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5 Main Parts of an Essay: An Easy Guide to a Solid Structure

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You might think of essays as boring assignments for explaining the themes in Huckleberry Finn or breaking down the characters in The Great Gatsby , but the essay is one of the most timeless forms in all of literature. It’s a genre that includes deep readings of texts, personal essays, and journalistic reports. Before you get to any of that, you need to figure out the basic parts of the essay.

What Are the Parts of an Essay?

You can think of any essay as consisting of three parts: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. You might see some small variations, but for the most part, that is the structure of any essay.

Take the five-paragraph essay as a simple example. With that form, you get one introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph. That’s five paragraphs, but three parts.

What Are the Main Parts of an Essay Printable 2022

Like a good word burger: how to write the three parts of an essay.

A good essay is much like a good burger (or a sandwich, but we’re a burger society here). Your intro and conclusion are the buns sandwiching the patty, cheese, and other good toppings of the body paragraphs.

What Is an Introduction Paragraph?

“Hello! My name is Seymour. It’s nice to meet you.” That might seem like a simple, non-essay introduction, but it has all the basic components of what you want in an  introduction paragraph . You start with the hook. Your hook is the first sentence of your entire essay, so you want to grab people’s attention (or hook them) immediately.

From there, you have sentences that lead the reader directly to the thesis sentence . Your thesis is possibly the most important part of your entire essay. It’s the entire raison d'être . It’s what you’re arguing or trying to accomplish with your essay as a whole.

Kaboom! That, the sound of the entire universe forming in an instant, giving rise to apples, toenails, and what we know today as the humble five-paragraph essay. Since that fortuitous moment, the five-paragraph essay has become the favorite assignment among English teachers, to the bemusement of students. Although many educators, professionals, and youths have valid criticisms about the form, the five-paragraph essay is an important component of developing writing skills and critical thought. 

What Is a Body Paragraph?

The body paragraphs are the main part of your essay burger. Each body paragraph presents an idea that supports your thesis. This can include evidence from a literary source, details that build out your thesis, or explanations for your reasoning.

The first sentence of each body paragraph is known as the topic sentence . You can kind of think of it like a smaller part of your thesis sentence. It’s the main idea that you want to discuss in that specific body paragraph. The rest of the body paragraph is made up of supporting sentences, which support that topic sentence.

While many are critical of the five-paragraph essay’s rigid form, that rigidity is part of what makes it so advantageous. Every five-paragraph essay is an introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion paragraph, and they will always have that structure. With such a stable form, a writer truly only needs to worry about the contents of the essay, putting all the focus on the actual writing and ideas, not the organization.

What Is a Concluding Paragraph?

A burger needs a solid, sturdy bottom bun. Otherwise, the burger would fall apart. The same holds for a conclusion. A good conclusion holds the essay together, while offering a unique finishing touch to the whole thing.

The conclusion is at once the easiest and hardest part of the essay. It’s easy in that it mostly involves restating your thesis and much of what you already discussed. The hard part is thinking outside of the essay and considering how your thesis applies to components of real life.

In conclusion, the five-paragraph essay is a useful and effective form for teaching students how to write and develop their critical thinking skills. It’s not without its setbacks, but it’s a simple form that can give way to other ways of writing. Longer research papers are essentially five-paragraph essays with more body paragraphs, while short fiction and creative writing require similar critical thought and writing acumen. Even if you don’t write, five-paragraph essays can teach you how to use your voice and express your ideas.

Explore Essay Examples

Understanding each part of an essay is essential to writing one, but seeing actual essay examples in the wild can take you from essay noob to essay expert. Look at specific types of essays, and see if you can pick out the different parts in each one — from thesis statements to hooks and concluding sentences. 

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TOPIC SENTENCE/ In his numerous writings, Marx critiques capitalism by identifying its flaws. ANALYSIS OF EVIDENCE/ By critiquing the political economy and capitalism, Marx implores his reader to think critically about their position in society and restores awareness in the proletariat class. EVIDENCE/ To Marx, capitalism is a system characterized by the “exploitation of the many by the few,” in which workers accept the exploitation of their labor and receive only harm of “alienation,” rather than true benefits ( MER 487). He writes that “labour produces for the rich wonderful things – but for the worker it produces privation. It produces palaces—but for the worker, hovels. It produces beauty—but for the worker, deformity” (MER 73). Marx argues capitalism is a system in which the laborer is repeatedly harmed and estranged from himself, his labor, and other people, while the owner of his labor – the capitalist – receives the benefits ( MER 74). And while industry progresses, the worker “sinks deeper and deeper below the conditions of existence of his own class” ( MER 483).  ANALYSIS OF EVIDENCE/ But while Marx critiques the political economy, he does not explicitly say “capitalism is wrong.” Rather, his close examination of the system makes its flaws obvious. Only once the working class realizes the flaws of the system, Marx believes, will they - must they - rise up against their bourgeois masters and achieve the necessary and inevitable communist revolution.

Not every paragraph will be structured exactly like this one, of course. But as you draft your own paragraphs, look for all three of these elements: topic sentence, evidence, and analysis.

• picture_as_pdf Anatomy Of a Body Paragraph

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What are the parts of an essay, how do i write an introduction, how do i write the body of my essay, how do i write the conclusion, how do i create a reference list, how do i improve my essay.

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• Introduction
• Each is made up of one or several paragraphs.
• The purpose of this section is to introduce the topic and why it matters, identify the specific focus of the paper, and indicate how the paper will be organized.
• To keep from being too broad or vague, try to incorporate a keyword from your title in the first sentence.
• For example, you might tell readers that the issue is part of an important debate or provide a statistic explaining how many people are affected.  
• Defining your terms is particularly important if there are several possible meanings or interpretations of the term.
• Try to frame this as a statement of your focus. This is also known as a purpose statement, thesis argument, or hypothesis.
• The purpose of this section is to provide information and arguments that follow logically from the main point you identified in your introduction. 
• Identify the main ideas that support and develop your paper’s main point.
• For longer essays, you may be required to use subheadings to label your sections.
• Point: Provide a topic sentence that identifies the topic of the paragraph.
• Proof: Give evidence or examples that develop and explain the topic (e.g., these may come from your sources).
• Significance: Conclude the paragraph with sentence that tells the reader how your paragraph supports the main point of your essay.
• The purpose of this section is to summarize the main points of the essay and identify the broader significance of the topic or issue.
• Remind the reader of the main point of your essay (without restating it word-for-word).
• Summarize the key ideas that supported your main point. (Note: No new information or evidence should be introduced in the conclusion.) 
• Suggest next steps, future research, or recommendations.
• Answer the question “Why should readers care?” (implications, significance).
• Find out what style guide you are required to follow (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago) and follow the guidelines to create a reference list (may be called a bibliography or works cited).
• Be sure to include citations in the text when you refer to sources within your essay.
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• Read assignment instructions carefully and refer to them throughout the writing process.
• e.g., describe, evaluate, analyze, explain, argue, trace, outline, synthesize, compare, contrast, critique.
• For longer essays, you may find it helpful to work on a section at a time, approaching each section as a “mini-essay.”
• Make sure every paragraph, example, and sentence directly supports your main point.
• Aim for 5-8 sentences or ¾ page.
• Visit your instructor or TA during office hours to talk about your approach to the assignment.
• Leave yourself time to revise your essay before submitting.
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Essay writing: Main body

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“An appropriate use of paragraphs is an essential part of writing coherent and well-structured essays.” Don Shiach,   How to write essays

The main body of your essay is where you deliver your argument . Its building blocks are well structured, academic paragraphs. Each paragraph is in itself an  individual argument  and when put together they should form a clear narrative that leads the reader to the inevitability of your conclusion.

The importance of the paragraph

A good academic paragraph is a special thing. It makes a clear point, backed up by good quality academic evidence, with a clear explanation of how the evidence supports the point and why the point is relevant to your overall argument  which supports your position . When these paragraphs are put together with appropriate links, there is a logical flow that takes the reader naturally to your essay's conclusion. 

As a general rule there should be one clear key point per paragraph , otherwise your reader could become overwhelmed with evidence that supports different points and makes your argument harder to follow. If you follow the basic structure below, you will be able to build effective paragraphs and so make the main body of your essay deliver on what you say it will do in your introduction.

Paragraph structure

• A topic sentence – what is the overall point that the paragraph is making?
• Evidence that supports your point – this is usually your cited material.
• Explanation of why the point is important and how it helps with your overall argument.
• A link (if necessary) to the next paragraph (or to the previous one if coming at the beginning of the paragraph) or back to the essay question.

This is a good order to use when you are new to writing academic essays - but as you get more accomplished you can adapt it as necessary. The important thing is to make sure all of these elements are present within the paragraph.

The sections below explain more about each of these elements.

The topic sentence (Point)

This should appear early in the paragraph and is often, but not always, the first sentence.  It should clearly state the main point that you are making in the paragraph. When you are planning essays, writing down a list of your topic sentences is an excellent way to check that your argument flows well from one point to the next.

