph.

Avoid quotes, but if you really want to use them, follow those five rules above.

I’ve also provided additional pages outlining Seven tips on how to use Quotes if you want to delve deeper into how, when and where to use quotes in essays. Be warned: quoting in essays is harder than you thought.

Follow the advice above and you’ll be well on your way to getting top marks at university.

Writing essay paragraphs that are well structured takes time and practice. Don’t be too hard on yourself and keep on trying!

Below is a summary of our 11 key mistakes for structuring essay paragraphs and tips on how to avoid them.

I’ve also provided an easy-to-share infographic below that you can share on your favorite social networking site. Please share it if this article has helped you out!

11 Biggest Essay Paragraph Structure Mistakes you’re probably Making

1.  Your paragraphs are too short 2.  Your paragraphs are too long 3.  Your paragraph alignment is ‘Justified’ 4.  Your paragraphs are missing a topic sentence 5 .  Your paragraphs are missing an explanation sentence 6.  Your paragraphs are missing an example 7.  Your paragraphs are missing references 8.  Your paragraphs are not relevant to the marking criteria 9.  You’re trying to fit too many ideas into the one paragraph 10.  Your sentences are too long 11.  Your quotes are too long

• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 10 Reasons you’re Perpetually Single
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 20 Montessori Toddler Bedrooms (Design Inspiration)
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 21 Montessori Homeschool Setups
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 101 Hidden Talents Examples

4 thoughts on “11 Rules for Essay Paragraph Structure (with Examples)”

Hello there. I noticed that throughout this article on Essay Writing, you keep on saying that the teacher won’t have time to go through the entire essay. Don’t you think this is a bit discouraging that with all the hard work and time put into your writing, to know that the teacher will not read through the entire paper?

Hi Clarence,

Thanks so much for your comment! I love to hear from readers on their thoughts.

Yes, I agree that it’s incredibly disheartening.

But, I also think students would appreciate hearing the truth.

Behind closed doors many / most university teachers are very open about the fact they ‘only have time to skim-read papers’. They regularly bring this up during heated faculty meetings about contract negotiations! I.e. in one university I worked at, we were allocated 45 minutes per 10,000 words – that’s just over 4 minutes per 1,000 word essay, and that’d include writing the feedback, too!

If students know the truth, they can better write their essays in a way that will get across the key points even from a ‘skim-read’.

I hope to write candidly on this website – i.e. some of this info will never be written on university blogs because universities want to hide these unfortunate truths from students.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Regards, Chris

This is wonderful and helpful, all I say is thank you very much. Because I learned a lot from this site, own by chris thank you Sir.

Thank you. This helped a lot.

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How long should the average 7th grade essay be?

• by The Alchemy Team

Just starting out year 7 and want to be the most prepared for your first high school English class? Confused about the expectations for your first essay assignment?

Look no further. This article will answer all the frequently asked questions on how to structure an essay.

How long should my essay be?

Essay assignments often have a word count guide you need to follow. But in the case of an in-class essay test, here is a rough guideline: within a standard 40-minute time frame, you should aim for an introduction, 2 TEEL body paragraphs and a conclusion.

What do I put in the introduction? How long should it be?

Your introduction should only be 3-4 sentences. Get straight to the point within your opening sentence. The best openings demonstrate you have clearly planned your arguments. So before starting to write, it is crucial you take 5 minutes to think of your argument and plan out how you will support them in the body paragraphs. Then, the first sentence just needs to offer your direct response to the question itself.

Tip : To make sure you are properly addressing the question, use synonyms or words directly from the question itself in your thesis statement.

How long should each body paragraph be?

Always think back to the TEEL structure as you are writing the body paragraphs. Each paragraph should have:

• Topic sentence – clearly identify your argument. (1 sentence)
• Example – quote at least one example from the text. Make sure this quote has been chosen strategically to best support your argument. Remember to use quotation marks. (1 sentence)
• Elaboration – analyse the quote. Did the author use a certain technique? What can be extracted from this example to prove the argument you are trying to say? (2-3 sentences)
• Link – connect the discussion back to the topic sentence to further emphasise the idea in this paragraph. (1 sentence)

What goes in the conclusion?

Your conclusion only needs to be 2-3 sentences long. It offers your final answer to the question. You can summarise the 2 main ideas you analysed in the 2 body paragraphs and offer your final judgement about your interpretation of the question.

I’ve followed these guidelines and finished early. What should I do?

• Proofread – check there are no spelling, grammar or punctuation errors.
• Check the style – did you avoid using conversational or slang words such as ‘like’?
• Did you use speech marks to quote your examples?

Hopefully, essay writing now seems less intimidating. Remember, the best way to prepare is to just practise. Practise using these guidelines to structure your next essay and you will notice big improvement in no time.

By Brittanie Hsu, an Alchemy tutor

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7th grade writing

by: Hank Pellissier | Updated: June 16, 2024

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Seventh graders need to avoid dangling modifiers, hasty drafts, and plagiarism! They rewrite to tighten their writing. They critique each other’s essays to learn what’s vague or missing. Finally, they study phrases, clauses, and sentence structure.

Seeing both sides

Your young adult’s critical thinking skills will be put to use this year. In argument papers , students express their fact-based opinions. In a strong paper, they also acknowledge — and use facts to argue against — opposing viewpoints. Your seventh grader’s writing should demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the topic, use clear logic, and incorporate solid evidence from reputable sources .

