The Academic Essay Format

               The Academic Essay Format

Written by Kathleen Muller Moore and Susie Lan Cassel in Techniques For College Writing The Thesis Statements and Beyond. Boaton: Wadsworth.2011.pp. 9-10.

A closer look at each of the four components of the academic essay—the introduction,the thesis statement, the body paragraphs, and the conclusion—will help you better Understand the unique functions that each performs in service to the essay as a whole.

The introduction has three primary jobs: to entice the reader to read the essay, to orient the reader to the subject of the paper, and to present the thesis statement. In this sense, the introduction sets the stage for the essay by preparing the reader for the argument that follows. The introductory paragraph (and in longer papers, there may be more than one paragraph for the introduction) can be visualized as a triangle where the wide side of the triangle represents the relatively broad opening of the paper, which narrows to a point that represents the thesis statement.

The thesis statement is the most important component of the essay because it has the job of giving meaning and purpose to the paper. Konowing the thesis statement is important because it sets before the reader the paper’s argument—the precise interpretation, evaluation, or position a paper will assert and develop. At its best, the thesis uses clear terms and offers an insightful assertion to draw the reader’s interest. The thesis statement never states the obvious or the generally accepted viewpoint. Instead, a thesis statement is always controversial; it tries to break new ground. Although the thesis statement is generally a single sentence in the essay, it has a very large job to do in that it directs the movement of the essay and gives the paper a sense of unity.

The body paragraphs make up the largest part of the paper and carry the evidence and commentary that show the thesis statement to be valid. Each paragraph has two jobs: to develop one important point in support of the thesis statement and to show how that point furthers the argument of the paper. Body paragraphs open with a topic sentence and include evidence, a discussion of the evidence, and a clear link between the paragraph’s subject matter and the thesis claim. Perhaps each paragraph’s most important duty is to explain carefully how the point developed in the paragraph helps to forge one of the logical links in the chain of the paper’s argument.

Finally, the conclusion of the paper mirrors the introduction in a way that provides closure, often bringing the discussion full circle. Here, the reader is reminded of the thesis of the paper and the context in which the paper’s discussion takes place. There are many good strategies for shaping conclusions, which often include stylistic flair, but one typical formula is to begin by restating the thesis statement using different words, and reviewing at a general level the evidence examined in the paper.