This is the evidence that backs up your topic sentence. Why do you believe what you have written in your topic sentence? The evidence is usually paraphrased or quoted material from your reading . Depending on the nature of the assignment, it could also include:

• Your own data (in a research project for example).
• Personal experiences from practice (especially for Social Care, Health Sciences and Education).
• Personal experiences from learning (in a reflective essay for example).

Any evidence from external sources should, of course, be referenced.

Explanation (analysis)

This is the part of your paragraph where you explain to your reader why the evidence supports the point and why that point is relevant to your overall argument. It is where you answer the question 'So what?'. Tell the reader how the information in the paragraph helps you answer the question and how it leads to your conclusion. Your analysis should attempt to persuade the reader that your conclusion is the correct one.

These are the parts of your paragraphs that will get you the higher marks in any marking scheme.

Links are optional but it will help your argument flow if you include them. They are sentences that help the reader understand how the parts of your argument are connected . Most commonly they come at the end of the paragraph but they can be equally effective at the beginning of the next one. Sometimes a link is split between the end of one paragraph and the beginning of the next (see the example paragraph below).

Paragraph structure video

Length of a paragraph

Academic paragraphs are usually between 200 and 300 words long (they vary more than this but it is a useful guide). The important thing is that they should be long enough to contain all the above material. Only move onto a new paragraph if you are making a new point. 

Many students make their paragraphs too short (because they are not including enough or any analysis) or too long (they are made up of several different points).

Example of an academic paragraph

Using storytelling in educational settings can enable educators to connect with their students because of inborn tendencies for humans to listen to stories.   Written languages have only existed for between 6,000 and 7,000 years (Daniels & Bright, 1995) before then, and continually ever since in many cultures, important lessons for life were passed on using the oral tradition of storytelling. These varied from simple informative tales, to help us learn how to find food or avoid danger, to more magical and miraculous stories designed to help us see how we can resolve conflict and find our place in society (Zipes, 2012). Oral storytelling traditions are still fundamental to native American culture and Rebecca Bishop, a native American public relations officer (quoted in Sorensen, 2012) believes that the physical act of storytelling is a special thing; children will automatically stop what they are doing and listen when a story is told. Professional communicators report that this continues to adulthood (Simmons, 2006; Stevenson, 2008).   This means that storytelling can be a powerful tool for connecting with students of all ages in a way that a list of bullet points in a PowerPoint presentation cannot. The emotional connection and innate, almost hardwired, need to listen when someone tells a story means that educators can teach memorable lessons in a uniquely engaging manner that is   common to all cultures. 

This cross-cultural element of storytelling can be seen when reading or listening to wisdom tales from around the world...

Key:   Topic sentence    Evidence (includes some analysis)    Analysis   Link (crosses into next paragraph)

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How to Write an Essay/Parts

Parts of an Essay — Traditionally, it has been taught that a formal essay consists of three parts: the introductory paragraph or introduction, the body paragraphs, and the concluding paragraph. An essay does not need to be this simple, but it is a good starting point.

Introductory Paragraph [ edit | edit source ]

The introductory paragraph accomplishes three purposes: it captures the reader’s interest, it suggests the importance of the essay’s topic, and it ends with a thesis sentence. Often, the thesis sentence states a claim that consists of two or more related points. For example, a thesis might read:

You are telling the reader what you think are the most important points which need to be addressed in your essay. For this reason, you need to relate the introduction directly to the question or topic. A strong thesis is essential to a good essay, as each paragraph of your essay should be related back to your thesis or else deleted. Thus, the thesis establishes the key foundation for your essay. A strong thesis not only states an idea but also uses solid examples to back it up. A weak thesis might be:

As an alternative, a strong thesis for the same topic would be:

Then, you could separate your body paragraphs into three sections: one explaining the open-source nature of the project, one explaining the variety and depth of information, and a final one using studies to confirm that Wikipedia is indeed as accurate as other encyclopedias.

Tips [ edit | edit source ]

Often, writing an introductory paragraph is the most difficult part of writing an essay. Facing a blank page can be daunting. Here are some suggestions for getting started. First, determine the context in which you want to place your topic. In other words, identify an overarching category in which you would place your topic, and then introduce your topic as a case-in-point.

For example, if you are writing about dogs, you may begin by speaking about friends, dogs being an example of a very good friend. Alternatively, you can begin with a sentence on selective breeding, dogs being an example of extensive selective breeding. You can also begin with a sentence on means of protection, dogs being an example of a good way to stay safe. The context is the starting point for your introductory paragraph. The topic or thesis sentence is the ending point. Once the starting point and ending point are determined, it will be much easier to connect these points with the narrative of the opening paragraph.

A good thesis statement, for example, if you are writing about dogs being very good friends, you could put:

Here, X, Y, and Z would be the topics explained in your body paragraphs. In the format of one such instance, X would be the topic of the second paragraph, Y would be the topic of the third paragraph, and Z would be the topic of the fourth paragraph, followed by a conclusion, in which you would summarize the thesis statement.

Example [ edit | edit source ]

Identifying a context can help shape the topic or thesis. Here, the writer decided to write about dogs. Then, the writer selected friends as the context, dogs being good examples of friends. This shaped the topic and narrowed the focus to dogs as friends . This would make writing the remainder of the essay much easier because it allows the writer to focus on aspects of dogs that make them good friends.

Body Paragraphs [ edit | edit source ]

Each body paragraph begins with a topic sentence. If the thesis contains multiple points or assertions, each body paragraph should support or justify them, preferably in the order the assertions originally stated in the thesis. Thus, the topic sentence for the first body paragraph will refer to the first point in the thesis sentence and the topic sentence for the second body paragraph will refer to the second point in the thesis sentence. Generally, if the thesis sentence contains three related points, there should be three body paragraphs, though you should base the number of paragraphs on the number of supporting points needed.

If the core topic of the essay is the format of college essays, the thesis sentence might read:

The topic sentence for the first body paragraph might read:

Sequentially, the topic sentence for the second body paragraph might read:

And the topic sentence for the third body paragraph might read:

Every body paragraph uses specific details, such as anecdotes, comparisons and contrasts, definitions, examples, expert opinions, explanations, facts, and statistics to support and develop the claim that its topic sentence makes.

When writing an essay for a class assignment, make sure to follow your teacher or professor’s suggestions. Most teachers will reward creativity and thoughtful organization over dogmatic adherence to a prescribed structure. Many will not. If you are not sure how your teacher will respond to a specific structure, ask.

Organizing your essay around the thesis sentence should begin with arranging the supporting elements to justify the assertion put forth in the thesis sentence. Not all thesis sentences will, or should, lay out each of the points you will cover in your essay. In the example introductory paragraph on dogs, the thesis sentence reads, “There is no friend truer than a dog.” Here, it is the task of the body paragraphs to justify or prove the truth of this assertion, as the writer did not specify what points they would cover. The writer may next ask what characteristics dogs have that make them true friends. Each characteristic may be the topic of a body paragraph. Loyalty, companionship, protection, and assistance are all terms that the writer could apply to dogs as friends. Note that if the writer puts dogs in a different context, for example, working dogs, the thesis might be different, and they would be focusing on other aspects of dogs.

It is often effective to end a body paragraph with a sentence that rationalizes its presence in the essay. Ending a body paragraph without some sense of closure may cause the thought to sound incomplete.

Each body paragraph is something like a miniature essay in that they each need an introductory sentence that sounds important and interesting, and that they each need a good closing sentence in order to produce a smooth transition between one point and the next. Body paragraphs can be long or short. It depends on the idea you want to develop in your paragraph. Depending on the specific style of the essay, you may be able to use very short paragraphs to signal a change of subject or to explain how the rest of the essay is organized.

Do not spend too long on any one point. Providing extensive background may interest some readers, but others would find it tiresome. Keep in mind that the main importance of an essay is to provide a basic background on a subject and, hopefully, to spark enough interest to induce further reading.

The above example is a bit free-flowing and the writer intended it to be persuasive. The second paragraph combines various attributes of dogs including protection and companionship. Here is when doing a little research can also help. Imagine how much more effective the last statement would be if the writer cited some specific statistics and backed them up with a reliable reference.

Concluding Paragraph [ edit | edit source ]

The concluding paragraph usually restates the thesis and leaves the reader something about the topic to think about. If appropriate, it may also issue a call to act, inviting the reader to take a specific course of action with regard to the points that the essay presented.

Aristotle suggested that speakers and, by extension, writers should tell their audience what they are going to say, say it, and then tell them what they have said. The three-part essay model, consisting of an introductory paragraph, several body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph, follows this strategy.