Your child’s papers should be written in formal language, with clear introductions and concise conclusions that summarize their position. Sounds pretty adult, right? Never fear, assignments are often on tween-friendly social issues, such as Do middle schoolers spend too much time on Instagram ?

We formally inform you

Your seventh grader will also write informative and explanatory papers on science and social studies topics. They’ll be expected to employ a range of “strategy tools” such as:

• Adding definitions for complex words or ideas.
• Using academic vocabulary .
• Adding concrete details.
• Choosing quotations.
• Comparing and contrasting concepts.
• Citing cause-and-effect relationships.
• Classifying information.
• Formatting (e.g., headings, bullet points).
• Including graphics (e.g., charts, images) and multimedia.

The language your child uses in these papers should be formal and precise. They should use transition words (e.g. so, if, for, as, and but ) and phrases (e.g. in view of these facts, under these particular circumstances ) to connect ideas and help their writing flow. Finally, your child write have a succinct synopsis as a conclusion.

Believe it.. or not?

Some of the most fun — and challenging — writing of the year will be narrative story assignments that portray actual events (e.g. memoirs, personal history ) or imagined experiences (e.g. fiction, fantasy ). Your child should experiment with effective storytelling techniques. These may include character development, plot twists and pacing, precise descriptions, tone of the narrator’s voice, crisp dialogue, and adventurous action. In class, kids will learn and practice transition vocabulary to help guide readers from one scene or timeframe to another (e.g. Meanwhile, back at the space station; Centuries earlier, when Brontosaurus first roamed the swamps… ).

Tear it apart and start again

Don’t be dismayed if your seventh grader is asked to replan, re-outline, revise, re-edit, and/or rewrite many of their papers. This isn’t perfectionism or punishment — it helps students sharpen the precision, complexity, pacing, and variation of their literary technique. “By the time I am nearing the end of a story,” says Roald Dahl, author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory , “the first part will have been reread and altered and corrected at least 150 times. …Good writing is essentially rewriting.”

Collaborating online

Seventh graders interact and collaborate online to create and publish writing that links to online sources. Regular online communication with teachers — often in Google docs and other sharing tools — is increasingly prevalent, along with emailing or uploading completed assignments. The challenge for kids? Believable replacements for the classic excuse: “My dog ate my homework.”

Understanding and avoiding cheating

Seventh grade is the year of short research projects using sources like reference books, magazines, and data found online. Your young researcher will learn how to judge the accuracy and credibility of their sources . (For example, Does MAD Magazine have the same integrity as the Boston Globe ? No!) Kids learn to paraphrase information and use quotes to avoid plagiarizing. To plagiarize is defined as “ to copy another person’s ideas, words or work and pretend that they are your own,” and it is a form of cheating that has reached epidemic proportions. Citing their work correctly is the antidote for this error. Papers should follow formats for citations and end with a bibliography.

Grammar with a capital G

Kids learn about phrases , defined as two or more words that express an idea but are not a complete thought or sentence because phrases don’t have a subject and a verb. Kids also learn two types of clauses . Dependent clauses have a subject and a verb and form part of a sentence. Independent clauses have a subject and a verb and create short, complete sentences inside larger sentences.

Seventh graders learn to recognize and use four kinds of sentences . Simple sentences have a single independent clause, with one subject and one verb, e.g., Harold eats pie . Compound sentences have two or more independent clauses, connected with a conjunction, e.g., Harold eats pie because it’s delicious . Complex sentences contain one independent clause and one dependent clause. e.g., Harold eats pie whether it’s hot or cold . Compound complex sentences have at least two independent clauses and one dependent clause. e.g., Jerry eats pie because it’s delicious whether it’s hot or cold .

The common mistake of dangling modifiers happens when modifying words are disconnected from the word they’re meant to modify or the attachment is vague. For example: Alice painted the turtle on the table. Did Alice paint a picture of a turtle on the table surface? Or did she paint the shell of the turtle itself? We’re just not sure.

Seventh graders also start to learn how to use commas correctly. Commas separate adjectives that are equal in value in terms of how they modify the word they describe. If you can reverse the order of the adjectives, then they are equal and you need a comma. For example, Jordana found a red, vintage bag at the thrift store . Since you could also describe it as a vintage, red bag, you need a comma. But you don’t need a comma in this sentence: Mateo wore a yellow rain jacket . Why? Because the reverse order — a rain yellow jacket — makes no sense (unless we’re talking about new species of wasp).

Speak up for the back row

A new focus for writing instruction is that writing should involve a lot of… talking. That’s right. Oral presentations will take center stage for many of your seventh grader’s assignments. The idea is to present their research-backed opinions, arguments, or ideas to their classmates aloud, using formal language, clear pronunciation, and at a volume loud enough for everyone in the class to hear. Kids’ presentations should be well-organized, share main points, and include relevant details and examples. Many presentations will include visual and multimedia displays. Again, it sounds like a lot, but it’s meant as practice to set your child up for real-world, on-the-job success in the future.

Here’s a preview of the presentation skills required in high school.

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How to write a perfect essay

Need to write an essay? Does the assignment feel as big as climbing Mount Everest? Fear not. You’re up to the challenge! The following step-by step tips from the Nat Geo Kids Almanac will help you with this monumental task. 

