Planning and Organizing an

Essay

What is an Essay?An academic essay is a group of paragraphs that makes an argument about a topic.

An effective academic essay should:

introduce a topic

state that topic clearly

explain that topic through evidence and examples

make a argument or debatable conclusion about that idea.

What is an Essay?An essay has three main sections:

an introduction that states the topic of the essay and make a point through the Thesis Statement

supporting or body paragraphs that contain the supporting point that explain the details of the topic

a conclusion paragraph that ties all the points of the essay together and restates your main point.

Essay OrganizationAn academic essay is usually organized into a pattern

A point-by-point pattern separates your essay sections by the points you are making

A subject-by-subject patter separates your essay sections by the subjects/objects/texts you are using.

A chronological pattern puts your essay sections in order according to time.

Planning Your Essay

Begin planning for your essay by generating an Outline.

An outline is a visual layout of your essay. It can help you pre-plan your essay and the points you will be making.

In your outline, you should write out the main ideas or topic sentences of your essay.

Planning Your Essay

Your outline should follow the general pattern below:

Introduction

Thesis Statement

Point/Subject/Event (as many as you are making in your essay)

Supporting evidence/examples

Conclusion

Restate Thesis