As with all writing, it is important to know your audience. All writing is persuasive, and if you write with your audience in mind, it will make your argument much more persuasive to that particular audience. When writing for a class assignment, the audience is your teacher. Depending on the assignment, the point of the essay may have nothing to do with the assigned topic. In most class assignments, the purpose is to persuade your teacher that you have a good grasp of grammar and spelling, that you can organize your thoughts in a comprehensive manner, and, perhaps, that you are capable of following instructions and adhering to some dogmatic formula the teacher regards as an essay. It is much easier to persuade your teacher that you have these capabilities if you can make your essay interesting to read at the same time. Place yourself in your teacher’s position and try to imagine reading one formulaic essay after another. If you want yours to stand out, capture your teacher’s attention and make your essay interesting, funny, or compelling.

In the above example, the focus shifted slightly and talked about dogs as members of the family. Many would suggest it departs from the logical organization of the rest of the essay, and some teachers may consider it unrelated and take points away. However, contrary to the common wisdom of “tell them what you are going to say, say it, and then tell them what you have said,” you may find it more interesting and persuasive to shift away from it as the writer did here, and then, in the end, return to the core point of the essay. This gives an additional effect to what an audience would otherwise consider a very boring conclusion.

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Traditional Academic Essays In Three Parts

Part i: the introduction.

An introduction is usually the first paragraph of your academic essay. If you’re writing a long essay, you might need 2 or 3 paragraphs to introduce your topic to your reader. A good introduction does 2 things:

• Gets the reader’s attention. You can get a reader’s attention by telling a story, providing a statistic, pointing out something strange or interesting, providing and discussing an interesting quote, etc. Be interesting and find some original angle via which to engage others in your topic.
• Provides a specific and debatable thesis statement. The thesis statement is usually just one sentence long, but it might be longer—even a whole paragraph—if the essay you’re writing is long. A good thesis statement makes a debatable point, meaning a point someone might disagree with and argue against. It also serves as a roadmap for what you argue in your paper.

Part II: The Body Paragraphs

Body paragraphs help you prove your thesis and move you along a compelling trajectory from your introduction to your conclusion. If your thesis is a simple one, you might not need a lot of body paragraphs to prove it. If it’s more complicated, you’ll need more body paragraphs. An easy way to remember the parts of a body paragraph is to think of them as the MEAT of your essay:

Main Idea. The part of a topic sentence that states the main idea of the body paragraph. All of the sentences in the paragraph connect to it. Keep in mind that main ideas are…

• like labels. They appear in the first sentence of the paragraph and tell your reader what’s inside the paragraph.
• arguable. They’re not statements of fact; they’re debatable points that you prove with evidence.
• focused. Make a specific point in each paragraph and then prove that point.

Evidence. The parts of a paragraph that prove the main idea. You might include different types of evidence in different sentences. Keep in mind that different disciplines have different ideas about what counts as evidence and they adhere to different citation styles. Examples of evidence include…

• quotations and/or paraphrases from sources.
• facts , e.g. statistics or findings from studies you’ve conducted.
• narratives and/or descriptions , e.g. of your own experiences.

Analysis. The parts of a paragraph that explain the evidence. Make sure you tie the evidence you provide back to the paragraph’s main idea. In other words, discuss the evidence.

Transition. The part of a paragraph that helps you move fluidly from the last paragraph. Transitions appear in topic sentences along with main ideas, and they look both backward and forward in order to help you connect your ideas for your reader. Don’t end paragraphs with transitions; start with them.

Keep in mind that MEAT does not occur in that order. The “ T ransition” and the “ M ain Idea” often combine to form the first sentence—the topic sentence—and then paragraphs contain multiple sentences of evidence and analysis. For example, a paragraph might look like this: TM. E. E. A. E. E. A. A.

Part III: The Conclusion

A conclusion is the last paragraph of your essay, or, if you’re writing a really long essay, you might need 2 or 3 paragraphs to conclude. A conclusion typically does one of two things—or, of course, it can do both:

• Summarizes the argument. Some instructors expect you not to say anything new in your conclusion. They just want you to restate your main points. Especially if you’ve made a long and complicated argument, it’s useful to restate your main points for your reader by the time you’ve gotten to your conclusion. If you opt to do so, keep in mind that you should use different language than you used in your introduction and your body paragraphs. The introduction and conclusion shouldn’t be the same.
• For example, your argument might be significant to studies of a certain time period .
• Alternately, it might be significant to a certain geographical region .
• Alternately still, it might influence how your readers think about the future . You might even opt to speculate about the future and/or call your readers to action in your conclusion.

Handout by Dr. Liliana Naydan. Do not reproduce without permission.

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Body Paragraph

Parts of the body paragraph, single controlling idea that ties back to the thesis statement.

The first thing a solid body paragraph needs to do is focus on one controlling idea-one that directly ties back to the thesis statement of the paper. While the basic paragraph only requires a controlling idea specific to that paragraph’s content, any body paragraph in an essay must always take into account what the thesis statement (or controlling idea of the essay) is. It must also take into account what role the controlling idea of that specific paragraph will play within its context.

To illustrate, let’s look at an example prompt question:

What is one thing you can do to overcome a specific thinking error?

Based on that prompt, a potential thesis statement could be:

One thing I could do to overcome the thinking error of giving up would be to pay more attention to the conditions in which the thinking error usually occurs.

This thesis statement only mentions one thing the writer can do to overcome a specific thinking error (that of giving up). The writter suggests paying more attention to the circumstances in which the thinking error tends to occur . This means that the writer will only need one body paragraph to explain this step he or she intends to take. In other words, since the thesis statement, or controlling idea of the whole essay, only has one idea in it, the essay only needs one body paragraph to discuss that one idea.

Not all essay prompts are that simple though. In the future, it is very likely that you will be asked a prompt question that will require you to share two or even three ideas instead of just the one. This would mean you would need more than one body paragraph to answer the prompt question. Look at the following example:

Ponder and Record

How might the controlling idea of this body paragraph (or even the number of body paragraphs) be different if the thesis statement were this instead:

Three things I could do to overcome the thinking error of giving up would be to pay more attention to the conditions in which the thinking error tends to occur, act to immediately change my physical and mental state so I can stop the thinking error, and then consistently reflect and evaluate how successful I was in stopping the thinking error.

• How many controlling ideas are outlined in this thesis example?
• How many body paragraphs would this essay need since each body paragraph should contain no more than one controlling idea?

In the Ponder and Record exercise above, you probably deduced that the thesis statement outlines three controlling ideas. They are:

• Paying more attention to the conditions in which the thinking error occurs
• Act immediately to change physical and mental state to stop the thinking error
• Reflect and evaluate how successful efforts to stop the thinking error were

This means that, according to this thesis, this particular essay would have three body paragraphs-- one focused on each of the three controlling ideas.

Moving forward, as you examine your prompt questions and create thesis statements, allow the number of controlling ideas you outline to be your guide. This will help you determine how many body paragraphs you will have and what each of those body paragraphs will focus on.

Topic Sentence

The basic paragraph lessons teach that the purpose of the topic sentence is to indicate what controlling idea that paragraph is going to explore . With the body paragraph, the purpose of the topic sentence is no different.

As mentioned in the section above, the only thing that changes in the body paragraph is the fact that its controlling idea (the idea shared in the topic sentence of that paragraph) must tie back to the thesis statement of the paper. All while still serving its purpose of showing what the controlling idea of that particular paragraph will be.

Let’s return to our example thesis statement to illustrate:

With this as the thesis statement of the introductory paragraph, the topic sentence of the body paragraph might be:

The testimony of experts has shown me that increased awareness about the conditions in which thinking errors occur is a great first step toward discovering ways to overcome them.

My own personal experience has shown me that increased awareness about the conditions in which thinking errors occur is a great first step toward discovering ways to overcome them.

Notice how the topic sentence strengthens the thesis statement while also creating the controlling idea and supporting details for that body paragraph? It is clear that increased awareness of the conditions in which thinking errors occur will be the controlling idea of this paragraph (as illustrated by the thesis). But it is also clear that this controlling idea will be supported by details centered on the expert testimony (if the first topic sentence example is used) or with personal experience (if the second topic sentence example is used).

• How does the topic sentence above support the thesis while also clearly creating the controlling idea of that specific paragraph?
• How does the topic sentence effectively outline the type of supporting details that will be shared in that body paragraph?

Supporting Detail

You’ll remember from your lessons on the basic paragraph that there are four basic types of supporting details you could use to support the controlling idea of your paragraph:

• Expert testimony
• Personal experiences

The body paragraph is no different. The same types of supporting details will work. Much like with your basic paragraph assignment, your Basic Essay assignment also requires you to use supporting details in your body paragraph that directly support your controlling idea. The only difference is instead of integrating two supporting details, you only need to integrate one. If you are unsure of what that might look like, let’s return to our example topic sentences:

The first topic sentence example (Example 1) indicates that an expert testimony will serve as the supporting detail for the body paragraph. So what might this look like in practice?