Sometimes the subject matter of your essay is assigned to you, sometimes it’s not. Either way, you have to decide what you want to say. Start by brainstorming some ideas, writing down any thoughts you have about the subject. Then read over everything you’ve come up with and consider which idea you think is the strongest. Ask yourself what you want to write about the most. Keep in mind the goal of your essay. Can you achieve the goal of the assignment with this topic? If so, you’re good to go.

WRITE A TOPIC SENTENCE

This is the main idea of your essay, a statement of your thoughts on the subject. Again, consider the goal of your essay. Think of the topic sentence as an introduction that tells your reader what the rest of your essay will be about.

OUTLINE YOUR IDEAS

Once you have a good topic sentence, you then need to support that main idea with more detailed information, facts, thoughts, and examples. These supporting points answer one question about your topic sentence—“Why?” This is where research and perhaps more brainstorming come in. Then organize these points in the way you think makes the most sense, probably in order of importance. Now you have an outline for your essay.

ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, WRITE!

Follow your outline, using each of your supporting points as the topic sentence of its own paragraph. Use descriptive words to get your ideas across to the reader. Go into detail, using specific information to tell your story or make your point. Stay on track, making sure that everything you include is somehow related to the main idea of your essay. Use transitions to make your writing flow.

Finish your essay with a conclusion that summarizes your entire essay and 5 restates your main idea.

PROOFREAD AND REVISE

Check for errors in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and grammar. Look for ways to make your writing clear, understandable, and interesting. Use descriptive verbs, adjectives, or adverbs when possible. It also helps to have someone else read your work to point out things you might have missed. Then make the necessary corrections and changes in a second draft. Repeat this revision process once more to make your final draft as good as you can.

Download the pdf .

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Essay Writing: A complete guide for students and teachers

P LANNING, PARAGRAPHING AND POLISHING: FINE-TUNING THE PERFECT ESSAY

Essay writing is an essential skill for every student. Whether writing a particular academic essay (such as persuasive, narrative, descriptive, or expository) or a timed exam essay, the key to getting good at writing is to write. Creating opportunities for our students to engage in extended writing activities will go a long way to helping them improve their skills as scribes.

But, putting the hours in alone will not be enough to attain the highest levels in essay writing. Practice must be meaningful. Once students have a broad overview of how to structure the various types of essays, they are ready to narrow in on the minor details that will enable them to fine-tune their work as a lean vehicle of their thoughts and ideas.

In this article, we will drill down to some aspects that will assist students in taking their essay writing skills up a notch. Many ideas and activities can be integrated into broader lesson plans based on essay writing. Often, though, they will work effectively in isolation – just as athletes isolate physical movements to drill that are relevant to their sport. When these movements become second nature, they can be repeated naturally in the context of the game or in our case, the writing of the essay.

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Planning an essay

The Boys Scouts’ motto is famously ‘Be Prepared’. It’s a solid motto that can be applied to most aspects of life; essay writing is no different. Given the purpose of an essay is generally to present a logical and reasoned argument, investing time in organising arguments, ideas, and structure would seem to be time well spent.

Given that essays can take a wide range of forms and that we all have our own individual approaches to writing, it stands to reason that there will be no single best approach to the planning stage of essay writing. That said, there are several helpful hints and techniques we can share with our students to help them wrestle their ideas into a writable form. Let’s take a look at a few of the best of these:

BREAK THE QUESTION DOWN: UNDERSTAND YOUR ESSAY TOPIC.

Whether students are tackling an assignment that you have set for them in class or responding to an essay prompt in an exam situation, they should get into the habit of analyzing the nature of the task. To do this, they should unravel the question’s meaning or prompt. Students can practice this in class by responding to various essay titles, questions, and prompts, thereby gaining valuable experience breaking these down.

Have students work in groups to underline and dissect the keywords and phrases and discuss what exactly is being asked of them in the task. Are they being asked to discuss, describe, persuade, or explain? Understanding the exact nature of the task is crucial before going any further in the planning process, never mind the writing process .

BRAINSTORM AND MIND MAP WHAT YOU KNOW:

Once students have understood what the essay task asks them, they should consider what they know about the topic and, often, how they feel about it. When teaching essay writing, we so often emphasize that it is about expressing our opinions on things, but for our younger students what they think about something isn’t always obvious, even to themselves.

Brainstorming and mind-mapping what they know about a topic offers them an opportunity to uncover not just what they already know about a topic, but also gives them a chance to reveal to themselves what they think about the topic. This will help guide them in structuring their research and, later, the essay they will write . When writing an essay in an exam context, this may be the only ‘research’ the student can undertake before the writing, so practicing this will be even more important.

RESEARCH YOUR ESSAY

The previous step above should reveal to students the general direction their research will take. With the ubiquitousness of the internet, gone are the days of students relying on a single well-thumbed encyclopaedia from the school library as their sole authoritative source in their essay. If anything, the real problem for our students today is narrowing down their sources to a manageable number. Students should use the information from the previous step to help here. At this stage, it is important that they:

●      Ensure the research material is directly relevant to the essay task

●      Record in detail the sources of the information that they will use in their essay

●      Engage with the material personally by asking questions and challenging their own biases

●      Identify the key points that will be made in their essay

●      Group ideas, counterarguments, and opinions together

●      Identify the overarching argument they will make in their own essay.

