Writing an essay includes having an introduction, body and a conclusion as the basic
structure. Organizing the body within the essay can prove challenging, though there are a
variety of ways to structure an essay in more detail. Knowing what essay structure is and
how to use it well can help you develop writing and communications skills to use in a
professional career or academics. In this article, we explore what an essay structure is and
what's included, the various structures you can use and tips for structuring an essay to
prepare when writing your own.
What Is an Essay Structure? (With Types and Tips)
Writing an essay includes having an introduction, body and a conclusion as the
basic structure. Organizing the body within the essay can prove challenging,
though there are a variety of ways to structure an essay in more detail. Knowing
what essay structure is and how to use it well can help you develop writing and
communications skills to use in a professional career or academics. In this article,
we explore what an essay structure is and what's included, the various structures
you can use and tips for structuring an essay to prepare when writing your own.
What is an essay structure?
An essay structure is an outline to organize and prepare your writing. It has three
distinct parts, including an introduction, body and a conclusion. When writing an
essay, the structure helps guide what information goes in each part and how to
organize information within each section. For example, if you're writing an essay
about the history of the motor vehicle, you might choose to organize it in various
ways, like chronologically through history starting with the first car, comparing
American-made cars against European models or addressing the safety
What are the parts of an essay structure?
Here are the three parts that comprise an essay:
Introduction
An essay's introduction typically presents your topic or thesis statement,
highlighting what you go in depth on throughout the rest of the essay.
Introductions can give general background to your topic, knowing you explore it
further in each section of the body. Consider writing an intriguing introduction
that captures your reader's attention and makes them interested to keep reading
more.
Body
A body is the part of an essay where you elaborate on your analysis and
arguments, often presenting information, research and evidence to support your
claims. It can include citations and quotations to reference other material or
supporting evidence in this section of your essay. Use the body to organize your
core debates, interpretations or analysis and consider making one main point per
paragraph. You can keep the body of your essay organized and engaging by
ensuring all your paragraphs begin with a topic sentence and relate to your thesis.
Conclusion
A conclusion is the end of an essay, where you summarize your ideas presented.
Your conclusion usually brings together the major points of your essay, showing
how they relate. A conclusion also often showcases the value behind your
argument, interpretation or research. For example, in the same essay about the
history of motor vehicles and their safety developments, perhaps your conclusion
shows the projected number of lives saved with the advancements in safety
features over the years.
What are different essay structures?
Depending on the topic and nature of your essay, there are several essay
structures you can choose from. Here are four essay structures to consider using
when you write an essay:
Compare and contrast structure
For an essay that has two or more primary subjects, consider using the compare
and contrast structure. For example, an argumentative essay that compares the
differences between the American and Russian space programs or a literary
analysis paper that compares two different authors or novels. There are two ways
to use the compare and contrast essay structure
Alternating method: With this compare and contrast structure, you
compare subjects side by side in each paragraph, reviewing one specific
aspect at a time. The points of comparison themselves define each of your
paragraphs.
Block method: In the block structure for comparing and contrasting, you
cover each subject separately in full, and it can spread across multiple
paragraphs. You might write three paragraphs about your first element of
comparison, for example, and then write two more about your second
subject, comparing it to the first one.
Chronological structure
A chronological, or cause and effect, structure is one of the most common ways to
organize an essay. You discuss points, events or research in the order they occur,
talking about how they relate as you go. This is especially helpful for essays that
focus on history or a series of events, though you can also use other essay
structures for topics that include timelines.
For example, in an essay about the history of baseball, the chronological essay
structure provides a logical and easy-to-follow outline for both the writer and
reader. You might start with the inventor of the game, move through milestones in
history and chronologically note well-known players with this essay structure.
Problems, methods and solutions structure
Essays that focus on specific problems, whether theoretical or practical, work well
with the problems, methods and solutions essay structure. With this format, you
explain a problem, discuss a theory or method to resolve it and analyze the issue
using the described method to see if a solution happens. For theoretical issues,
you may propose a solution, or the solution might be the research you present.
Some examples for essays using this structure might include:
The rise of social media and its effects on children and young adults
The increased risk of climate change
The growing amount of consumer and student loan debts
The importance of a work-life balance in professional careers
Signposting to clarify structure
A signposting essay structure is less commonly used, though equally effective. In
this structure, you lead a reader with language that suggests what is to come
within your essay, particularly with an overview and use of transitions. Here is how
the overview and transitions work within a signposting to clarify essay structure:
Overview
An overview comes after an essay's introduction, typically gets written in the
present tense and gives a description of the argument or idea in each section.
Here's an example to consider:
"This essay starts by exploring the founder of baseball, then moves on to the
creation of rules and the first notable teams of players. It discusses how the
sport became a national pastime and raised critical issues in society
throughout history, like segregation and integration. The essay moves on to
explore notable players and their impressive physical feats and statistical
records. Finally, the essay closes with insight into the business of baseball, the
financial future of player salaries and contracts and the impression the sport
still has on fans of all ages."
Transitions
The transitions of a strong essay help guide a reader and also connect ideas
together throughout a paragraph or body. Consider being mindful of how and
where you use transition words and phrases, as effective essays balance having
too little or too many. In this example, the transition words because, in fact and
while help guide the reader to the next sentences:
Because baseball integrated eight years before the start of the Civil Rights movement, it shows
how the sport transformed both the game and society in ways other common pastimes did not.
In fact, players even unified against some opposition from coaches and competing players,
leading to greater acceptance within integrated teams. While other major events earned a spot
in baseball history, integration of the league profoundly changed American society."
What are some tips for structuring an essay?
When structuring an essay of your own, consider these five helpful tips:
Factor in time to prepare your essay. An essay structure helps
gather your ideas and facts, organizing and unifying them to your
topic. The time spent on preparing your outline and structure can
save you time later and help you build a cohesive and coherent
essay that's easy for your reader to understand.
Follow your structure as best as possible. Once you determine which
essay structure works best for your topic, try to follow its outline as much as
you can. If your ideas change or you find the outline could improve,
consider repositioning your outline.
Mention background information at the beginning. Background
information can help a reader understand more about your essay and the
topics you present. While general background information gets shared in
the introduction, it's common to include more early on in your essay,
typically at the beginning of the body.
Start with the simplest claim. When structuring your arguments within the
body of your essay, begin with the simplest claim and work toward the more
complex or controversial ones. Often, the grounding or acceptance of the
simpler concept can help the reader understand the ones to follow.
Always connect back to your thesis. To make a strong and concise essay,
ensure that everything is relevant to your thesis. Consider reviewing each
piece of information and asking yourself if it gives needed background or
advances your point. If not, feel free to leave it out.