• Many experts in the field of psychology have highlighted the importance of not only correctly identifying the thinking errors we suffer from, but also the conditions in which they tend to occur most frequently in our lives. As Dr. John M. Grohol explained in his article “10 Proven Methods for Fixing Cognitive Distortions,” “Much like a judge overseeing a trial, [you] must remove yourself from the emotionality of the episode of irrational thinking in order to examine the evidence more objectively. A thorough examination of an experience allows you to identify the basis for your distorted thoughts.” In other words, before a thinking error can be successfully overcome, it must first be analysed as objectively as possible so the cause of the thinking error (and the conditions that tend to cause it) can be identified and modified.

The second topic sentence example (Example 2) indicates that a personal experience will serve as the supporting detail for the body paragraph. What might that look like in practice?

• Because one of my thinking errors is a tendency to want to give up and quit, I made the decision to actually keep a record of my thinking patterns over the course of a week. Anytime I had the thought to give up on a task, big or small, I would open up my notebook and write it down. I would describe what I was doing when the thought occurred and how it made me feel. By the end of the week, I realized that a lot of the time, my desire to give up happened during times of stress. In other words, I could handle a lot more (and avoid the thinking error of giving up) when I kept my stress level down. This discovery has helped me realize an important connection that I can now work toward resolving in order to lessen this thinking error’s impact on my life.
• How do the supporting detail examples above support the controlling idea established by the example topic sentence?
• What could your topic sentence and accompanying supporting details be for your own essay?

Don’t forget, if you choose to use a personal experience as a supporting detail, make sure it is based on a specific experience . It is not enough to reflect on a principle as it relates to your life in general.

The Concluding/The Transition Sentence

The final sentence of the body paragraph is the concluding/transition sentence. While similar to the simple concluding sentence of the basic paragraph, the concluding/transition sentence not only serves the purpose of providing closure for the controlling idea shared throughout the paragraph, but also the purpose of transitioning the reader to the next paragraph (whether it be another body paragraph or the concluding paragraph).

In the basic paragraph this sentence should not be a simple restatement of the topic sentence. Rather, it should be a brief summary of how the supporting details shared throughout the paragraph support the controlling idea of that paragraph. The same is true of the concluding/transition sentence in the body paragraph with this small addition- this sentence can also serve as a link back to the thesis statement (the controlling idea of the essay) as well.

Let’s return to our example to illustrate. Based on all of the example sentences shared in this lesson so far, the body paragraph for this particular essay prompt (with its topic sentence and supporting detail) might look like the following:

The testimony of experts has shown me that increased awareness about the conditions in which thinking errors occur is a great first step toward discovering ways to overcome them. Many experts in the field of psychology have highlighted the importance of not only correctly identifying the thinking errors we suffer from, but also the conditions in which they tend to occur most frequently in our lives. As Dr. John M. Grohol explained in his article “10 Proven Methods for Fixing Cognitive Distortions,” “Much like a judge overseeing a trial, [you] must remove yourself from the emotionality of the episode of irrational thinking in order to examine the evidence more objectively. A thorough examination of an experience allows you to identify the basis for your distorted thoughts.” In other words, before a thinking error can be successfully overcome, it must first be analysed as objectively as possible so the cause of the thinking error (and the conditions that tend to cause it) can be identified and modified.

Based on the paragraph above, a possible concluding/transition sentence might be:

I am confident that a consistent analysis of the conditions in which my thinking error of giving up occurs will help me to control and eventually overcome this specific thinking error.

Notice how this sentence provides a sense of completion in terms of the controlling idea and supporting details shared throughout the paragraph? Do you also see how the sentence transitions the reader from the controlling idea of that paragraph back to the controlling idea- or thesis statement- of the entire essay?

• How could you avoid making your concluding/transition sentence a simple restatement of your topic sentence?
• What might your own concluding/transition sentence be based on the topic sentence and supporting details you plan to share?

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9.2 Writing Body Paragraphs

Learning objectives.

• Select primary support related to your thesis.
• Support your topic sentences.

If your thesis gives the reader a roadmap to your essay, then body paragraphs should closely follow that map. The reader should be able to predict what follows your introductory paragraph by simply reading the thesis statement.

The body paragraphs present the evidence you have gathered to confirm your thesis. Before you begin to support your thesis in the body, you must find information from a variety of sources that support and give credit to what you are trying to prove.

Select Primary Support for Your Thesis

Without primary support, your argument is not likely to be convincing. Primary support can be described as the major points you choose to expand on your thesis. It is the most important information you select to argue for your point of view. Each point you choose will be incorporated into the topic sentence for each body paragraph you write. Your primary supporting points are further supported by supporting details within the paragraphs.

Remember that a worthy argument is backed by examples. In order to construct a valid argument, good writers conduct lots of background research and take careful notes. They also talk to people knowledgeable about a topic in order to understand its implications before writing about it.

Identify the Characteristics of Good Primary Support

In order to fulfill the requirements of good primary support, the information you choose must meet the following standards:

• Be specific. The main points you make about your thesis and the examples you use to expand on those points need to be specific. Use specific examples to provide the evidence and to build upon your general ideas. These types of examples give your reader something narrow to focus on, and if used properly, they leave little doubt about your claim. General examples, while they convey the necessary information, are not nearly as compelling or useful in writing because they are too obvious and typical.
• Be relevant to the thesis. Primary support is considered strong when it relates directly to the thesis. Primary support should show, explain, or prove your main argument without delving into irrelevant details. When faced with lots of information that could be used to prove your thesis, you may think you need to include it all in your body paragraphs. But effective writers resist the temptation to lose focus. Choose your examples wisely by making sure they directly connect to your thesis.
• Be detailed. Remember that your thesis, while specific, should not be very detailed. The body paragraphs are where you develop the discussion that a thorough essay requires. Using detailed support shows readers that you have considered all the facts and chosen only the most precise details to enhance your point of view.

Prewrite to Identify Primary Supporting Points for a Thesis Statement

Recall that when you prewrite you essentially make a list of examples or reasons why you support your stance. Stemming from each point, you further provide details to support those reasons. After prewriting, you are then able to look back at the information and choose the most compelling pieces you will use in your body paragraphs.

Choose one of the following working thesis statements. On a separate sheet of paper, write for at least five minutes using one of the prewriting techniques you learned in Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” .

• Unleashed dogs on city streets are a dangerous nuisance.
• Students cheat for many different reasons.
• Drug use among teens and young adults is a problem.
• The most important change that should occur at my college or university is ____________________________________________.

Select the Most Effective Primary Supporting Points for a Thesis Statement

After you have prewritten about your working thesis statement, you may have generated a lot of information, which may be edited out later. Remember that your primary support must be relevant to your thesis. Remind yourself of your main argument, and delete any ideas that do not directly relate to it. Omitting unrelated ideas ensures that you will use only the most convincing information in your body paragraphs. Choose at least three of only the most compelling points. These will serve as the topic sentences for your body paragraphs.

Refer to the previous exercise and select three of your most compelling reasons to support the thesis statement. Remember that the points you choose must be specific and relevant to the thesis. The statements you choose will be your primary support points, and you will later incorporate them into the topic sentences for the body paragraphs.

Collaboration

Please share with a classmate and compare your answers.

When you support your thesis, you are revealing evidence. Evidence includes anything that can help support your stance. The following are the kinds of evidence you will encounter as you conduct your research:

• Facts. Facts are the best kind of evidence to use because they often cannot be disputed. They can support your stance by providing background information on or a solid foundation for your point of view. However, some facts may still need explanation. For example, the sentence “The most populated state in the United States is California” is a pure fact, but it may require some explanation to make it relevant to your specific argument.
• Judgments. Judgments are conclusions drawn from the given facts. Judgments are more credible than opinions because they are founded upon careful reasoning and examination of a topic.
• Testimony. Testimony consists of direct quotations from either an eyewitness or an expert witness. An eyewitness is someone who has direct experience with a subject; he adds authenticity to an argument based on facts. An expert witness is a person who has extensive experience with a topic. This person studies the facts and provides commentary based on either facts or judgments, or both. An expert witness adds authority and credibility to an argument.
• Personal observation. Personal observation is similar to testimony, but personal observation consists of your testimony. It reflects what you know to be true because you have experiences and have formed either opinions or judgments about them. For instance, if you are one of five children and your thesis states that being part of a large family is beneficial to a child’s social development, you could use your own experience to support your thesis.

Writing at Work

In any job where you devise a plan, you will need to support the steps that you lay out. This is an area in which you would incorporate primary support into your writing. Choosing only the most specific and relevant information to expand upon the steps will ensure that your plan appears well-thought-out and precise.

You can consult a vast pool of resources to gather support for your stance. Citing relevant information from reliable sources ensures that your reader will take you seriously and consider your assertions. Use any of the following sources for your essay: newspapers or news organization websites, magazines, encyclopedias, and scholarly journals, which are periodicals that address topics in a specialized field.

Choose Supporting Topic Sentences

Each body paragraph contains a topic sentence that states one aspect of your thesis and then expands upon it. Like the thesis statement, each topic sentence should be specific and supported by concrete details, facts, or explanations.