Once these stages have been completed the student is ready to organise their points into a logical order.

WRITING YOUR ESSAY

There are a number of ways for students to organize their points in preparation for writing. They can use graphic organizers , post-it notes, or any number of available writing apps. The important thing for them to consider here is that their points should follow a logical progression. This progression of their argument will be expressed in the form of body paragraphs that will inform the structure of their finished essay.

The number of paragraphs contained in an essay will depend on a number of factors such as word limits, time limits, the complexity of the question etc. Regardless of the essay’s length, students should ensure their essay follows the Rule of Three in that every essay they write contains an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Generally speaking, essay paragraphs will focus on one main idea that is usually expressed in a topic sentence that is followed by a series of supporting sentences that bolster that main idea. The first and final sentences are of the most significance here with the first sentence of a paragraph making the point to the reader and the final sentence of the paragraph making the overall relevance to the essay’s argument crystal clear. 

Though students will most likely be familiar with the broad generic structure of essays, it is worth investing time to ensure they have a clear conception of how each part of the essay works, that is, of the exact nature of the task it performs. Let’s review:

Common Essay Structure

Introduction: Provides the reader with context for the essay. It states the broad argument that the essay will make and informs the reader of the writer’s general perspective and approach to the question.

Body Paragraphs: These are the ‘meat’ of the essay and lay out the argument stated in the introduction point by point with supporting evidence.

Conclusion: Usually, the conclusion will restate the central argument while summarising the essay’s main supporting reasons before linking everything back to the original question.

ESSAY WRITING PARAGRAPH WRITING TIPS

●      Each paragraph should focus on a single main idea

●      Paragraphs should follow a logical sequence; students should group similar ideas together to avoid incoherence

●      Paragraphs should be denoted consistently; students should choose either to indent or skip a line

●      Transition words and phrases such as alternatively , consequently , in contrast should be used to give flow and provide a bridge between paragraphs.

HOW TO EDIT AN ESSAY

Students shouldn’t expect their essays to emerge from the writing process perfectly formed. Except in exam situations and the like, thorough editing is an essential aspect in the writing process. 

Often, students struggle with this aspect of the process the most. After spending hours of effort on planning, research, and writing the first draft, students can be reluctant to go back over the same terrain they have so recently travelled. It is important at this point to give them some helpful guidelines to help them to know what to look out for. The following tips will provide just such help: 

One Piece at a Time: There is a lot to look out for in the editing process and often students overlook aspects as they try to juggle too many balls during the process. One effective strategy to combat this is for students to perform a number of rounds of editing with each focusing on a different aspect. For example, the first round could focus on content, the second round on looking out for word repetition (use a thesaurus to help here), with the third attending to spelling and grammar.

Sum It Up: When reviewing the paragraphs they have written, a good starting point is for students to read each paragraph and attempt to sum up its main point in a single line. If this is not possible, their readers will most likely have difficulty following their train of thought too and the paragraph needs to be overhauled.

Let It Breathe: When possible, encourage students to allow some time for their essay to ‘breathe’ before returning to it for editing purposes. This may require some skilful time management on the part of the student, for example, a student rush-writing the night before the deadline does not lend itself to effective editing. Fresh eyes are one of the sharpest tools in the writer’s toolbox.

Read It Aloud: This time-tested editing method is a great way for students to identify mistakes and typos in their work. We tend to read things more slowly when reading aloud giving us the time to spot errors. Also, when we read silently our minds can often fill in the gaps or gloss over the mistakes that will become apparent when we read out loud.

Phone a Friend: Peer editing is another great way to identify errors that our brains may miss when reading our own work. Encourage students to partner up for a little ‘you scratch my back, I scratch yours’.

Use Tech Tools: We need to ensure our students have the mental tools to edit their own work and for this they will need a good grasp of English grammar and punctuation. However, there are also a wealth of tech tools such as spellcheck and grammar checks that can offer a great once-over option to catch anything students may have missed in earlier editing rounds.

Putting the Jewels on Display: While some struggle to edit, others struggle to let go. There comes a point when it is time for students to release their work to the reader. They must learn to relinquish control after the creation is complete. This will be much easier to achieve if the student feels that they have done everything in their control to ensure their essay is representative of the best of their abilities and if they have followed the advice here, they should be confident they have done so.

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Writing Prompts for 7th Grade

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By seventh grade, students should be refining the core writing skills of brainstorming , researching, outlining, drafting, and revising. In order to hone these skills, seventh-grade students need regular practice writing a variety of essay styles, including narrative, persuasive, expository , and creative essays. The following essay prompts offer age-appropriate starting points to help seventh graders flex their writing muscles.

Narrative Essay Writing Prompts

Narrative essays share a personal experience to tell a story, usually to make a point rather than merely to entertain. These narrative essay prompts encourage students to describe and reflect on a story that's meaningful to them.