Each body paragraph should comprise the following elements.

topic sentence + supporting details (examples, reasons, or arguments)

As you read in Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” , topic sentences indicate the location and main points of the basic arguments of your essay. These sentences are vital to writing your body paragraphs because they always refer back to and support your thesis statement. Topic sentences are linked to the ideas you have introduced in your thesis, thus reminding readers what your essay is about. A paragraph without a clearly identified topic sentence may be unclear and scattered, just like an essay without a thesis statement.

Unless your teacher instructs otherwise, you should include at least three body paragraphs in your essay. A five-paragraph essay, including the introduction and conclusion, is commonly the standard for exams and essay assignments.

Consider the following the thesis statement:

Author J.D. Salinger relied primarily on his personal life and belief system as the foundation for the themes in the majority of his works.

The following topic sentence is a primary support point for the thesis. The topic sentence states exactly what the controlling idea of the paragraph is. Later, you will see the writer immediately provide support for the sentence.

Salinger, a World War II veteran, suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder, a disorder that influenced themes in many of his works.

In Note 9.19 “Exercise 2” , you chose three of your most convincing points to support the thesis statement you selected from the list. Take each point and incorporate it into a topic sentence for each body paragraph.

Supporting point 1: ____________________________________________

Topic sentence: ____________________________________________

Supporting point 2: ____________________________________________

Supporting point 3: ____________________________________________

Draft Supporting Detail Sentences for Each Primary Support Sentence

After deciding which primary support points you will use as your topic sentences, you must add details to clarify and demonstrate each of those points. These supporting details provide examples, facts, or evidence that support the topic sentence.

The writer drafts possible supporting detail sentences for each primary support sentence based on the thesis statement:

Thesis statement: Unleashed dogs on city streets are a dangerous nuisance.

Supporting point 1: Dogs can scare cyclists and pedestrians.

Supporting details:

• Cyclists are forced to zigzag on the road.
• School children panic and turn wildly on their bikes.
• People who are walking at night freeze in fear.

Supporting point 2:

Loose dogs are traffic hazards.

• Dogs in the street make people swerve their cars.
• To avoid dogs, drivers run into other cars or pedestrians.
• Children coaxing dogs across busy streets create danger.

Supporting point 3: Unleashed dogs damage gardens.

• They step on flowers and vegetables.
• They destroy hedges by urinating on them.
• They mess up lawns by digging holes.

The following paragraph contains supporting detail sentences for the primary support sentence (the topic sentence), which is underlined.

Salinger, a World War II veteran, suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder, a disorder that influenced the themes in many of his works. He did not hide his mental anguish over the horrors of war and once told his daughter, “You never really get the smell of burning flesh out of your nose, no matter how long you live.” His short story “A Perfect Day for a Bananafish” details a day in the life of a WWII veteran who was recently released from an army hospital for psychiatric problems. The man acts questionably with a little girl he meets on the beach before he returns to his hotel room and commits suicide. Another short story, “For Esmé – with Love and Squalor,” is narrated by a traumatized soldier who sparks an unusual relationship with a young girl he meets before he departs to partake in D-Day. Finally, in Salinger’s only novel, The Catcher in the Rye , he continues with the theme of posttraumatic stress, though not directly related to war. From a rest home for the mentally ill, sixteen-year-old Holden Caulfield narrates the story of his nervous breakdown following the death of his younger brother.

Using the three topic sentences you composed for the thesis statement in Note 9.18 “Exercise 1” , draft at least three supporting details for each point.

Thesis statement: ____________________________________________

Primary supporting point 1: ____________________________________________

Supporting details: ____________________________________________

Primary supporting point 2: ____________________________________________

Primary supporting point 3: ____________________________________________

You have the option of writing your topic sentences in one of three ways. You can state it at the beginning of the body paragraph, or at the end of the paragraph, or you do not have to write it at all. This is called an implied topic sentence. An implied topic sentence lets readers form the main idea for themselves. For beginning writers, it is best to not use implied topic sentences because it makes it harder to focus your writing. Your instructor may also want to clearly identify the sentences that support your thesis. For more information on the placement of thesis statements and implied topic statements, see Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” .

Print out the first draft of your essay and use a highlighter to mark your topic sentences in the body paragraphs. Make sure they are clearly stated and accurately present your paragraphs, as well as accurately reflect your thesis. If your topic sentence contains information that does not exist in the rest of the paragraph, rewrite it to more accurately match the rest of the paragraph.

Key Takeaways

• Your body paragraphs should closely follow the path set forth by your thesis statement.
• Strong body paragraphs contain evidence that supports your thesis.
• Primary support comprises the most important points you use to support your thesis.
• Strong primary support is specific, detailed, and relevant to the thesis.
• Prewriting helps you determine your most compelling primary support.
• Evidence includes facts, judgments, testimony, and personal observation.
• Reliable sources may include newspapers, magazines, academic journals, books, encyclopedias, and firsthand testimony.
• A topic sentence presents one point of your thesis statement while the information in the rest of the paragraph supports that point.
• A body paragraph comprises a topic sentence plus supporting details.

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

What is the body section of an academic essay?

This is the first of four chapters About Body Paragraphs . To complete this reader, read each chapter carefully and then unlock and complete our materials to check your understanding.   

– Introduce the concept of introduction, body and conclusion sections and how they are used in essays

– Discuss the purpose of a body section in an academic essay

– Highlight some of the key elements and features of a successful body paragraph

Chapter 1: What is the body section of an academic essay?

Chapter 2: Which elements build successful body paragraphs?

Chapter 3: Which academic phrases belong in an essay body?

Chapter 4: Which tips make for effective essay body sections?

Before you begin reading...

• video and audio texts
• knowledge checks and quizzes
• skills practices, tasks and assignments

Writing a successful essay takes considerable skill and practice, and the body section   of any essay is of critical importance. To complete a bachelor’s or master’s degree , students around the world will be required to carefully plan, construct, write, edit and proofread essays of various lengths about various topics, and to do that successfully usually requires a confident understanding of the formula that makes for a clear, concise and effective essay. This short introductory reader therefore aims to introduce students to the overall concept and purpose of body paragraphs (Chapter 1), discuss the elements that build them ( Chapter  2), highlight the phrases that help their navigation ( Chapter  3), and provide the best tips for making an essay’s body convincing for the reader ( Chapter  4).

Do essays have different sections?

While there might be a wide variety of different essay types for students to learn ( cause-and-effect , compare-and-contrast , theses , dissertations , etc.) almost any of these essays can be divided into three key sections: the introduction , the body , and the conclusion :

As can be seen in this diagram, the body section, which may be comprised of many different paragraphs, forms the main bulk of any essay (usually about 70%). As a general rule, any paragraph that comes between the introduction and the conclusion is a body paragraph that forms part of the body section . While an essay’s introduction and conclusion can be more generic and easier to write, the body section is the most varied and complex aspect, taking the most practice and time.

Does the body section have purpose?

If the introduction   provides the topic and focus of the essay and its variables, and the conclusion summarises its findings and key arguments, the body section is where the topic is discussed and explored – where philosophical battles are fought and won. The body section is purposeful but variable, as it is the precise purpose of the essay that determines the purpose of the body paragraph. If, for example, you are asked to write an evaluative essay , then the purpose of your essay’s body section would be to provide sufficient evaluation (both sides of the argument) for a given topic; likewise, the problems and solutions of a problem-solution essay   would be explored in that essay’s body section, as would the causes and effects of a specific situation in a cause-and-effect essay .

What makes a body section successful?  

Because of the variation inherent in the body of an essay, students will not be able to find or memorise a sure-fire formula that achieves academic success. Subjectively speaking, the best essays can in fact be the ones that do not follow any prescribed pattern, instead being those which are compelling, well-research and well argued. Nevertheless, and as the following three c hapter s will demonstrate, there are a number of essay elements and features that when successfully included should greatly increase the success of any academic essay. These elements and features are summarised in the table below, with more detail provided in  Chapter  2:

To reference this reader:

Academic Marker (2022) About Body Paragraphs . Available at: https://academicmarker.com/essay-writing/body-paragraphs/about-body-paragraphs/ (Accessed: Date Month Year).

• Purdue University Online Writing Lab
• University of Arizona Writing Center

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Once you’ve completed all four chapters in this short reader About Body Paragraphs , you might then wish to download our Chapter Worksheets to check your progress or print for your students. These professional PDF worksheets can be easily accessed for only a few Academic Marks

Chapter 1 explores the topic: What is the body section of an academic essay? Our Chapter 1 Worksheet (containing guidance, activities and answer keys) can be accessed here at the click of a button. 

Chapter 2 explores the topic: Which elements build successful body paragraphs? Our Chapter 2 Worksheet (containing guidance, activities and answer keys) can be accessed here at the click of a button. 

Chapter 3 explores the topic: Which academic phrases belong in an essay body? Our Chapter 3 Worksheet (containing guidance, activities and answer keys) can be accessed here at the click of a button. 

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Parts of a Body Paragraph in an Essay, Assignment, or any Paper

Whether you are writing an essay, thesis, research dissertation, report, proposal, college essay, or personal statement, you must write the body paragraphs at some point. The body paragraphs come immediately after the introduction paragraph.

Majorly, professors, markers, and instructors can tell good writing just by reading a few components of the body paragraphs.

Body paragraphs are the building blocks of essays and other papers written in prose form. They provide all the information and reasoning to prove the thesis statement.

Without wasting too much time, let�s delve into what elements make a body paragraph, how to craft the best paragraphs, and some tips you can use when stuck.

Purpose of Writing a Body Paragraph

Body paragraphs play a critical role in proving the thesis of an essay or paper. As a matter of sequence, the body paragraphs come after the introduction and just before the concluding paragraph of an essay or paper.

The body paragraphs fulfill the predictions made in the introduction and give room for the summary in the conclusion. Therefore, the body paragraphs must relate to what comes before them and what comes after.

Eliminating a body paragraph from the sequence of body paragraphs without altering the flow means that you derailed when writing. Furthermore, it is a solid signal for editing, proofreading, and, if possible, rewriting the paragraph. Technically, body paragraphs link to one another to support the thesis.

Each body paragraph must relate logically to the one immediately before ( introduction paragraph ) or after ( concluding paragraph ). It should only bear or focus on a single idea or topic reflected in the topic sentence. If your topic is complex or has multiple parts, you can split a paragraph into two to maintain this rule.

A paragraph is about 150 words in length and cannot be one sentence, especially in academia. As a result, one-sentence paragraphs are usually underdeveloped.

Essential Parts or Elements of a Good Body Paragraph

The body of your essay or paper is referred to as developmental paragraphs in the sense that it is the arena where all the action takes place. It is where you develop your central idea or thesis. Depending on the length of your paper, the number of body paragraphs will differ. For instance, if you are writing a one-page paper of 300-400 words, you can ideally have two well-balanced short body paragraphs. Similarly, when writing an essay from 500 to 1000 words, you can write at least three body paragraphs to support the thesis statement of your essay or paper.

The main components of a body paragraph of your essay or whatever written assignment you are undertaking are topic sentences, supporting sentences, transitions, and concluding sentences. Each of these elements works side by side with another to bring out the message of the entire body paragraph as a whole.

When you successfully marry every part to another, you end up with a solid body paragraph that supports the thesis statement of your essay or paper.

Components of a Good Body Paragraph

In a nutshell, we can break a good body paragraph into four main parts. Here is a breakdown of the four parts and the functions that each plays in the body paragraph:

• Transition - linking the body paragraphs to one another.
• Topic Sentence - introducing the paragraph.
• Supporting Sentences - Explain the topic sentence and support the thesis.
• Concluding Sentence/Summary - briefly summarize the paragraph and link/transition to the next paragraph.

Given that you now have a rough idea of each part, let's comprehensively explore all the components in detail to figure out how to use each when writing. In the following section, we explain each element of a good body paragraph in detail and give cogent reasons you should incorporate it when writing the developing paragraphs of your essays or papers.

1. Transitions

For you to achieve coherence, flow, and organization in an essay or paper, using transition words and phrases is inevitable. For example, when writing a body paragraph, it must have a transition sentence. Sometimes it comes just before the topic sentence, while you can incorporate it as part of the closing sentence.

Instead of opening a paragraph with an abrupt change of topic, you can use transitions to offer a soft landing to your readers. You slowly guide them into a new conversation that maintains a good flow of ideas. Transitions do a fantastic job of removing confusion and distractions when moving from one paragraph to the next.

The transition sentence is the one that leads from a previous paragraph to ensure that there is smooth reading or flow of ideas. It transitions you from the previous idea to another idea that is related to the former.

And the good thing is that transition phrases and signal words don't have to be complicated. Check out the list of transition or linking words to incorporate into your paragraphs.

2.  Topic Sentence

It is also known as the opening sentence or key sentence .

The topic sentence is usually the first sentence of the paragraph. It is sometimes known as the opening sentence. It states one of the topics related to your thesis and bears assertions about how the topic supports the central idea.

A topic sentence serves two purposes:

• It ties the details of the paragraph together
• It relates the details of the paragraph to the thesis statement

It is usually a generalization you can support using evidence and facts when writing the essay. As a characteristic, the topic sentences are short and stand independently when the supporting details are stripped.

3. Supporting Sentences

After writing your topic sentence, you need to follow it immediately with a series of supporting sentences. Supporting sentences offer details, facts, examples, and explanations to support the ideas in your paragraph.

The supporting sentences aim to back up your arguments and claims by highlighting the examples, research findings, quotes, citations, and facts.

Since a good essay or research paper must explain your ideas, evidence, and examples, you must also incorporate supporting evidence. You should involve some analysis. Here is where you pull your analytical, organization, and presentation skills.

Supporting evidence can include paraphrased ideas, summaries of ideas, direct quotes, and specific details (such as statistics) from your scholarly reference or source. It is best to ensure a good flow of these ideas.

4. Concluding or Closing Sentence

Although it is not the end of your writing, a closing or concluding sentence is critical in wrapping up your paragraph.

It should be a brief sentence that wraps up the paragraph. It is sometimes called the warrant as it connects your reasoning and support to the thesis. It also shows the relevance of the information provided in supporting the thesis. In most cases, the transition sentence then fits here.

Learn other aspects of paragraph writing in our guide on how to write essays . We have also put together an article on paragraph writing rules , which can be helpful. The process is standard when writing papers such as theses, capstones, case studies, term papers, or white papers. As long as you grasp it, you are good to go.

Your body paragraphs should be organized, coherent, and linked to ensure a good flow.

Related Article: Using first person in academic writing .

The Typical Structure of a Body Paragraph

We can look at the body paragraph like many things. The two main approaches used include the PIE and Hamburger analogy. Let�s look at each in detail to understand how to frame ideas into a body paragraph, score excellent grades, or deliver a masterpiece when writing papers.

Note that regardless of your structure or format for the body paragraph, you will end up with the four components or ingredients we discussed.

The PIE Analogy

The PIE analogy stands for Point Information Explanation. Typically, considering that a body paragraph can be between 2-5 sentences (both short and long), you can arrange the ideas to fit this analogy. Mainly, the length of a body paragraph depends on the length of your paper or essay (measured in word count or page count), your audience, the purpose of writing, and the chosen topic.

The Point (introduction sentence) - This is the first sentence of your body paragraph. It should entail the idea that supports the central idea or thesis of your essay or paper.

The information (supporting sentences) - This refers to a series of sentences, usually 2-3 sentences, that provide information, explanation, and facts to back up the topic sentence. There is no specific order for the supporting sentences. However, ensure that there is a good flow. For example, the first one introduces the supporting idea while the subsequent sentences each provide examples, illustrations, and explanations.

The Explanation (closing sentence) - The concluding sentence closes the body paragraph. It is one sentence, just like the topic sentence. Therefore, it should wrap up the paragraph in brief. Besides, it also predicts and suggests what to expect in the next paragraph.

The Hamburger Analogy

The hamburger paragraph technique or analogy is widely used. It is sometimes referred to as sandwich paragraph, hamburger paragraph, or Oreo method. It helps write the body paragraphs that appear between the introduction and conclusion paragraphs.

Here is the Hamburger Paragraph Template ( Download link) that you can use to develop a strong body paragraph for your essay or paper.

How to Write the Body Paragraph for an Essay or any Paper

Now that we have explored the components or elements of a good body paragraph let's delve into the steps you should take to ensure that you successfully write a body paragraph.

Even though you may know the main parts of a body paragraph, you can only achieve mastery by understanding the process of putting each up and all together. So if that's your main worry, you came to the right place.

In this section, we explain and discuss at length how to write a body paragraph for an essay. Your body paragraph should support the thesis statement. If you succeed in writing good body paragraphs for the essay, even the conclusion paragraph gets easier.

You should take six steps to write an effective body paragraph: writing the topic sentence, unpacking the topic sentence, presenting evidence, analyzing the evidence, proving your objective, and providing a conclusion and transition.

The strategies we share have been used by our top essay writers and are highly recommended by our essay tutors for students who want to score top grades for their essays and assignments that involve writing in prose. Here is the process of writing a body paragraph:

Step 1: Write the Topic Sentence

To write a great body paragraph, start with the first sentence, a mini-thesis statement for your paragraph.

Next, the topic sentence establishes the main point or argument of the paragraph and defines its relationship to the overarching thesis.

Reading the topic sentence, a reader should know what the paragraph is about and how it sits in the essay's context.

Do not use too complex topic sentences as that only leads to confusion and creates room for confusing paragraphs, often lengthy, ambiguous, confusing, and making no sense.