• Embarrassing Pasts - As people get older, they are sometimes embarrassed by things they used to like, such as toys, television shows, or nicknames. Describe something that you used to enjoy that you now find embarrassing. Why is it embarrassing now?
• Bonds of Hardship - Sometimes difficulties draw families closer. Describe something that your family endured together that strengthened your relationships.
• There’s No Place Like Home - What makes your hometown special? Explain this special quality.
• New Kid in Town - Being new to a town or school can be challenging because you don’t know anyone, or exciting because no one knows you and your past. Describe a time when you were the new kid.
• Finders Keepers -  Write about a time when you lost (or found) something of value. How did that experience affect your opinion of the saying, “Finders keepers; losers weepers?"
• Follow the Leader -  Describe a time when you were in a leadership role. How did it make you feel? What did you learn from the experience?
• April Fools -  Write about the best prank you’ve ever played on someone (or had played on you). What made it so clever or funny?
• Bon Appetit - Special meals can be powerful memory-makers. Write about a specific meal that stands out in your memory. What made it so unforgettable?
• Bon Voyage - Family trips and vacations also create lasting memories. Write an essay detailing your favorite family vacation memory.
• Batter Up -  Write about a valuable lesson that you learned while playing your favorite sport.
• Best Friends Forever -  Describe your friendship with your BFF and what makes it so important to you.
• The Real Me -  What is one thing you wish your parents, teachers, or coaches really understood or knew about you?
• TV -  Explain what makes your favorite television show so enjoyable or relatable to you.

Persuasive Essay Writing Prompts

Persuasive essays use facts and reasoning to convince the reader to embrace the writer’s opinion or take a course of action. These essay prompts empower seventh graders to write persuasively about an issue they genuinely care about. 

• Outdated Laws - What is one law or family or school rule that you think needs to be changed? Convince lawmakers, your parents, or school leaders to make the change.
• Bad Ads - Advertising can have a powerful impact on consumers. What is a product that you’ve seen advertised that you don’t think should be? Explain why the media should quit showing these ads.
• Puppy Love - You want a pet, but your parents don’t think you need one. What would you say to change their minds?
• Lights, Camera - What is your favorite book of all time? Write an essay convincing a producer to make a movie about it.
• Snooze Button - Studies have shown that tweens and teens need more sleep. Write a proposal for a later school start time.
• Body Shop - Magazines can negatively impact their readers’ body image by using edited images of models. Convince a teen magazine publisher that they should not use heavily-edited model images in their publication.
• It Can’t Be Over - The network is canceling your favorite television show. Write a paper convincing the station that they’re making a mistake.
• Curfews -  Some malls have policies forbidding kids under 18 to be at the mall without adult supervision during certain times. Do you think this is fair or unfair? Defend your position.
• Team Spirit - Should homeschooled students be allowed to play sports on public or private school teams? Why or why not?
• Smartphones - All of your friends have the latest smartphone, but you only have a “dumb phone.” Should your parents upgrade your phone, or are smartphones for middle school kids a bad idea?
• Bullies - Some dogs, such as pit bulls or Dobermans, are labeled “bully breeds.” Is this label deserved or undeserved?
• Money Can’t Buy You Love - People say that money can’t buy happiness, but some studies have shown that people with higher incomes may be happier . Do you think this is true? Why or why not?
• Ratings -  There are age restrictions on movies and video games, ratings on television shows, and warning labels on music. Computers and smartphones offer parental controls. Do adults have too much control over what kids watch and listen to or do these restrictions serve a valuable purpose?

Expository Essay Writing Prompts

Expository essays describe a process or provide factual information. These prompts can serve as jumping-off points for the explanatory process. 

• School’s in Session - Would you rather attend public school, private school, or be homeschooled. Explain the benefits of your choice.
• Admiration -  Who do you admire from your life or history? Write an essay describing how their character or contributions to their community have earned your respect.
• Global Community -  If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live? Write about your dream hometown and why you want to live there.
• Peer Problems - Peer pressure and bullying can make life as a middle school student difficult. Describe a time you were pressured or bullied and how it affected you.
• Order Up -  A friend wants to learn how to make your favorite food. Detail the process, step-by-step, so your friend can recreate the dish.
• Addictions - Many people are impacted by drug or alcohol addictions. Share facts about how the use of these substances negatively affects families or communities. 
• Serve Others - Community service is a valuable experience. Describe a time you volunteered. What did you do and how did it make you feel?
• City or Country Mouse - Do you live in a big city or a small town? Explain why you do or don’t like living there.
• Aspirations - What do you want to be when you’re an adult? Explain why you’d choose that career  or what you’ll do to prepare for it.
• Point in Time - Sometimes people bury time capsules so future generations can learn about the past. What would you include to give an accurate snapshot of life in the current time?
• Hobbyist -  You’re friend wants to take up your favorite hobby. Explain it to him.
• SOS - A natural disaster has destroyed homes and businesses in a nearby city. Describe what you can do to help.
• Wonder Twin Power - Some superheroes can fly or become invisible. If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?

Creative Essay Writing Prompts

Creative essays are fictional stories. They use plot, character, and dialog to engage and entertain the reader. These prompts will get the creative juices flowing. 

• Fan Fic -  Write a story about your favorite characters from a book, film, or television show.
• Cats vs. Dogs - You have two pets of different species. Write a story from their point of view about a day at home alone.
• Time Travel - You find a time machine in your backyard. What happens when you step inside?
• Dream State - Think about a time when you woke in the middle of a vivid dream. What would have happened if the dream hadn’t been interrupted?
• New Door -  You’ve just discovered a door that you’ve never seen before. What happens when you walk through it?
• Secret Keeper - You find out your best friend has kept a secret from you. What is the secret and why didn’t your friend tell you?
• Fridge Fun - Write a story from the perspective of an item in your refrigerator.
• Desert Island - You’ve just discovered an uncharted island. What happens next?
• Fly on the Wall - You see two people talking excitedly, but you can’t hear what they’re saying. Write a story about what they might be saying.
• Special Delivery - You receive a battered package in the mail. Write a story about its journey from the sender to you.
• A Mile in My Shoes - You find a pair of shoes in the thrift store and put them on. Suddenly you find yourself transported into someone else’s life. Describe what happens.
• Mission to Mars - Imagine that you’re a pioneer to start a colony on Mars. Write about a typical day on your new planet.
• Snow Days - You find yourself snowed in for a week with your family. There is no electricity or phone service. What do you do for fun?
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How Many Words Should Your Essay Have for Grading High?

How many words are in an essay?

This question bothers all students, whether in middle school or college. Two reasons:

They don’t have word count guidelines to know how long their essay should be to grade high. Or, they struggle with the word limit within a paper and wonder if they can go under the suggested length.

The essay length varies, depending on many factors: subject, purpose, and academic level. Essays are usually shorter than dissertations or research papers. The thesis is the longest one.

In this article, I’ll answer two popular questions: How long is an essay? How many paragraphs are in an essay?

Also, let’s learn how long each essay part is and if it’s okay to go beyond or under the suggested length.

How Long is an Essay, Depending on the Type?

The above rules are average. They may vary at different educational institutions. It stands to reason that elementary-level students write short essays. And their papers get longer in their middle 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th grades, etc.

Often, there’s no exact word number or page count for academic papers. Guidelines usually prescribe a supposed range: 500-850 words, 5-7 pages, and so on. When in doubt, you can ask your instructor.

How Many Paragraphs is an Essay? 6 Main Lengths

You won’t find any rule prescribing a set number of paragraphs for an essay. Five-paragraph essays are a standard, but it doesn’t mean ALL papers should follow it.

Each essay consists of three parts:

• Introduction . Often, it’s one paragraph introducing your topic and thesis to readers. When writing complex papers like dissertations, your intro section can be 2-3 paragraphs.
• Body. It’s a core section discussing the topic in detail. The number of paragraphs here depends on your paper’s type and complexity. This part is 1-4 paragraphs unless you write extended research papers.
• Conclusion. Like intros, this section is often one paragraph summarizing the essay.

Below, I’ll cover the six main lengths to show how to balance a word count in essays.

One-paragraph essays

Three-paragraph papers, five-paragraph essays, extended papers, dissertation, frequently asked questions:, is essay length important.

Yes, it is. Prescribing a length, instructors understand if you can organize thoughts and arguments. An essay of 1,000 words requires more research and effort than a 350-word paper, agree? The specified length also helps you understand how complex your work should be to grade high. Longer essays teach you to write cohesive texts, choose arguments, and think critically.

Don’t write essays for the sake of count. Quality matters, so please focus on arguments, evidence, and analysis. Avoid placing too many transitions, generic words, and lengthy expressions. Make your every word and sentence count.

How many words are in an essay sample?

350 words at least.

It depends on the essay type you write. Thus, a high school essay sample will be 350 words at least. If you need a college application essay, consider personal papers of 250-650 words. Check essay samples of 800-1,000 words if you need a standard college paper. More complex works like graduate school essays or dissertations will be 3,000+ words.

How long is each part of an essay?

Stick to the 80/20 rule when calculating the length of each essay part. An essay body is the core section of academic papers: Make it 80% of the text. The remaining 20% goes to an introduction and a conclusion.

Say you write a 1,000-word essay. It means you will have 800 words in the body; 100 words go to the introduction and 100 words — for a concluding paragraph. You can go 10% below or above the prescribed limit. (Unless your instructor sets specific limitations.)

How many sentences are in an essay?

21-34 sentences for a standard 5-paragraph essay.

It depends on your essay type and the required word count. I’ll take a standard 5-paragraph college paper as an example:

You have one introductory paragraph, which is 3-5 sentences average. Other 3-5 sentences go to your conclusion. The body consists of three sections, 5-8 sentences each (1). So, here we have it: 21-34 sentences in an essay.

How many words are in an essay introduction?

Take 10-15% of the total length required. Thus, if you need to write a 1,000-word essay, your introduction will be 100-150 words.

For advanced research papers, where intros are longer than one paragraph, stick to 100-150 words per paragraph average. Such texts are usually above 3,000 words, so you’ll follow the 80/20 rule anyway.

Can I go under the suggested length?

It’s not advisable. Please do your best to meet the minimum word count given in the assignment. If the guidelines say “350-600 words,” write at least 350 words in an essay. Sometimes, a 10% deviation is acceptable, but don’t take this rule for granted. Most instructors won’t appreciate your 315-word paper if they ask you to write 350 words at least.

How to make your essay longer?

• Add more examples and evidence to the body paragraphs. 
• Explain and analyze every argument in detail. 
• Mention counterarguments if applicable.

Can I make my essay longer?

Yes, you can exceed the word limit by 10% if allowed by your course instructor. For example, if you get an assignment of 500-700 words, it’s okay to submit a 770-word essay for a review.

Important! Always ask your instructor if the 10% rule is available in their course. And exceed the word count only if you have critical information to add.

Academic writing is all about rules and instructions. Essay length isn’t an exception:

Every college paper has a prescribed, approximate word count to follow. When asking, “How long is an essay?” remember the answer will depend on several factors:

• Academic level. (Middle and high school students write short essays. Undergraduates and graduates craft longer and more complex papers.)
• Type and purpose. (Research-based essays are longer than reflective stories you write for college admission officers.)
• Instructions you get from a teacher. (Check them: The supposed essay length is often there.)

How many words are in an essay? You can answer this question now.

References:

• https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/paragraphs_and_paragraphing/paragraphing.html  
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How long is an essay 7th grade?

An essay in 7th grade typically falls within the range of 300 to 800 words. This allows students to learn and practice the basic structure of a 5-paragraph essay, which includes an introduction, a thesis statement, the body, and a conclusion.

How many paragraphs should a 7th grade essay have?

A standard short essay for 7th grade usually consists of five paragraphs. This structure provides enough information in a concise format.

What should a 7th grade essay look like?

In 7th grade, an essay should have an introductory paragraph that includes the title of the essay or article, the author’s full name if given, and the topic. The following 2-3 sentences should provide some background information about the essay or article, typically taken from the first paragraph.

How long is an essay in the UK?

In the UK, an extended essay usually has common lengths of 1,500, 3,000, or 5,000 words, with a word count allowance of plus or minus 10%.

How long should a year 12 English essay be?

Most year 12 English essays are around 1,000 to 1,200 words in length. However, some essays may go slightly over or under depending on the specific requirements.

How many pages is a 20000-word essay?

A 20,000-word essay is approximately 40 pages when single-spaced or 80 pages when double-spaced. This can vary slightly depending on the formatting and font size used.

How many pages is a 5,000-word essay?

A 5,000-word essay is around 10 pages when single-spaced or 20 pages when double-spaced. However, this can vary based on formatting and font size.

How many pages is a 3,000-word essay?

A 3,000-word essay is approximately 6 pages when single-spaced or 12 pages when double-spaced. Actual page count may vary depending on formatting and font size.

Is 70% a good grade for an essay?

A grade of 70% or above is considered a top band of marks. It is considered a good grade, as anything in the 60% range is typically considered a good grade as well.

How should 7th graders write?

Seventh-grade writing should demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the topic, logical reasoning, and incorporation of solid evidence from reliable sources. Papers should be written in formal language and include clear introductions and concise conclusions that summarize the student’s position.

How do you start a 7th grade essay?

A persuasive 7th grade essay should begin with a hook or attention-grabbing sentence, such as a general statement, question, quote, short story, or shocking statement. The following 2-5 sentences should provide background information on the topic or a summary when appropriate.

Can an essay have 7 body paragraphs?

While the traditional academic standard suggests that an essay should have three body paragraphs, any number is possible. Some essays may have 4, 7, 10, or more paragraphs depending on the content and organization.

Is 7 sentences 2 paragraphs?

There is no absolute rule for the number of sentences in a paragraph. A paragraph can have two to three sentences, but it can also have more. The typical maximum number is five sentences, though this can vary depending on the content.

How many paragraphs is a 500-word essay?

A 500-word essay typically consists of 4-6 paragraphs. Since most paragraphs contain around 75-200 words, a 500-word essay would require this number of paragraphs for proper organization and development.

How many paragraphs is a 600000-word essay?

A 600,000-word essay would have a varying number of paragraphs depending on the organization and content. However, for the sake of discussion, if each paragraph contains around 200 words, a 600,000-word essay would have approximately 3,000 paragraphs.

How many paragraphs is a 700000-word essay?

Similarly to the previous question, the number of paragraphs in a 700,000-word essay would depend on the organization and content. If each paragraph contains around 200 words, a 700,000-word essay might have around 3,500 paragraphs.

How many paragraphs is a 900000-word essay?

Like the previous examples, the number of paragraphs in a 900,000-word essay will vary. If each paragraph contains around 200 words, a 900,000-word essay might have approximately 4,500 paragraphs.

How many paragraphs is a 1000000-word essay?

Similar to the previous examples, the number of paragraphs in a 1,000,000-word essay will vary. If each paragraph contains around 200 words, a 1,000,000-word essay might have around 5,000 paragraphs.

How long is a 15,000-word essay?

A 15,000-word essay would be approximately 30 pages when single-spaced, or 60 pages when double-spaced. The actual length may vary based on formatting and other factors.

Can I write a 15,00-word essay in 6 hours?

Writing a 15,000-word essay in 6 hours would be a challenging task. It typically takes about 37.5 minutes to write 1,500 words. Assuming a similar pace, writing 15,000 words would take around 375 minutes or 6.25 hours, not including breaks or research time.

Is 1,200 words a lot?

Writing 1,200 words generally takes about 3.5 to 4.5 hours. This is a moderate length for an article and allows for the inclusion of key details. However, the writer may not be able to go into extensive depth unless the topic is straightforward.

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How Long Should My Academic Essay Be?

When you're given an academic essay assignment, it's easy to feel overwhelmed—especially if English is your second language or you have limited experience with academic writing. Academic essays can range from a few paragraphs to book-length dissertations, so the scope of expectations varies widely based on the school you're attending, the class you're taking, the departmental expectations, and (most especially) the professor giving you the assignment.

However, if you're new to academic essay writing and are stressing over the length it should be, keep in mind that in most situations, your questions will be answered by your professor or the admissions committee assigning you the essay in the first place. When an assignment is given, some professors are very specific on their expectations, including what they expect the word count to be.

For most assignments, you'll likely be given guidelines based on word count (for example, 1,000 to 1,200 words) or page count (3 to 5 pages, double-spaced). You might also be given guidelines on the citation format to use, how many sources you should have, and even the publication date range of those sources. Some professors like to be extremely specific on their expectations for each academic essay assignment, while others might be more lenient and less structured in their guidelines. And of course, these guidelines will vary based on the type of academic essay and its purpose.

General guidelines for essay length

Middle school.

Academic essay assignments typically start in middle school in the American education system and fall within the range of 300 to 800 words. In these grades, you'll be learning the basic 5-paragraph essay structure, which includes an introduction, a thesis statement, the body, and a conclusion. In the typical 5-paragraph essay format, the first paragraph should be the introduction, the second through fourth paragraphs should be the body of the essay, and the fifth paragraph should be the conclusion. In very rare instances would your introduction or conclusion take up more than one paragraph for these types of essays.

High school

In high school, you'll still likely need to write a 5-paragraph essay, although some teachers (especially English and Language Arts) will start to require longer essays (3 to 5 pages). This is to prepare you for the rigor of academic writing that you'll be fine-tuning in college. In these essays, you will still have the basic format of introduction, body and conclusion; however, you'll expand the body to more thoroughly explore or explain a topic. The conclusion of your 3 to 5-page essay will likely still fall within one paragraph, although the introduction might be more than one, depending on the topic.

University (Undergraduate level)

Once you get admitted into an undergraduate program, the length of your academic essay assignments will vary significantly, depending on the classes you take and the departments you take them in. You'll also encounter classes that require academic essays of varying length as the semester progresses, with a longer essay due as the final assignment for a greater percentage of the class grade. In most cases, these longer academic writing assignments will be structured in such a way in that parts of the essay assignment must be turned in at different times, with all sections being put together as a final paper.

For example, in an advanced-level English class, your professor might assign multiple shorter essays of 5 to 7 pages (or 1,500 to 2,100 words) and one final essay that explores a topic in more depth at 8 to 10 pages (or 2,400 to 3,000 words). Another class, such as a core curriculum survey course, might require fewer essays or more journal prompt-type writing assignments.

University (Graduate level)

Much the same as the undergraduate level of college, graduate-level academic writing assignments will vary based on several factors, such as the professor, the course, the department, and the program of study. One university program might require extensive writing while another might be more lab-based or hands-on experience.

Graduate level is also where you're likely to first encounter "thesis" and "dissertation" academic writing assignments, which can go up to 100,000 words or more. These types of assignments obviously require extensive planning, research, and writing time, but you'll likely be given very specific word count and citation requirements when being assigned the paper to write.

Graduate level writing is significantly more involved than the 5-paragraph essay format and contains elements such as sections related to a review of literature, background of the topic/theoretical framework, methodology of research, and your specific findings. These separate sections might have their own word count limits and requirements, with some requiring significantly more time and writing than others. As with some undergraduate assignments, you might be asked to submit these academic writing assignments in stages or sections, including a proposal, a list of your sources, etc.

Beyond word and page count

Even if you stay within a certain word or page count that is required for an academic writing assignment, you could still receive a poor grade for not using that count wisely. For example, it's possible to write a 3 to 5-paragraph paper that is disorganized and illogical, in the same sense that an 8-page essay might have the same faults.

Here are some important guidelines to follow when writing an academic essay, regardless of the word count required:

• Always carefully outline before you begin writing. An outline will help you cover everything that should be covered and ensure that you've included all of the required parts of the essay (introduction, thesis statement, etc.)
• Never allow your academic essay writing style to appear rambling, off-topic, or full of "filler" words. While the topic you're writing about might be new to you, your professor will likely know it extensively and will be able to tell if you're writing just to fill space.
• Do your best to avoid hedging. Hedging is when you essentially dance around a topic with vague statements but never have an actual stance on it. In most forms of academic writing, you're expected to make a clear assumption or thesis statement and then back up your claim with solid research and/or data.

So, can I go over or under word count?

Ultimately, it will always be in your best interest to stay within word count requirements given to you on assignments. Word count or page count limits are given to you for a reason—your professor knows exactly how in-depth you can explore a topic or topics given that word count restriction. If you find that you are significantly under word count when you've completed your writing assignment, it's likely that you haven't explored the topic to the depth expected of you by your instructor. A poor or failing grade might be the result, as it will be clear to your professor that you either didn't understand the topic or didn't take the time needed to research it correctly.

Some professors will allow word count that is over suggested limits a lot more readily than word count that is under them. However, keep in mind that if you have gone significantly over word count in your academic essay assignment, it's always a good idea to ask your teacher if this is acceptable. He or she might have such a heavy student and research load that they are simply unable to read hundreds of essays that are over the suggested word count limit, and might be forced to stop reading once you've reached it. This means that important parts of your writing will not be read and could affect your teacher's grade choice for the assignments.

This is also true for college admissions essay assignments. Admissions committees might be reading the essays of thousands of applicants and need those writers to stay within word count restrictions for the sake of time and logistics. Allowing one applicant to write extensively more could also put that applicant at an unfair advantage, so word count restrictions should always be followed. For a more in-depth look at what you should and shouldn't do on your college admissions essay, check out this article on writing a college admissions essay that stands out from the crowd .