Step 2: Unload the topic sentence

After listing the topic sentence, develop the claims in it by expounding, explaining, and expanding all the individual components.

This step entails parsing out the discussion points addressed in your paragraph to support the topic sentence.

Use as many sentences as possible, but be brief to avoid confusion. In simple terms, elaborate on the significance of the topic sentence.

Step 3: Present Evidence

To prove the claim or argument in your topic sentence, use facts, arguments, illustrations, data, statistics, quotes, paraphrased ideas, and evidence from reputable scholarly sources.

In addition, ensure that you provide the correct in-text citations.

This step aims to back up or support the topic sentence using original ideas from primary and secondary sources to contextualize the idea and support the overarching thesis statement.

Step 4: Analyze the presented evidence

Using your own words, interpret, evaluate, explain, expand, and comment on the evidence you have provided.

Help your readers link the ideas to the topic sentence and the main thesis.

Where applicable, debunk the evidence you have presented, especially when introducing a counterargument to show your prowess and maturity in writing.

Step 5: Prove your point

Writing takes an objective approach, at least most academic writing, unless it is personalized, such as college essays, first-person essays, personal statements, or scholarship essays. To be objective in your writing, tie the body paragraph to the topic sentence and then explain how the body of evidence helps the paragraph connect to the thesis.

 For example, how does the body paragraph address the topic? Has the paragraph addressed its purpose of proving the thesis? You should then elaborate on why each paragraph matters to ensure a coherent link between the main aim of your essay and the discussion.

Step 6: Conclude and Transition

Finally, wind up your paragraph by wrapping the entire paragraph in one sentence and transitioning to the next one. The transition sentence should redirect the reader from one topic or paragraph to the other. The transition process should be smooth and should be stronger and clear to the readers.

Related Read: H ow to write a great case study analysis paper.

Tips to help you write Strong Body Paragraphs

Writing persuasive and organized paragraphs is a tough call for many people, yet it is the only way to achieve excellent grades. With 80% of your word count reserved for the body paragraphs, learning how to write the best is inevitable.

If you constantly make mistakes, try these hacks or tips when writing the body paragraphs next.

1. Follow the outline

You must stick to your essay outline to write a perfect body paragraph. We always recommend developing an outline for your paper before writing. Outlining helps you plan your writing, organize ideas and thoughts, and strategically visualize your paper even though you have not started or completed it.

If you have an outline that you have refined, write your body paragraphs as per the outline. In most cases, writing body paragraphs becomes easier with an outline because you will only be filling in the blanks.

2. Focus when writing

As you develop the ideas in your body paragraphs, pay close attention to your central thesis.

Your focus should be on the chronological sequence of the ideas. If you notice that you have to rearrange the paragraphs for flow, do so.

 Besides, ensure that each body paragraph only discusses one main point related to your thesis. Finally, balance the word count of your paragraphs. It should total 80% of your word count.

Mix long and short sentences to achieve coherence and flow as you write. As well, ensure that you include linking words or transition words. Finally, do not use phrases that are taboo in academic writing.

3. Include counterarguments

When writing the body paragraphs of analytical and argumentative essays, ensure that you reserve one of the body paragraphs for counterarguments where you explain why your thesis is stronger.

Present the facts, evidence, examples, and illustrations to strengthen the understanding of your audience.

4. Don�t be afraid to start over

If you notice that you have veered off-topic, which is likely when you write without an outline, start over again.

As you write the second time, ensure that the paragraphs are interlinked, relevant, and support the thesis. The aim is to ensure that the ideas in each paragraph are interlinked with the main idea of your essay. Do away with vague paragraphs that have weak supporting sentences.

You can also refine and polish your sentences to create a seamless flow of ideas.

Do not cram too much information into a single body paragraph. Instead, split a long paragraph into two and create some flow whenever necessary. You can also shift the paragraphs around.

5. Break Complex Topic Sentences

Since a topic sentence only focuses on one idea, don�t hesitate to break down ambiguous ones for better, shorter, and more direct ones. Ambiguous topic sentences only lead to confused paragraphs or paragraphs that are too long and out of place.

6.  Maximize on Transitions

Even though a body paragraph conventionally begins with a topic sentence, you can include a transition right before the topic sentence to allow a smooth flow to the next section.

7. Be Clear and Concise

When writing body paragraphs, brevity should reign. Ensure that your body paragraphs are no longer than three-quarters of a double-spaced page. An ideal paragraph is about 150 words. Above that, you have a long paragraph that is probably a disservice to your essay. A little longer is acceptable, but too long is worthless.

8.      Revise and edit well

Review, revise, and proofread each body paragraph to eliminate writing errors. Do away with grammatical, spelling, punctuation, and syntax errors. Equally, remove all the unnecessary words and redundancies in your paragraphs. Only ensure you have a clear, concise, and authoritative body paragraph. Finally, remove all the repeated information between paragraphs. Each paragraph should be unique.

The successful students have mastered how to write good body paragraphs. Ideally, the process itself might be challenging. However, it is imperative to understand it to attain coherence in your essay. When the body paragraphs are on point, they together fortify the main thesis statement.

We have covered some unique techniques or paragraphing analogies to help you structure your paragraphs. Then, if you outline your paragraph according to each, you will end up with a high score essay or paper.

You are guaranteed to meet the writing objectives when the paragraphs flow with ideas and points. The only best reward you can get is high scores since you have displayed maturity in your writing. If that feels hard, we have expert essay writers you can count on, talk to us.

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Body Paragraphs

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Body paragraphs: Moving from general to specific information

Your paper should be organized in a manner that moves from general to specific information. Every time you begin a new subject, think of an inverted pyramid - The broadest range of information sits at the top, and as the paragraph or paper progresses, the author becomes more and more focused on the argument ending with specific, detailed evidence supporting a claim. Lastly, the author explains how and why the information she has just provided connects to and supports her thesis (a brief wrap-up or warrant).

Moving from General to Specific Information

The four elements of a good paragraph (TTEB)

A good paragraph should contain at least the following four elements: T ransition, T opic sentence, specific E vidence and analysis, and a B rief wrap-up sentence (also known as a warrant ) –TTEB!

• A T ransition sentence leading in from a previous paragraph to assure smooth reading. This acts as a hand-off from one idea to the next.
• A T opic sentence that tells the reader what you will be discussing in the paragraph.
• Specific E vidence and analysis that supports one of your claims and that provides a deeper level of detail than your topic sentence.
• A B rief wrap-up sentence that tells the reader how and why this information supports the paper’s thesis. The brief wrap-up is also known as the warrant. The warrant is important to your argument because it connects your reasoning and support to your thesis, and it shows that the information in the paragraph is related to your thesis and helps defend it.

Supporting evidence (induction and deduction)

Induction is the type of reasoning that moves from specific facts to a general conclusion. When you use induction in your paper, you will state your thesis (which is actually the conclusion you have come to after looking at all the facts) and then support your thesis with the facts. The following is an example of induction taken from Dorothy U. Seyler’s Understanding Argument :

There is the dead body of Smith. Smith was shot in his bedroom between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m., according to the coroner. Smith was shot with a .32 caliber pistol. The pistol left in the bedroom contains Jones’s fingerprints. Jones was seen, by a neighbor, entering the Smith home at around 11:00 p.m. the night of Smith’s death. A coworker heard Smith and Jones arguing in Smith’s office the morning of the day Smith died.

Conclusion: Jones killed Smith.

Here, then, is the example in bullet form:

• Conclusion: Jones killed Smith
• Support: Smith was shot by Jones’ gun, Jones was seen entering the scene of the crime, Jones and Smith argued earlier in the day Smith died.
• Assumption: The facts are representative, not isolated incidents, and thus reveal a trend, justifying the conclusion drawn.

When you use deduction in an argument, you begin with general premises and move to a specific conclusion. There is a precise pattern you must use when you reason deductively. This pattern is called syllogistic reasoning (the syllogism). Syllogistic reasoning (deduction) is organized in three steps:

• Major premise
• Minor premise

In order for the syllogism (deduction) to work, you must accept that the relationship of the two premises lead, logically, to the conclusion. Here are two examples of deduction or syllogistic reasoning:

• Major premise: All men are mortal.
• Minor premise: Socrates is a man.
• Conclusion: Socrates is mortal.
• Major premise: People who perform with courage and clear purpose in a crisis are great leaders.
• Minor premise: Lincoln was a person who performed with courage and a clear purpose in a crisis.
• Conclusion: Lincoln was a great leader.

So in order for deduction to work in the example involving Socrates, you must agree that (1) all men are mortal (they all die); and (2) Socrates is a man. If you disagree with either of these premises, the conclusion is invalid. The example using Socrates isn’t so difficult to validate. But when you move into more murky water (when you use terms such as courage , clear purpose , and great ), the connections get tenuous.

For example, some historians might argue that Lincoln didn’t really shine until a few years into the Civil War, after many Union losses to Southern leaders such as Robert E. Lee.

The following is a clear example of deduction gone awry:

• Major premise: All dogs make good pets.
• Minor premise: Doogle is a dog.
• Conclusion: Doogle will make a good pet.

If you don’t agree that all dogs make good pets, then the conclusion that Doogle will make a good pet is invalid.

When a premise in a syllogism is missing, the syllogism becomes an enthymeme. Enthymemes can be very effective in argument, but they can also be unethical and lead to invalid conclusions. Authors often use enthymemes to persuade audiences. The following is an example of an enthymeme:

If you have a plasma TV, you are not poor.

The first part of the enthymeme (If you have a plasma TV) is the stated premise. The second part of the statement (you are not poor) is the conclusion. Therefore, the unstated premise is “Only rich people have plasma TVs.” The enthymeme above leads us to an invalid conclusion (people who own plasma TVs are not poor) because there are plenty of people who own plasma TVs who are poor. Let’s look at this enthymeme in a syllogistic structure:

• Major premise: People who own plasma TVs are rich (unstated above).
• Minor premise: You own a plasma TV.
• Conclusion: You are not poor.

To help you understand how induction and deduction can work together to form a solid argument, you may want to look at the United States Declaration of Independence. The first section of the Declaration contains a series of syllogisms, while the middle section is an inductive list of examples. The final section brings the first and second sections together in a compelling conclusion.

Argumentative Essay – Outline, Form, and Examples

What is an argumentative essay?

An argumentative essay requires the writer to investigate a specific topic by collecting and evaluating evidence to establish a position on the subject matter.

When preparing to compose a good argumentative essay, utilize the following steps:

Step 1: Select a topic.

Step 2: Identify a position.

Step 3: Locate appropriate resources.

Step 4: Identify evidence supporting the position. ( NOTE: If there is little evidence in support of the claim, consider re-examining the main argument.)

When gathering evidence, use credible sources . To determine the credibility of the source, consider authority, currency, accuracy, and objectivity:

Who is the author ? Are they an expert in the field? Has a reputable publisher published the work?

How current is the information in the source? Does the currency of the source matter? Does the age of the source impact the content? Is there newer information that disproves the source’s information?

Can other sources verify the accuracy of the information? Does the information contradict that found in other commonly accepted sources?

Is there any evidence of bias, or is the source objective ? Is the research sponsored by an organization that may skew the information?

The following are typically recognized as providing appropriate, credible research material:

Peer-reviewed journals/research papers

Government agencies

Professional organizations

Library databases

Reference books

Writers should avoid using the following sources:

Social media posts

Out-of-date materials

Step 5: Utilize the research to determine a thesis statement that identifies the topic, position, and support(s).

Step 6: Use the evidence to construct an outline, detailing the main supports and relevant evidence.

Argumentative essay outline

After gathering all of the necessary research, the next step in composing an argumentative essay focuses on organizing the information through the use of an outline:

Introduction

Attention Grabber/Hook

Background Information: Include any background information pertinent to the topic that the reader needs to know to understand the argument.

Thesis: State the position in connection to the main topic and identify the supports that will help prove the argument.

Topic sentence

Identify evidence in support of the claim in the topic sentence

Explain how the evidence supports the argument

Evidence 3 (Continue as needed)

Support 2 (Continue as needed)

Restate thesis

Review main supports

Concluding statement

Invite the audience to take a specific action.

Identify the overall importance of the topic and position.

How to write an argumentative essay

Regardless of the writer’s topic or point of view, an argumentative essay should include an introductory paragraph, body paragraphs, a conclusion, and works cited.

Background information

Body Paragraphs

Analysis of evidence

Rephrased thesis

Review of main ideas

Call to action

Works Cited

Argumentative essay introduction

The introduction sets the tone for the entire paper and introduces the argument. In general, the first paragraph(s) should attract the reader’s attention, provide relevant context, and conclude with a thesis statement.

To attract the reader's attention , start with an introductory device. There are several attention-grabbing techniques, the most common of which consist of the following:

The writer can emphasize the topic’s importance by explaining the current interest in the topic or indicating that the subject is influential.

Pertinent statistics give the paper an air of authority.

There are many reasons for a stimulating statement to surprise a reader. Sometimes it is joyful; sometimes it is shocking; sometimes it is surprising because of who said it.

An interesting incident or anecdote can act as a teaser to lure the reader into the remainder of the essay. Be sure that the device is appropriate for the subject and focus of what follows.

Provide the reader with relevant context and background information necessary to understand the topic.

Conclude with a thesis statement that identifies the overall purpose of the essay (topic and position). Writers can also include their support directly in the thesis, which outlines the structure of the essay for the reader.

Avoid the following when writing the introduction to argumentative writing:

Starting with dictionary definitions is too overdone and unappealing.

Do not make an announcement of the topic like “In this paper I will…” or “The purpose of this essay is to….”

Evidence supporting or developing the thesis should be in the body paragraphs, not the introduction.

Beginning the essay with general or absolute statements such as “throughout history...” or “as human beings we always...” or similar statements suggest the writer knows all of history or that all people behave or think in the same way.

Argumentative essay thesis

The thesis statement is the single, specific claim the writer sets out to prove and is typically positioned as the last sentence of the introduction . It is the controlling idea of the entire argument that identifies the topic, position, and reasoning.

When constructing a thesis for an argumentative paper, make sure it contains a side of the argument, not simply a topic. An argumentative thesis identifies the writer’s position on a given topic. If a position cannot be taken, then it is not argumentative thesis:

Topic: Capital punishment is practiced in many states.

Thesis: Capital punishment should be illegal.

While not always required, the thesis statement can include the supports the writer will use to prove the main claim. Therefore, a thesis statement can be structured as follows:

TOPIC + POSITION (+ SUPPORTS)

No Supports: College athletes (TOPIC) should be financially compensated (POSITION).

Supports: College athletes (TOPIC) should be financially compensated (POSITION) because they sacrifice their minds and bodies (SUPPORT 1), cannot hold

Argumentative essay body paragraphs

Body paragraphs can be of varying lengths, but they must present a coherent argument unified under a single topic. They are rarely ever longer than one page, double-spaced; usually they are much shorter.

Lengthy paragraphs indicate a lack of structure. Identify the main ideas of a lengthy paragraph to determine if they make more sense as separate topics in separate paragraphs.

Shorter paragraphs usually indicate a lack of substance; there is not enough evidence or analysis to prove the argument. Develop the ideas more or integrate the information into another paragraph.

The structure of an argumentative paragraph should include a topic sentence, evidence, and a transition.

The topic sentence is the thesis of the paragraph that identifies the arguable point in support of the main argument. The reader should know exactly what the writer is trying to prove within the paragraph by reading the first sentence.

The supporting evidence and analysis provide information to support the claim. There should be a balance between the evidence (facts, quotations, summary of events/plot, etc.) and analysis (interpretation of evidence). If the paragraph is evidence-heavy, there is not much of an argument; if it is analysis-heavy, there is not enough evidence in support of the claim.

The transition can be at the beginning or the end of a paragraph. However, it is much easier to combine the transition with the concluding observation to help the paragraphs flow into one another. Transitions in academic writing should tell the reader where you were, where you are going, and relate to the thesis.

Some essays may benefit from the inclusion of rebuttals to potential counterarguments of the writer’s position.

Argumentative essay conclusion

The conclusion should make readers glad they read the paper. It can suggest broader implications that will not only interest readers but also enrich their understanding in some way. There are three aspects to follow when constructing the conclusion: rephrase the thesis, synthesize information, and call the reader to action.

Rephrased the thesis in the first sentence of the conclusion. It must be in different words; do not simply write it verbatim.

Synthesize the argument by showing how the paper's main points support the argument.

Propose a course of action or a solution to an issue. This can redirect the reader's thought process to apply the ideas to their life or to see the broader implications of the topic.

Avoid the following when constructing the conclusion:

Beginning with an unnecessary, overused phrase such as "in conclusion," "in summary," or "in closing;" although these phrases can work in speeches, they come across as trite in writing

Introducing a new idea or subtopic in the conclusion

Making sentimental, emotional appeals that are out of character with the rest of the paper

Including evidence (quotations, statistics, etc.) that should be in the body of the paper

Argumentative essay examples

Examples of argumentative essays vary depending upon the type:

Academic essays differ based upon the topic and position. These essays follow a more traditional structure and are typically assigned in high school or college. Examples of academic argumentative essay topics include the following:

Advantages or disadvantages of social media

Animal testing

Art education

Benefit or detriment of homework

Capital punishment

Class warfare

Immigration

School uniforms

Universal healthcare

Violence in video games

Argumentative literary essays are typically more informal and do not follow the same structure as an academic essay. The following are popular examples of argumentative literary essays:

“Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Death of the Moth” by Virginia Woolf

“Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell

“Thoughts for the Times on War and Death” by Sigmund Freud

“Does the Truth Matter? Science, Pseudoscience, and Civilization” by Carl Sagan

“Self-Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson