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What Is an Essay and Its Features?

The are various definitions for “essay.” But here, we will focus on the meaning of this word, which has become a significant element of education in countries such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

If summarized in simple terms within the academic context, the essay’s definition would be the following:

An essay is a short, nonfictional piece of formal writing assigned to students to improve their writing skills or assess their knowledge of a given subject.

Alternative Essay Definitions

Here are some of the many definitions of an essay:

• According to Frederick Crews, professor of English at the University of California at Berkeley, an essay is “a fairly brief piece of nonfiction that tries to make a point in an interesting way.”
• A famous essayist, Aldous Huxley, notes that “the essay is a literary device for saying almost everything about almost anything” and divides essays into personal-biographical, objectively-factual, and abstract-universal.
• The Oxford Dictionary defines it as “a short piece of writing on a particular subject.”

Essays can be broadly categorized into formal essays and informal essays. Formal essays are characterized by their structured nature, employing a more formal language, and having a clearly defined purpose, contrasting with the more free-form and personal tone of informal essays.

Note: Apart from the secondary and tertiary education purpose, essays (also called papers reports) are often required when applying to colleges and universities to help them select the best applicants during the admissions.

If you study the word’s origin and history, you might better understand its purpose. The word “essay” comes from the Middle French word essayer, which in turn comes from Latin exigere, meaning “to test,” “examine,” and “drive out.”

This “archaeological” linguistic journey reveals the idea behind essays, encouraging learners to examine their ideas concerning a particular topic in-depth and test them. By nature, essays are short and require a clearly defined purpose of writing that you must adhere to in your paper.

There’s a lot to be learned from essay writing: critical analysis, observation, interpretation, narration, persuasion, close reading, preparation, and time management. All these skills can be valuable even beyond the school walls.

Lastly, in the visual arts, creative works can also be called essays if they present a personal reflection on a particular matter. So, film essays or photo essays fall into the general category of essays.

What is an essay structure like?

An essay is generally composed of three parts and has the following structure :

• Introduction (hook, background information, and your thesis statement) – provides context for the reader and gives an argument in the form of a thesis statement.
• Body section (usually, one paragraph for each main idea) – the main section where evidence is presented to persuade the reader to adopt the writer’s point of view or prove something.
• Conclusion – the last section that summarizes everything you have discussed in your essay and provides the final perspective on the subject.

Generally, an essay must focus on the author’s argument and supporting evidence. However, the variety of essay types involves many other forms and styles. Argumentative and expository essays are particularly common in university-level education, known for their structured approach to presenting information and making clear points.

Common Essay Types

Understanding the different types of essays is pretty important for your academic success. Each essay type serves its own purpose and requires a different approach, so here’s a brief look at some of the most common essay types you might encounter during your school times.

Argumentative Essay

An argumentative essay demands you to present a viewpoint on a (usually) controversial issue. Your task would generally be to persuade the reader through some solid logical reasoning and credible evidence with relevant examples. All that will involve creating a very clear thesis statement, presenting well-researched evidence, and addressing opposing views and ideas, if there are such. Getting an argumentative essay as an assignment is common in subjects like politics, ethics, and social sciences, where there’s a lot of debate on different topics. An example of a common topic for this essay would be something like “Should the death penalty be abolished?”

Expository Essay

An expository essay focuses more on explaining a topic in a straightforward and logical manner. In such an essay, you will be presenting facts, statistics, and examples without any kind of your personal opinion. It’s usually built around a clear thesis statement and uses logical transitions to connect ideas from one paragraph to another. In general, expository essays are often used in academic settings to test students’ understanding of a subject or to explain complex ideas in a simple way. A common topic would be “The process of photosynthesis in plants.”, for example.

Narrative Essay

Narrative essays tell a story. These are often personal and can be both factual (based on a true story) and fictional. The key elements of this essay include a plot, characters, setting, and a climax. Unlike other essays, a narrative essay is much more creative and allows you to express your experiences or a story imaginatively and without some kind of rigid structure to follow. It’s often used in high school and college writing courses to develop storytelling skills. You would write about something like “A memorable trip to the mountains.”

Descriptive Essay

A descriptive essay aims to paint a picture but with words. This essay uses vivid descriptions and sensory details to engage the reader’s senses and emotions and is more focused on the details and nuances of the subject, whether it’s a person, place, object, or event. Descriptive essays are great for creative writing classes and help develop one’s ability to describe something in great detail. One of the possible topics here might be “The bustling atmosphere of a city market.”

Critical Essay

A critical essay evaluates a text, piece of art, or performance. It involves a thorough analysis and interpretation of the work, supported by credible evidence. The goal when writing this one is to provide a critical perspective, assessing the subject’s strengths and weaknesses. This type of essay is a common assignment in literature, film studies, and art history courses, where critical thinking and analytical skills are essential for the subject. A common topic here would be ‘An analysis of the themes in “To Kill a Mockingbird.”‘

History Essay

A history essay examines historical events and their impact. This type requires extensive research and a deep understanding of historical context. When writing it, you will be analyzing various historical sources, presenting a clear argument on the topic, and supporting it with historical evidence. History essays are obviously assigned in history courses and help develop research and analytical skills, as well as the ability to construct coherent historical narratives. Something like “The causes and effects of the French Revolution.” would be a common topic here.

10 Characteristics of a Good Essay

The structure and characteristics vary, but there are criteria you can apply to almost any academic essay. Below are ten characteristics that make a good essay.

You can find many works like Victor Segalen’s “Essay on Exoticism: An Aesthetics of Diversity” spanning many pages. But, as an academic assignment, essays are usually concise and range from 200 to 500 words.

Note: To learn more about essay length, check this article — How Long Should My Paper Be?

A narrowed-down topic

Because of the word count limit, your topic cannot be extensive and should focus on one aspect of the subject.

A subject is a broad concept: gun control, US history, WWII, Napoleonic Wars, business ethics, academic dishonesty, school dress code, etc. Those are not topics because you can write books on them.

Choose a more specific topic to cover. Ask yourself “Who? What? Where? When? Why? and How?” questions about the subject matter. That strategy will allow you to limit the number of choices and pick something you like.

For instance, let’s narrow down the gun control subject . Something like “Video games are not the problem, but poor gun control policies are” can be your topic.

Well-structured body paragraphs

In a nutshell, an essay’s body can be described as a series of paragraphs. But they all have a uniform structure you must maintain in the paper. It goes as follows:

1. Topic sentence

This is the first sentence, and it expresses the paragraph’s main idea. It acts like a mini-hook that attracts the reader’s attention.

Let’s say you’re working on a descriptive essay about your brother’s room.

Bad topic sentence:

My brother’s room is a mess.

Good topic sentence:

If they gave me one dollar every time I walked into my brother’s room and thought it was clean, I would be dead broke.

2. The main part

Here, you develop your topic sentence further, and there are many ways to do that:

• Provide facts or statistics
• Give reasons
• Illustrate with examples
• Use relevant quotes
• Present your opinion
• Share experiences
• Leverage human senses

Note: Make sure to cite your sources properly. Learn more here: How to Cite Sources (MLA and APA styles) .

3. Conclusion with a transition

If you had to write only one paragraph, this is where you would end the narrative. But, in academic essays, this last sentence transitions to the next idea — the next paragraph.

Clear thesis statement

A thesis is the main idea of your paper. It’s usually one sentence that shows the reader what your essay is about. The challenging part is to squeeze the purpose of your writing into one sentence and in such a way that would make the reader want to debate it.

To check if your thesis statement is correct, make sure:

• It’s not just an announcement of purpose that starts with “In this paper.”
• It’s not a question because thesis statements answer, not ask.
• It’s not a mere fact.
• It’s not a broad topic without a challenging opinion.
• It’s not a vague thought — make it more focused.
• It’s not disconnected from the main paragraphs.

Personal motivation

This one seems quite simple, but you won’t always find the answer to the “Why do I want to write about this topic” question easily. Even if the subject feels like the last thing you’d be interested in, there’s always something that can motivate you to write.

The reader would notice if you had zero motivation while writing the essay.

There’s no trick — just start writing . Once you are working on it, brainstorm all the ideas related to the subject. If you find it challenging to organize your thoughts right away, try freewriting — start writing everything that comes to your mind. Yes, there will be a lot of ideas not connected with one another, but you can choose the ones making sense and work with them further.

Evidence and examples support claims

Each of your topic sentences in the main paragraphs should be supported. You can:

• Explain what you meant by defining the main terms or phenomena.
• Provide more details about the topic sentence.
• Illustrate with examples, facts, or statistics.
• Cite field experts who support your opinion.
• Share your relevant experience, if any.

Use the method you believe is the most appropriate in your case.

Evidence is analyzed

Just facts, statistics, or quotations are not enough. You must analyze the proof and show how you can compare data and establish causal links.

Note: Use cohesive devices like transition words and conjunctions to hold your essay together as one unit.

No grammar mistakes

The last period is placed, and you think, “Finally, it’s done! Now, back to the fun stuff.” By doing so, you will hand in an essay riddled with mistakes.

Proofreading matters. After the first draft, double-check it for all possible mistakes: grammar, punctuation, word usage, logic flow, etc.

• Read it out loud.
• Ask your friend or family member to give their opinion.
• Put it away for some time to proofread it later.

The structure is consistent

Ensure your paper follows the structure described before. Check if your conclusion and introduction are about the same — the same applies to the body paragraphs.

Note: This article will give you valuable insights into the structure — How to Write an Essay .

It is coherent

Another criterion they use to grade your essay is its coherence (unity). To check this point, ask yourself:

• Are all ideas related to the essay’s topic and thesis statement?
• Are all my evidence, arguments, and conclusions connected to my thesis statement?
• Are all ideas arranged in a logical order?
• Are there enough linking words? Or is it too many of them?
• Are there enough pronouns and synonyms so that the essay isn’t repetitive?

The last tip on essay writing: always check your assignment sheet and clarify anything you don’t understand with your tutor or professor. Your college might have some special requirements regarding the content or style. So, make sure you studied all the instructions for the task thoroughly.

Why do we have to write essays in school?

Writing essays in school is a crucial component of academic writing, serving as a foundational practice for developing skills in various types of essays, such as argumentative, descriptive, narrative, expository, and more. Through the process of essay writing, students learn to articulate their ideas and thoughts more coherently, practice forming main and alternative arguments backed up by evidence, and enhance their ability to present clear explanations, craft creative descriptions, and structure narratives effectively. This practice not only helps build strong academic writing skills but also prepares students for writing research papers, submission essays, and contributing to academic journals, thereby playing a significant role in their academic and professional growth.

How are essays evaluated?

In schools, essays are typically evaluated based on a combination of criteria such as quality of your argument, evidence you presented, structure and organization, grammar and vocabulary accuracy, adherence to formatting requirements (if any), creativity, originality, critical thinking skills displayed, etc. The evaluator (usually your teacher or professor) will look at all these aspects to assess the essay’s overall quality.

How many paragraphs should there be in an essay?

The number of paragraphs in an essay will vary depending on its length and purpose. In general, a standard essay should have at least 3-4 paragraphs: an introduction paragraph to provide background information and set out your main argument; 2-3 body paragraphs where you flesh out your argument with evidence; and a conclusion paragraph summarizing your key points or drawing conclusions from your evidence.

The list of references

• What is an essay? — Bow Valley College
• Overview of the Academic Essay — Harvard University
• Essay Writing — Purdue University
• Basic Essay and Paragraph Format — Utah Valley University

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English that goes straight to the heart

What is an essay?

Aldous Huxley described an essay as “A literary device for saying almost everything about almost anything”.

What is an Essay?

An essay is a piece of writing that revolves around a particular theme and contains the academic opinions of the person writing it.

An essay can perform one or more of the following functions:

• Analyses and critically evaluates a topic
• Presents the writer‘s argument for or against an idea
• Describes something
• Narrates a story
• Persuades the reader

Also, Read 6 Types of Essay

Characteristics of a Good Essay

• Brevity: Express what you want concisely. Do not beat around the bush.
• Coherence: Every sentence and paragraph should flow smoothly and logically from the previous one. A clumsily written essay reflects not only the lack of preparation but also the absence of clarity of thought.
• Unity: The essay should never stray from its main purpose. Different points of view can be introduced, but they should all be used for the same subject.
• Lucidity: The essay should be easy to read and understand. Using tough words or difficult phrases may impress a few but can confuse many others. Great writers are praised not only for their beautiful ideas but also for the simplicity of their language.

Also, Read Top 10 Essay Examples

The objective of Essay Writing

Essay writing often forms a part of English written exams to test the ability of students to

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• Think critically: Critical thinking involves understanding the task at hand and evaluating it appropriately.
• Structure the ideas logically: The essay has to be structured and coherent. The ideas have to neatly flow from one paragraph to the other.
• Express views eloquently: The student should be fluent in the language he or she is writing in. Ideas when presented shoddily may not make the right impact.

Parts of an Essay

Introduction.

It constitutes the opening paragraph of the essay.

• It helps the reader get oriented with the topic.
• It states the purpose of the essay.
• It captures the interest of the reader.
• It presents the general idea of the essay.
• It often ends with the thesis or the main idea of the essay.

Body (Supporting Paragraphs)

They constitute the supporting sentences and ideas.

• They provide the reader with additional details about the main idea.
• They support the thesis of the writer.
• There is no fixed number of supporting paragraphs.
• Ideally, every supporting paragraph should contain a different idea.

It constitutes the ending paragraph(s) of the essay.

• It ties up loose ends of the paragraph.
• It helps in reiterating or highlighting the main idea.
• It summarises all the arguments.
• It brings the essay to a logical close.
• It never ends in detail.

Also, Read Short Essay Examples

Tips for Writing an Essay

Preparation.

• Read: The more you read, the better you get. Reading essays will give you the inspiration to write. It will fill you with knowledge that you can use to enrich your writing.
• Write: Practise writing essays. This will give you the necessary confidence that you require during the exams. Writing also sharpens your thought process preparing you to deal with essay questions with much ease.

1. Think about the idea given in the title or the prompt.

• What type of essay will be appropriate?
• What could be the main ideas?
• How to write the introduction, the body and the conclusion?
• Write all the ideas.

2. Structure your essay.

• Create an outline of your essay.
• Do not use more than two sentences for the introduction and conclusion, respectively.
• Therefore, it is important to plan your essay before instead of writing spontaneously.
• Arrange the ideas in chronological order if you are attempting a narrative essay.
• Arrange them in increasing order of importance while attempting a descriptive or expository essay.
• Remember to conclude the essay.

3. Use a consistent tense form while writing the essay.

4. Express clearly.

5. Be original in your ideas. Don‘t be afraid to think out of the box.

6. Use your own memories or your experiences to add to the essay.

7. Recheck for any grammatical errors after finishing the essay.

Also, Read Summarizing an Essay

Example of Essay

My native place.

My parents hail from a small village in Kerala which is nestled among mountains in a scenic district of the state. Every year, I visit my native place with my family. It is a trip that I look forward to all year. My father books the ticket two months in advance as it is difficult to procure reservations on short notice. Although I have lived in the city all my life, I feel that I never belonged to it. I have always felt at home in the quaint mountain village that is far removed from the hustle and bustle of city life.

It takes us 18 hours by train to reach the railway station that is closest to my village. The journey is usually gruelling in the summers but very pleasant in the winters and in the monsoons. We plan our trip in the summer months since we get a two-month vacation in April. In order to beat the heat, we travel by air-conditioned coaches every year. We board the train at noon and we reach our destination at 6 am the next day.

The morning air is heavy with the scent of flowers and wet foliage. The temple bells start ringing at 6:30 am and the sound of bhajans fills the air. The village is only a 20-minute rickshaw ride away from the station. When we enter my grandmother‘s house, we are welcomed by her diminutive figure holding a lamp.

According to her, it is auspicious to welcome loved ones by lighting the lamp at the altar of God. The moment we set foot into the house, we are filled with a sense of nostalgia and love. After a sumptuous yet simple breakfast, we relax with our family in the courtyard.

The cool mountain air is laden with scents of the rustic countryside. From afar, we hear the sounds of birds. My sister and I make paper boats and run to the little babbling brook that flows southwards. We set the boats on the water and watch them bob up and down. Far away from the world of video games and television, we seek fun in a world of simplicity.

The house itself has a personality. Simple, two-storeyed, made of stone walls and a thatched roof, the house is an old friend who warmly embraces you every time you meet. The rooms are small but well-maintained. On the ground floor is a room that my grandmother uses for storing condiments and grains. It is illuminated with a single light bulb and an old-fashioned lock-and-key style door. In its corner is a small bed.

The calming silence of the room soothes my ears and transports me into a magical place. I feel weightless. The smell of spices envelops me. On many occasions, I have spent hours sprawled on that bed reading a book or listening to music. If I ever have to pick a favourite place, then I have no doubt this would be it.

When twilight descends on the little hamlet, large clusters of stars start appearing in the sky. Such a sight is never seen in the city as the lights obscure the stars that appear in the sky. My grandmother lights the lamp again and we all gather around her to say our evening prayers. After enjoying her simple, rustic yet delicious meal, we retire for the night.

Sometimes when I am upset, I think of my quaint little house in the village, my grandmother‘s warm embrace, and the small room that smells of spices. They immediately help me put my worries away and bring a smile to my face.

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• Knowledge Base
• How to structure an essay: Templates and tips

How to Structure an Essay | Tips & Templates

Published on September 18, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

The basic structure of an essay always consists of an introduction , a body , and a conclusion . But for many students, the most difficult part of structuring an essay is deciding how to organize information within the body.

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Table of contents

The basics of essay structure, chronological structure, compare-and-contrast structure, problems-methods-solutions structure, signposting to clarify your structure, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about essay structure.

There are two main things to keep in mind when working on your essay structure: making sure to include the right information in each part, and deciding how you’ll organize the information within the body.

Parts of an essay

The three parts that make up all essays are described in the table below.

Order of information

You’ll also have to consider how to present information within the body. There are a few general principles that can guide you here.

The first is that your argument should move from the simplest claim to the most complex . The body of a good argumentative essay often begins with simple and widely accepted claims, and then moves towards more complex and contentious ones.

For example, you might begin by describing a generally accepted philosophical concept, and then apply it to a new topic. The grounding in the general concept will allow the reader to understand your unique application of it.

The second principle is that background information should appear towards the beginning of your essay . General background is presented in the introduction. If you have additional background to present, this information will usually come at the start of the body.

The third principle is that everything in your essay should be relevant to the thesis . Ask yourself whether each piece of information advances your argument or provides necessary background. And make sure that the text clearly expresses each piece of information’s relevance.

The sections below present several organizational templates for essays: the chronological approach, the compare-and-contrast approach, and the problems-methods-solutions approach.

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The chronological approach (sometimes called the cause-and-effect approach) is probably the simplest way to structure an essay. It just means discussing events in the order in which they occurred, discussing how they are related (i.e. the cause and effect involved) as you go.

A chronological approach can be useful when your essay is about a series of events. Don’t rule out other approaches, though—even when the chronological approach is the obvious one, you might be able to bring out more with a different structure.

Explore the tabs below to see a general template and a specific example outline from an essay on the invention of the printing press.

• Thesis statement
• Discussion of event/period
• Consequences
• Importance of topic
• Strong closing statement
• Claim that the printing press marks the end of the Middle Ages
• Background on the low levels of literacy before the printing press
• Thesis statement: The invention of the printing press increased circulation of information in Europe, paving the way for the Reformation
• High levels of illiteracy in medieval Europe
• Literacy and thus knowledge and education were mainly the domain of religious and political elites
• Consequence: this discouraged political and religious change
• Invention of the printing press in 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg
• Implications of the new technology for book production
• Consequence: Rapid spread of the technology and the printing of the Gutenberg Bible
• Trend for translating the Bible into vernacular languages during the years following the printing press’s invention
• Luther’s own translation of the Bible during the Reformation
• Consequence: The large-scale effects the Reformation would have on religion and politics
• Summarize the history described
• Stress the significance of the printing press to the events of this period

Essays with two or more main subjects are often structured around comparing and contrasting . For example, a literary analysis essay might compare two different texts, and an argumentative essay might compare the strengths of different arguments.

There are two main ways of structuring a compare-and-contrast essay: the alternating method, and the block method.

Alternating

In the alternating method, each paragraph compares your subjects in terms of a specific point of comparison. These points of comparison are therefore what defines each paragraph.

The tabs below show a general template for this structure, and a specific example for an essay comparing and contrasting distance learning with traditional classroom learning.

• Synthesis of arguments
• Topical relevance of distance learning in lockdown
• Increasing prevalence of distance learning over the last decade
• Thesis statement: While distance learning has certain advantages, it introduces multiple new accessibility issues that must be addressed for it to be as effective as classroom learning
• Classroom learning: Ease of identifying difficulties and privately discussing them
• Distance learning: Difficulty of noticing and unobtrusively helping
• Classroom learning: Difficulties accessing the classroom (disability, distance travelled from home)
• Distance learning: Difficulties with online work (lack of tech literacy, unreliable connection, distractions)
• Classroom learning: Tends to encourage personal engagement among students and with teacher, more relaxed social environment
• Distance learning: Greater ability to reach out to teacher privately
• Sum up, emphasize that distance learning introduces more difficulties than it solves
• Stress the importance of addressing issues with distance learning as it becomes increasingly common
• Distance learning may prove to be the future, but it still has a long way to go

In the block method, each subject is covered all in one go, potentially across multiple paragraphs. For example, you might write two paragraphs about your first subject and then two about your second subject, making comparisons back to the first.

The tabs again show a general template, followed by another essay on distance learning, this time with the body structured in blocks.

• Point 1 (compare)
• Point 2 (compare)
• Point 3 (compare)
• Point 4 (compare)
• Advantages: Flexibility, accessibility
• Disadvantages: Discomfort, challenges for those with poor internet or tech literacy
• Advantages: Potential for teacher to discuss issues with a student in a separate private call
• Disadvantages: Difficulty of identifying struggling students and aiding them unobtrusively, lack of personal interaction among students
• Advantages: More accessible to those with low tech literacy, equality of all sharing one learning environment
• Disadvantages: Students must live close enough to attend, commutes may vary, classrooms not always accessible for disabled students
• Advantages: Ease of picking up on signs a student is struggling, more personal interaction among students
• Disadvantages: May be harder for students to approach teacher privately in person to raise issues

An essay that concerns a specific problem (practical or theoretical) may be structured according to the problems-methods-solutions approach.

This is just what it sounds like: You define the problem, characterize a method or theory that may solve it, and finally analyze the problem, using this method or theory to arrive at a solution. If the problem is theoretical, the solution might be the analysis you present in the essay itself; otherwise, you might just present a proposed solution.

The tabs below show a template for this structure and an example outline for an essay about the problem of fake news.

• Introduce the problem
• Provide background
• Describe your approach to solving it
• Define the problem precisely
• Describe why it’s important
• Indicate previous approaches to the problem
• Present your new approach, and why it’s better
• Apply the new method or theory to the problem
• Indicate the solution you arrive at by doing so
• Assess (potential or actual) effectiveness of solution
• Describe the implications
• Problem: The growth of “fake news” online
• Prevalence of polarized/conspiracy-focused news sources online
• Thesis statement: Rather than attempting to stamp out online fake news through social media moderation, an effective approach to combating it must work with educational institutions to improve media literacy
• Definition: Deliberate disinformation designed to spread virally online
• Popularization of the term, growth of the phenomenon
• Previous approaches: Labeling and moderation on social media platforms
• Critique: This approach feeds conspiracies; the real solution is to improve media literacy so users can better identify fake news
• Greater emphasis should be placed on media literacy education in schools
• This allows people to assess news sources independently, rather than just being told which ones to trust
• This is a long-term solution but could be highly effective
• It would require significant organization and investment, but would equip people to judge news sources more effectively
• Rather than trying to contain the spread of fake news, we must teach the next generation not to fall for it

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Signposting means guiding the reader through your essay with language that describes or hints at the structure of what follows.  It can help you clarify your structure for yourself as well as helping your reader follow your ideas.

The essay overview

In longer essays whose body is split into multiple named sections, the introduction often ends with an overview of the rest of the essay. This gives a brief description of the main idea or argument of each section.

The overview allows the reader to immediately understand what will be covered in the essay and in what order. Though it describes what  comes later in the text, it is generally written in the present tense . The following example is from a literary analysis essay on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein .

Transitions

Transition words and phrases are used throughout all good essays to link together different ideas. They help guide the reader through your text, and an essay that uses them effectively will be much easier to follow.

Various different relationships can be expressed by transition words, as shown in this example.

Because Hitler failed to respond to the British ultimatum, France and the UK declared war on Germany. Although it was an outcome the Allies had hoped to avoid, they were prepared to back up their ultimatum in order to combat the existential threat posed by the Third Reich.

Transition sentences may be included to transition between different paragraphs or sections of an essay. A good transition sentence moves the reader on to the next topic while indicating how it relates to the previous one.

… Distance learning, then, seems to improve accessibility in some ways while representing a step backwards in others.

However , considering the issue of personal interaction among students presents a different picture.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
• Post hoc fallacy
• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
• Sunk cost fallacy

College essays

• Choosing Essay Topic
• Write a College Essay
• Write a Diversity Essay
• College Essay Format & Structure
• Comparing and Contrasting in an Essay

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The structure of an essay is divided into an introduction that presents your topic and thesis statement , a body containing your in-depth analysis and arguments, and a conclusion wrapping up your ideas.

The structure of the body is flexible, but you should always spend some time thinking about how you can organize your essay to best serve your ideas.

An essay isn’t just a loose collection of facts and ideas. Instead, it should be centered on an overarching argument (summarized in your thesis statement ) that every part of the essay relates to.

The way you structure your essay is crucial to presenting your argument coherently. A well-structured essay helps your reader follow the logic of your ideas and understand your overall point.

Comparisons in essays are generally structured in one of two ways:

• The alternating method, where you compare your subjects side by side according to one specific aspect at a time.
• The block method, where you cover each subject separately in its entirety.

It’s also possible to combine both methods, for example by writing a full paragraph on each of your topics and then a final paragraph contrasting the two according to a specific metric.

You should try to follow your outline as you write your essay . However, if your ideas change or it becomes clear that your structure could be better, it’s okay to depart from your essay outline . Just make sure you know why you’re doing so.

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• Tags: Academic Writing , Essay , Essay Writing

Writing an effective and impactful essay is crucial to your academic or professional success. Whether it’s getting into the college of your dreams or scoring high on a major assignment, writing a well-structured essay will help you achieve it all. But before you learn how to write an essay , you need to know its basic components.

In this article, we will understand what an essay is, how long it should be, and its different parts and types. We will also take a detailed look at relevant examples to better understand the essay structure.

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What is an essay?

An essay is a concise piece of nonfiction writing that aims to either inform the reader about a topic or argue a particular perspective. It can either be formal or informal in nature. Most academic essays are highly formal, whereas informal essays are commonly found in journal entries, social media, or even blog posts.

As we can see from this essay definition, the beauty of essays lies in their versatility. From the exploration of complex scientific concepts to the history and evolution of everyday objects, they can cover a vast range of topics.

How long is an essay?

The length of an essay can vary from a few hundred to several thousand words but typically falls between 500–5,000 words. However, there are exceptions to this norm, such as Joan Didion and David Sedaris who have written entire books of essays.

Let’s take a look at the different types of essays and their lengths with the help of the following table:

How many paragraphs are in an essay?

Typically, an essay has five paragraphs: an introduction, a conclusion, and three body paragraphs. However, there is no set rule about the number of paragraphs in an essay.

The number of paragraphs can vary depending on the type and scope of your essay. An expository or argumentative essay may require more body paragraphs to include all the necessary information, whereas a narrative essay may need fewer.

Structure of an essay

To enhance the coherence and readability of your essay, it’s important to follow certain rules regarding the structure. Take a look:

1. Arrange your information from the most simple to the most complex bits. You can start the body paragraph off with a general statement and then move on to specifics.

2. Provide the necessary background information at the beginning of your essay to give the reader the context behind your thesis statement.

3. Select topic statements that provide value, more information, or evidence for your thesis statement.

There are also various essay structures , such as the compare and contrast structure, chronological structure, problem method solution structure, and signposting structure that you can follow to create an organized and impactful essay.

Parts of an essay

An impactful, well-structured essay comes down to three important parts: the introduction, body, and conclusion.

1. The introduction sets the stage for your essay and is typically a paragraph long. It should grab the reader’s attention and give them a clear idea of what your essay will be about.

2. The body is where you dive deeper into your topic and present your arguments and evidence. It usually consists of two paragraphs, but this can vary depending on the type of essay you’re writing.

3. The conclusion brings your essay to a close and is typically one paragraph long. It should summarize the main points of the essay and leave the reader with something to think about.

The length of your paragraphs can vary depending on the type of essay you’re writing. So, make sure you take the time to plan out your essay structure so each section flows smoothly into the next.

Introduction

When it comes to writing an essay, the introduction is a critical component that sets the tone for the entire piece. A well-crafted introduction not only grabs the reader’s attention but also provides them with a clear understanding of what the essay is all about. An essay editor can help you achieve this, but it’s best to know the brief yourself!

Let’s take a look at how to write an attractive and informative introductory paragraph.

1. Construct an attractive hook

To grab the reader’s attention, an opening statement or hook is crucial. This can be achieved by incorporating a surprising statistic, a shocking fact, or an interesting anecdote into the beginning of your piece.

For example, if you’re writing an essay about water conservation you can begin your essay with, “Clean drinking water, a fundamental human need, remains out of reach for more than one billion people worldwide. It deprives them of a basic human right and jeopardizes their health and wellbeing.”

2. Provide sufficient context or background information

An effective introduction should begin with a brief description or background of your topic. This will help provide context and set the stage for your discussion.

For example, if you’re writing an essay about climate change, you start by describing the current state of the planet and the impact that human activity is having on it.

3. Construct a well-rounded and comprehensive thesis statement

A good introduction should also include the main message or thesis statement of your essay. This is the central argument that you’ll be making throughout the piece. It should be clear, concise, and ideally placed toward the end of the introduction.

By including these elements in your introduction, you’ll be setting yourself up for success in the rest of your essay.

Let’s take a look at an example.

Essay introduction example

• Background information
• Thesis statement

The Wright Brothers’ invention of the airplane in 1903 revolutionized the way humans travel and explore the world. Prior to this invention, transportation relied on trains, boats, and cars, which limited the distance and speed of travel. However, the airplane made air travel a reality, allowing people to reach far-off destinations in mere hours. This breakthrough paved the way for modern-day air travel, transforming the world into a smaller, more connected place. In this essay, we will explore the impact of the Wright Brothers’ invention on modern-day travel, including the growth of the aviation industry, increased accessibility of air travel to the general public, and the economic and cultural benefits of air travel.

Body paragraphs

You can persuade your readers and make your thesis statement compelling by providing evidence, examples, and logical reasoning. To write a fool-proof and authoritative essay, you need to provide multiple well-structured, substantial arguments.

Let’s take a look at how this can be done:

1. Write a topic sentence for each paragraph

The beginning of each of your body paragraphs should contain the main arguments that you’d like to address. They should provide ground for your thesis statement and make it well-rounded. You can arrange these arguments in several formats depending on the type of essay you’re writing.

2. Provide the supporting information

The next point of your body paragraph should provide supporting information to back up your main argument. Depending on the type of essay, you can elaborate on your main argument with the help of relevant statistics, key information, examples, or even personal anecdotes.

3. Analyze the supporting information

After providing relevant details and supporting information, it is important to analyze it and link it back to your main argument.

4. Create a smooth transition to the next paragraph

End one body paragraph with a smooth transition to the next. There are many ways in which this can be done, but the most common way is to give a gist of your main argument along with the supporting information with transitory words such as “however” “in addition to” “therefore”.

Here’s an example of a body paragraph.

Essay body paragraph example

• Topic sentence
• Supporting information
• Analysis of the information
• Smooth transition to the next paragraph

The Wright Brothers’ invention of the airplane revolutionized air travel. They achieved the first-ever successful powered flight with the Wright Flyer in 1903, after years of conducting experiments and studying flight principles. Despite their first flight lasting only 12 seconds, it was a significant milestone that paved the way for modern aviation. The Wright Brothers’ success can be attributed to their systematic approach to problem-solving, which included numerous experiments with gliders, the development of a wind tunnel to test their designs, and meticulous analysis and recording of their results. Their dedication and ingenuity forever changed the way we travel, making modern aviation possible.

A powerful concluding statement separates a good essay from a brilliant one. To create a powerful conclusion, you need to start with a strong foundation.

Let’s take a look at how to construct an impactful concluding statement.

1. Restructure your thesis statement

To conclude your essay effectively, don’t just restate your thesis statement. Instead, use what you’ve learned throughout your essay and modify your thesis statement accordingly. This will help you create a conclusion that ties together all of the arguments you’ve presented.

2. Summarize the main points of your essay

The next point of your conclusion consists of a summary of the main arguments of your essay. It is crucial to effectively summarize the gist of your essay into one, well-structured paragraph.

3. Create a lasting impression with your concluding statement

Conclude your essay by including a key takeaway, or a powerful statement that creates a lasting impression on the reader. This can include the broader implications or consequences of your essay topic.

Here’s an example of a concluding paragraph.

Essay conclusion example

• Restated thesis statement
• Summary of the main points
• Broader implications of the thesis statement

The Wright Brothers’ invention of the airplane forever changed history by paving the way for modern aviation and countless aerospace advancements. Their persistence, innovation, and dedication to problem-solving led to the first successful powered flight in 1903, sparking a revolution in transportation that transformed the world. Today, air travel remains an integral part of our globalized society, highlighting the undeniable impact of the Wright Brothers’ contribution to human civilization.

Types of essays

Most essays are derived from the combination or variation of these four main types of essays . let’s take a closer look at these types.

1. Narrative essay

A narrative essay is a type of writing that involves telling a story, often based on personal experiences. It is a form of creative nonfiction that allows you to use storytelling techniques to convey a message or a theme.

2. Descriptive essay

A descriptive essay aims to provide an immersive experience for the reader by using sensory descriptors. Unlike a narrative essay, which tells a story, a descriptive essay has a narrower scope and focuses on one particular aspect of a story.

3. Argumentative essays

An argumentative essay is a type of essay that aims to persuade the reader to adopt a particular stance based on factual evidence and is one of the most common forms of college essays.

4. Expository essays

An expository essay is a common format used in school and college exams to assess your understanding of a specific topic. The purpose of an expository essay is to present and explore a topic thoroughly without taking any particular stance or expressing personal opinions.

While this article demonstrates what is an essay and describes its types, you may also have other doubts. As experts who provide essay editing and proofreading services , we’re here to help. 

Our team has created a list of resources to clarify any doubts about writing essays. Keep reading to write engaging and well-organized essays!

• How to Write an Essay in 8 Simple Steps
• How to Write an Essay Header
• How to Write an Essay Outline

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between an argumentative and an expository essay, what is the difference between a narrative and a descriptive essay, what is an essay format, what is the meaning of essay, what is the purpose of writing an essay.

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• University of Wollongong - Essays
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• essay - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

essay , an analytic , interpretative, or critical literary composition usually much shorter and less systematic and formal than a dissertation or thesis and usually dealing with its subject from a limited and often personal point of view.

Some early treatises—such as those of Cicero on the pleasantness of old age or on the art of “divination,” Seneca on anger or clemency , and Plutarch on the passing of oracles—presage to a certain degree the form and tone of the essay, but not until the late 16th century was the flexible and deliberately nonchalant and versatile form of the essay perfected by the French writer Michel de Montaigne . Choosing the name essai to emphasize that his compositions were attempts or endeavours, a groping toward the expression of his personal thoughts and experiences, Montaigne used the essay as a means of self-discovery. His Essais , published in their final form in 1588, are still considered among the finest of their kind. Later writers who most nearly recall the charm of Montaigne include, in England, Robert Burton , though his whimsicality is more erudite , Sir Thomas Browne , and Laurence Sterne , and in France, with more self-consciousness and pose, André Gide and Jean Cocteau .

At the beginning of the 17th century, social manners, the cultivation of politeness, and the training of an accomplished gentleman became the theme of many essayists. This theme was first exploited by the Italian Baldassare Castiglione in his Il libro del cortegiano (1528; The Book of the Courtier ). The influence of the essay and of genres allied to it, such as maxims, portraits, and sketches, proved second to none in molding the behavior of the cultured classes, first in Italy, then in France, and, through French influence, in most of Europe in the 17th century. Among those who pursued this theme was the 17th-century Spanish Jesuit Baltasar Gracián in his essays on the art of worldly wisdom.

Keener political awareness in the 18th century, the age of Enlightenment , made the essay an all-important vehicle for the criticism of society and religion. Because of its flexibility, its brevity , and its potential both for ambiguity and for allusions to current events and conditions, it was an ideal tool for philosophical reformers. The Federalist Papers in America and the tracts of the French Revolutionaries are among the countless examples of attempts during this period to improve the human condition through the essay.

The genre also became the favoured tool of traditionalists of the 18th and 19th centuries, such as Edmund Burke and Samuel Taylor Coleridge , who looked to the short, provocative essay as the most potent means of educating the masses. Essays such as Paul Elmer More’s long series of Shelburne Essays (published between 1904 and 1935), T.S. Eliot ’s After Strange Gods (1934) and Notes Towards the Definition of Culture (1948), and others that attempted to reinterpret and redefine culture , established the genre as the most fitting to express the genteel tradition at odds with the democracy of the new world.

Whereas in several countries the essay became the chosen vehicle of literary and social criticism, in other countries the genre became semipolitical, earnestly nationalistic, and often polemical, playful, or bitter. Essayists such as Robert Louis Stevenson and Willa Cather wrote with grace on several lighter subjects, and many writers—including Virginia Woolf , Edmund Wilson , and Charles du Bos —mastered the essay as a form of literary criticism .

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How to Write an Essay

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Essay Writing Fundamentals

How to prepare to write an essay, how to edit an essay, how to share and publish your essays, how to get essay writing help, how to find essay writing inspiration, resources for teaching essay writing.

Essays, short prose compositions on a particular theme or topic, are the bread and butter of academic life. You write them in class, for homework, and on standardized tests to show what you know. Unlike other kinds of academic writing (like the research paper) and creative writing (like short stories and poems), essays allow you to develop your original thoughts on a prompt or question. Essays come in many varieties: they can be expository (fleshing out an idea or claim), descriptive, (explaining a person, place, or thing), narrative (relating a personal experience), or persuasive (attempting to win over a reader). This guide is a collection of dozens of links about academic essay writing that we have researched, categorized, and annotated in order to help you improve your essay writing. 

Essays are different from other forms of writing; in turn, there are different kinds of essays. This section contains general resources for getting to know the essay and its variants. These resources introduce and define the essay as a genre, and will teach you what to expect from essay-based assessments.

Purdue OWL Online Writing Lab

One of the most trusted academic writing sites, Purdue OWL provides a concise introduction to the four most common types of academic essays.

"The Essay: History and Definition" (ThoughtCo)

This snappy article from ThoughtCo talks about the origins of the essay and different kinds of essays you might be asked to write. 

"What Is An Essay?" Video Lecture (Coursera)

The University of California at Irvine's free video lecture, available on Coursera, tells  you everything you need to know about the essay.

Wikipedia Article on the "Essay"

Wikipedia's article on the essay is comprehensive, providing both English-language and global perspectives on the essay form. Learn about the essay's history, forms, and styles.

"Understanding College and Academic Writing" (Aims Online Writing Lab)

This list of common academic writing assignments (including types of essay prompts) will help you know what to expect from essay-based assessments.

Before you start writing your essay, you need to figure out who you're writing for (audience), what you're writing about (topic/theme), and what you're going to say (argument and thesis). This section contains links to handouts, chapters, videos and more to help you prepare to write an essay.

How to Identify Your Audience

"Audience" (Univ. of North Carolina Writing Center)

This handout provides questions you can ask yourself to determine the audience for an academic writing assignment. It also suggests strategies for fitting your paper to your intended audience.

"Purpose, Audience, Tone, and Content" (Univ. of Minnesota Libraries)

This extensive book chapter from Writing for Success , available online through Minnesota Libraries Publishing, is followed by exercises to try out your new pre-writing skills.

"Determining Audience" (Aims Online Writing Lab)

This guide from a community college's writing center shows you how to know your audience, and how to incorporate that knowledge in your thesis statement.

"Know Your Audience" ( Paper Rater Blog)

This short blog post uses examples to show how implied audiences for essays differ. It reminds you to think of your instructor as an observer, who will know only the information you pass along.

How to Choose a Theme or Topic

"Research Tutorial: Developing Your Topic" (YouTube)

Take a look at this short video tutorial from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to understand the basics of developing a writing topic.

"How to Choose a Paper Topic" (WikiHow)

This simple, step-by-step guide (with pictures!) walks you through choosing a paper topic. It starts with a detailed description of brainstorming and ends with strategies to refine your broad topic.

"How to Read an Assignment: Moving From Assignment to Topic" (Harvard College Writing Center)

Did your teacher give you a prompt or other instructions? This guide helps you understand the relationship between an essay assignment and your essay's topic.

"Guidelines for Choosing a Topic" (CliffsNotes)

This study guide from CliffsNotes both discusses how to choose a topic and makes a useful distinction between "topic" and "thesis."

How to Come Up with an Argument

"Argument" (Univ. of North Carolina Writing Center)

Not sure what "argument" means in the context of academic writing? This page from the University of North Carolina is a good place to start.

"The Essay Guide: Finding an Argument" (Study Hub)

This handout explains why it's important to have an argument when beginning your essay, and provides tools to help you choose a viable argument.

"Writing a Thesis and Making an Argument" (University of Iowa)

This page from the University of Iowa's Writing Center contains exercises through which you can develop and refine your argument and thesis statement.

"Developing a Thesis" (Harvard College Writing Center)

This page from Harvard's Writing Center collates some helpful dos and don'ts of argumentative writing, from steps in constructing a thesis to avoiding vague and confrontational thesis statements.

"Suggestions for Developing Argumentative Essays" (Berkeley Student Learning Center)

This page offers concrete suggestions for each stage of the essay writing process, from topic selection to drafting and editing. 

How to Outline your Essay

"Outlines" (Univ. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill via YouTube)

This short video tutorial from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows how to group your ideas into paragraphs or sections to begin the outlining process.

"Essay Outline" (Univ. of Washington Tacoma)

This two-page handout by a university professor simply defines the parts of an essay and then organizes them into an example outline.

"Types of Outlines and Samples" (Purdue OWL Online Writing Lab)

Purdue OWL gives examples of diverse outline strategies on this page, including the alphanumeric, full sentence, and decimal styles. 

"Outlining" (Harvard College Writing Center)

Once you have an argument, according to this handout, there are only three steps in the outline process: generalizing, ordering, and putting it all together. Then you're ready to write!

"Writing Essays" (Plymouth Univ.)

This packet, part of Plymouth University's Learning Development series, contains descriptions and diagrams relating to the outlining process.

"How to Write A Good Argumentative Essay: Logical Structure" (Criticalthinkingtutorials.com via YouTube)

This longer video tutorial gives an overview of how to structure your essay in order to support your argument or thesis. It is part of a longer course on academic writing hosted on Udemy.

Now that you've chosen and refined your topic and created an outline, use these resources to complete the writing process. Most essays contain introductions (which articulate your thesis statement), body paragraphs, and conclusions. Transitions facilitate the flow from one paragraph to the next so that support for your thesis builds throughout the essay. Sources and citations show where you got the evidence to support your thesis, which ensures that you avoid plagiarism. 

How to Write an Introduction

"Introductions" (Univ. of North Carolina Writing Center)

This page identifies the role of the introduction in any successful paper, suggests strategies for writing introductions, and warns against less effective introductions.

"How to Write A Good Introduction" (Michigan State Writing Center)

Beginning with the most common missteps in writing introductions, this guide condenses the essentials of introduction composition into seven points.

"The Introductory Paragraph" (ThoughtCo)

This blog post from academic advisor and college enrollment counselor Grace Fleming focuses on ways to grab your reader's attention at the beginning of your essay.

"Introductions and Conclusions" (Univ. of Toronto)

This guide from the University of Toronto gives advice that applies to writing both introductions and conclusions, including dos and don'ts.

"How to Write Better Essays: No One Does Introductions Properly" ( The Guardian )

This news article interviews UK professors on student essay writing; they point to introductions as the area that needs the most improvement.

How to Write a Thesis Statement

"Writing an Effective Thesis Statement" (YouTube)

This short, simple video tutorial from a college composition instructor at Tulsa Community College explains what a thesis statement is and what it does. 

"Thesis Statement: Four Steps to a Great Essay" (YouTube)

This fantastic tutorial walks you through drafting a thesis, using an essay prompt on Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter as an example.

"How to Write a Thesis Statement" (WikiHow)

This step-by-step guide (with pictures!) walks you through coming up with, writing, and editing a thesis statement. It invites you think of your statement as a "working thesis" that can change.

"How to Write a Thesis Statement" (Univ. of Indiana Bloomington)

Ask yourself the questions on this page, part of Indiana Bloomington's Writing Tutorial Services, when you're writing and refining your thesis statement.

"Writing Tips: Thesis Statements" (Univ. of Illinois Center for Writing Studies)

This page gives plentiful examples of good to great thesis statements, and offers questions to ask yourself when formulating a thesis statement.

How to Write Body Paragraphs

"Body Paragraph" (Brightstorm)

This module of a free online course introduces you to the components of a body paragraph. These include the topic sentence, information, evidence, and analysis.

"Strong Body Paragraphs" (Washington Univ.)

This handout from Washington's Writing and Research Center offers in-depth descriptions of the parts of a successful body paragraph.

"Guide to Paragraph Structure" (Deakin Univ.)

This handout is notable for color-coding example body paragraphs to help you identify the functions various sentences perform.

"Writing Body Paragraphs" (Univ. of Minnesota Libraries)

The exercises in this section of Writing for Success  will help you practice writing good body paragraphs. It includes guidance on selecting primary support for your thesis.

"The Writing Process—Body Paragraphs" (Aims Online Writing Lab)

The information and exercises on this page will familiarize you with outlining and writing body paragraphs, and includes links to more information on topic sentences and transitions.

"The Five-Paragraph Essay" (ThoughtCo)

This blog post discusses body paragraphs in the context of one of the most common academic essay types in secondary schools.

How to Use Transitions

"Transitions" (Univ. of North Carolina Writing Center)

This page from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill explains what a transition is, and how to know if you need to improve your transitions.

"Using Transitions Effectively" (Washington Univ.)

This handout defines transitions, offers tips for using them, and contains a useful list of common transitional words and phrases grouped by function.

"Transitions" (Aims Online Writing Lab)

This page compares paragraphs without transitions to paragraphs with transitions, and in doing so shows how important these connective words and phrases are.

"Transitions in Academic Essays" (Scribbr)

This page lists four techniques that will help you make sure your reader follows your train of thought, including grouping similar information and using transition words.

"Transitions" (El Paso Community College)

This handout shows example transitions within paragraphs for context, and explains how transitions improve your essay's flow and voice.

"Make Your Paragraphs Flow to Improve Writing" (ThoughtCo)

This blog post, another from academic advisor and college enrollment counselor Grace Fleming, talks about transitions and other strategies to improve your essay's overall flow.

"Transition Words" (smartwords.org)

This handy word bank will help you find transition words when you're feeling stuck. It's grouped by the transition's function, whether that is to show agreement, opposition, condition, or consequence.

How to Write a Conclusion

"Parts of An Essay: Conclusions" (Brightstorm)

This module of a free online course explains how to conclude an academic essay. It suggests thinking about the "3Rs": return to hook, restate your thesis, and relate to the reader.

"Essay Conclusions" (Univ. of Maryland University College)

This overview of the academic essay conclusion contains helpful examples and links to further resources for writing good conclusions.

"How to End An Essay" (WikiHow)

This step-by-step guide (with pictures!) by an English Ph.D. walks you through writing a conclusion, from brainstorming to ending with a flourish.

"Ending the Essay: Conclusions" (Harvard College Writing Center)

This page collates useful strategies for writing an effective conclusion, and reminds you to "close the discussion without closing it off" to further conversation.

How to Include Sources and Citations

"Research and Citation Resources" (Purdue OWL Online Writing Lab)

Purdue OWL streamlines information about the three most common referencing styles (MLA, Chicago, and APA) and provides examples of how to cite different resources in each system.

EasyBib: Free Bibliography Generator

This online tool allows you to input information about your source and automatically generate citations in any style. Be sure to select your resource type before clicking the "cite it" button.

CitationMachine

Like EasyBib, this online tool allows you to input information about your source and automatically generate citations in any style. 

Modern Language Association Handbook (MLA)

Here, you'll find the definitive and up-to-date record of MLA referencing rules. Order through the link above, or check to see if your library has a copy.

Chicago Manual of Style

Here, you'll find the definitive and up-to-date record of Chicago referencing rules. You can take a look at the table of contents, then choose to subscribe or start a free trial.

How to Avoid Plagiarism

"What is Plagiarism?" (plagiarism.org)

This nonprofit website contains numerous resources for identifying and avoiding plagiarism, and reminds you that even common activities like copying images from another website to your own site may constitute plagiarism.

"Plagiarism" (University of Oxford)

This interactive page from the University of Oxford helps you check for plagiarism in your work, making it clear how to avoid citing another person's work without full acknowledgement.

"Avoiding Plagiarism" (MIT Comparative Media Studies)

This quick guide explains what plagiarism is, what its consequences are, and how to avoid it. It starts by defining three words—quotation, paraphrase, and summary—that all constitute citation.

"Harvard Guide to Using Sources" (Harvard Extension School)

This comprehensive website from Harvard brings together articles, videos, and handouts about referencing, citation, and plagiarism. 

Grammarly contains tons of helpful grammar and writing resources, including a free tool to automatically scan your essay to check for close affinities to published work. 

Noplag is another popular online tool that automatically scans your essay to check for signs of plagiarism. Simply copy and paste your essay into the box and click "start checking."

Once you've written your essay, you'll want to edit (improve content), proofread (check for spelling and grammar mistakes), and finalize your work until you're ready to hand it in. This section brings together tips and resources for navigating the editing process. 

"Writing a First Draft" (Academic Help)

This is an introduction to the drafting process from the site Academic Help, with tips for getting your ideas on paper before editing begins.

"Editing and Proofreading" (Univ. of North Carolina Writing Center)

This page provides general strategies for revising your writing. They've intentionally left seven errors in the handout, to give you practice in spotting them.

"How to Proofread Effectively" (ThoughtCo)

This article from ThoughtCo, along with those linked at the bottom, help describe common mistakes to check for when proofreading.

"7 Simple Edits That Make Your Writing 100% More Powerful" (SmartBlogger)

This blog post emphasizes the importance of powerful, concise language, and reminds you that even your personal writing heroes create clunky first drafts.

"Editing Tips for Effective Writing" (Univ. of Pennsylvania)

On this page from Penn's International Relations department, you'll find tips for effective prose, errors to watch out for, and reminders about formatting.

"Editing the Essay" (Harvard College Writing Center)

This article, the first of two parts, gives you applicable strategies for the editing process. It suggests reading your essay aloud, removing any jargon, and being unafraid to remove even "dazzling" sentences that don't belong.

"Guide to Editing and Proofreading" (Oxford Learning Institute)

This handout from Oxford covers the basics of editing and proofreading, and reminds you that neither task should be rushed. 

In addition to plagiarism-checkers, Grammarly has a plug-in for your web browser that checks your writing for common mistakes.

After you've prepared, written, and edited your essay, you might want to share it outside the classroom. This section alerts you to print and web opportunities to share your essays with the wider world, from online writing communities and blogs to published journals geared toward young writers.

Sharing Your Essays Online

Go Teen Writers

Go Teen Writers is an online community for writers aged 13 - 19. It was founded by Stephanie Morrill, an author of contemporary young adult novels. 

Tumblr is a blogging website where you can share your writing and interact with other writers online. It's easy to add photos, links, audio, and video components.

Writersky provides an online platform for publishing and reading other youth writers' work. Its current content is mostly devoted to fiction.

Publishing Your Essays Online

This teen literary journal publishes in print, on the web, and (more frequently), on a blog. It is committed to ensuring that "teens see their authentic experience reflected on its pages."

The Matador Review

This youth writing platform celebrates "alternative," unconventional writing. The link above will take you directly to the site's "submissions" page.

Teen Ink has a website, monthly newsprint magazine, and quarterly poetry magazine promoting the work of young writers.

The largest online reading platform, Wattpad enables you to publish your work and read others' work. Its inline commenting feature allows you to share thoughts as you read along.

Publishing Your Essays in Print

Canvas Teen Literary Journal

This quarterly literary magazine is published for young writers by young writers. They accept many kinds of writing, including essays.

The Claremont Review

This biannual international magazine, first published in 1992, publishes poetry, essays, and short stories from writers aged 13 - 19.

Skipping Stones

This young writers magazine, founded in 1988, celebrates themes relating to ecological and cultural diversity. It publishes poems, photos, articles, and stories.

The Telling Room

This nonprofit writing center based in Maine publishes children's work on their website and in book form. The link above directs you to the site's submissions page.

Essay Contests

Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards

This prestigious international writing contest for students in grades 7 - 12 has been committed to "supporting the future of creativity since 1923."

Society of Professional Journalists High School Essay Contest

An annual essay contest on the theme of journalism and media, the Society of Professional Journalists High School Essay Contest awards scholarships up to $1,000.

National YoungArts Foundation

Here, you'll find information on a government-sponsored writing competition for writers aged 15 - 18. The foundation welcomes submissions of creative nonfiction, novels, scripts, poetry, short story and spoken word.

Signet Classics Student Scholarship Essay Contest

With prompts on a different literary work each year, this competition from Signet Classics awards college scholarships up to $1,000.

"The Ultimate Guide to High School Essay Contests" (CollegeVine)

See this handy guide from CollegeVine for a list of more competitions you can enter with your academic essay, from the National Council of Teachers of English Achievement Awards to the National High School Essay Contest by the U.S. Institute of Peace.

Whether you're struggling to write academic essays or you think you're a pro, there are workshops and online tools that can help you become an even better writer. Even the most seasoned writers encounter writer's block, so be proactive and look through our curated list of resources to combat this common frustration.

Online Essay-writing Classes and Workshops

"Getting Started with Essay Writing" (Coursera)

Coursera offers lots of free, high-quality online classes taught by college professors. Here's one example, taught by instructors from the University of California Irvine.

"Writing and English" (Brightstorm)

Brightstorm's free video lectures are easy to navigate by topic. This unit on the parts of an essay features content on the essay hook, thesis, supporting evidence, and more.

"How to Write an Essay" (EdX)

EdX is another open online university course website with several two- to five-week courses on the essay. This one is geared toward English language learners.

Writer's Digest University

This renowned writers' website offers online workshops and interactive tutorials. The courses offered cover everything from how to get started through how to get published.

Writing.com

Signing up for this online writer's community gives you access to helpful resources as well as an international community of writers.

How to Overcome Writer's Block

"Symptoms and Cures for Writer's Block" (Purdue OWL)

Purdue OWL offers a list of signs you might have writer's block, along with ways to overcome it. Consider trying out some "invention strategies" or ways to curb writing anxiety.

"Overcoming Writer's Block: Three Tips" ( The Guardian )

These tips, geared toward academic writing specifically, are practical and effective. The authors advocate setting realistic goals, creating dedicated writing time, and participating in social writing.

"Writing Tips: Strategies for Overcoming Writer's Block" (Univ. of Illinois)

This page from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's Center for Writing Studies acquaints you with strategies that do and do not work to overcome writer's block.

"Writer's Block" (Univ. of Toronto)

Ask yourself the questions on this page; if the answer is "yes," try out some of the article's strategies. Each question is accompanied by at least two possible solutions.

If you have essays to write but are short on ideas, this section's links to prompts, example student essays, and celebrated essays by professional writers might help. You'll find writing prompts from a variety of sources, student essays to inspire you, and a number of essay writing collections.

Essay Writing Prompts

"50 Argumentative Essay Topics" (ThoughtCo)

Take a look at this list and the others ThoughtCo has curated for different kinds of essays. As the author notes, "a number of these topics are controversial and that's the point."

"401 Prompts for Argumentative Writing" ( New York Times )

This list (and the linked lists to persuasive and narrative writing prompts), besides being impressive in length, is put together by actual high school English teachers.

"SAT Sample Essay Prompts" (College Board)

If you're a student in the U.S., your classroom essay prompts are likely modeled on the prompts in U.S. college entrance exams. Take a look at these official examples from the SAT.

"Popular College Application Essay Topics" (Princeton Review)

This page from the Princeton Review dissects recent Common Application essay topics and discusses strategies for answering them.

Example Student Essays

"501 Writing Prompts" (DePaul Univ.)

This nearly 200-page packet, compiled by the LearningExpress Skill Builder in Focus Writing Team, is stuffed with writing prompts, example essays, and commentary.

"Topics in English" (Kibin)

Kibin is a for-pay essay help website, but its example essays (organized by topic) are available for free. You'll find essays on everything from  A Christmas Carol  to perseverance.

"Student Writing Models" (Thoughtful Learning)

Thoughtful Learning, a website that offers a variety of teaching materials, provides sample student essays on various topics and organizes them by grade level.

"Five-Paragraph Essay" (ThoughtCo)

In this blog post by a former professor of English and rhetoric, ThoughtCo brings together examples of five-paragraph essays and commentary on the form.

The Best Essay Writing Collections

The Best American Essays of the Century by Joyce Carol Oates (Amazon)

This collection of American essays spanning the twentieth century was compiled by award winning author and Princeton professor Joyce Carol Oates.

The Best American Essays 2017 by Leslie Jamison (Amazon)

Leslie Jamison, the celebrated author of essay collection  The Empathy Exams , collects recent, high-profile essays into a single volume.

The Art of the Personal Essay by Phillip Lopate (Amazon)

Documentary writer Phillip Lopate curates this historical overview of the personal essay's development, from the classical era to the present.

The White Album by Joan Didion (Amazon)

This seminal essay collection was authored by one of the most acclaimed personal essayists of all time, American journalist Joan Didion.

Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace (Amazon)

Read this famous essay collection by David Foster Wallace, who is known for his experimentation with the essay form. He pushed the boundaries of personal essay, reportage, and political polemic.

"50 Successful Harvard Application Essays" (Staff of the The Harvard Crimson )

If you're looking for examples of exceptional college application essays, this volume from Harvard's daily student newspaper is one of the best collections on the market.

Are you an instructor looking for the best resources for teaching essay writing? This section contains resources for developing in-class activities and student homework assignments. You'll find content from both well-known university writing centers and online writing labs.

Essay Writing Classroom Activities for Students

"In-class Writing Exercises" (Univ. of North Carolina Writing Center)

This page lists exercises related to brainstorming, organizing, drafting, and revising. It also contains suggestions for how to implement the suggested exercises.

"Teaching with Writing" (Univ. of Minnesota Center for Writing)

Instructions and encouragement for using "freewriting," one-minute papers, logbooks, and other write-to-learn activities in the classroom can be found here.

"Writing Worksheets" (Berkeley Student Learning Center)

Berkeley offers this bank of writing worksheets to use in class. They are nested under headings for "Prewriting," "Revision," "Research Papers" and more.

"Using Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism" (DePaul University)

Use these activities and worksheets from DePaul's Teaching Commons when instructing students on proper academic citation practices.

Essay Writing Homework Activities for Students

"Grammar and Punctuation Exercises" (Aims Online Writing Lab)

These five interactive online activities allow students to practice editing and proofreading. They'll hone their skills in correcting comma splices and run-ons, identifying fragments, using correct pronoun agreement, and comma usage.

"Student Interactives" (Read Write Think)

Read Write Think hosts interactive tools, games, and videos for developing writing skills. They can practice organizing and summarizing, writing poetry, and developing lines of inquiry and analysis.

This free website offers writing and grammar activities for all grade levels. The lessons are designed to be used both for large classes and smaller groups.

"Writing Activities and Lessons for Every Grade" (Education World)

Education World's page on writing activities and lessons links you to more free, online resources for learning how to "W.R.I.T.E.": write, revise, inform, think, and edit.

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How to Write an Academic Essay: All You Need to Know

Mark Bradford

Writing an effective academic essay involves a systematic approach. This guide will walk you through the essential steps:

• Topic Selection: Choosing a relevant and focused subject is crucial.
• Thesis Development: Construct a clear and concise statement that encapsulates your main argument.
• Outline Creation: Organize your ideas and supporting evidence into a logical structure.
• Drafting: Develop your essay, including an engaging introduction, well-supported body paragraphs, and a strong conclusion.
• Revision and Editing: Refine your work for clarity, coherence, and accuracy.

We'll provide in-depth explanations and practical tips for each stage. If you need further assistance, EssayHub offers expert guidance on how to format an essay , along with the other aspects of writing, from structure to polishing your final piece.

What is an Academic Essay?

An academic essay is a formal type of writing that examines a specific topic in detail. It differs from casual writing through its structured format and use of formal language. The main goal is to clearly and logically present ideas, requiring careful thought and detailed analysis to support the writer's viewpoint.

The essay starts with an introduction, where the topic is introduced, and the thesis statement is presented. The thesis is the main argument of the essay and outlines what will be discussed. The body of the essay includes several paragraphs, each focusing on a different aspect of the topic. Each paragraph begins with a topic sentence that introduces the main idea, followed by evidence and examples to support the argument. The essay ends with a conclusion that summarizes the key points, reinforces the thesis based on the evidence, and suggests further research or implications.

Don't forget that you can pay for essay if you have struggles with writing and researching information. EssayHub is always at your side.

Characteristics of an Academic Essay

An academic format essay exists to walk the readers through the author's main points. Therefore, a writer must focus on making the paper understandable. The clue is to meet the following requirements:

Clear and Concise Thesis Statement 

A quality thesis statement is an integral part of writing an academic essay. In any type of essay or research paper, the thesis statement decides how the entire essay looks. So, the author should shrink their main idea into one sentence.

Supported Arguments

Undeniably, every thesis statement needs arguments with supporting evidence. The readers see this evidence and trust what the author said in the thesis statement and body paragraphs. That is why profound research helps to write an essay!

Logical Outline Structure

Any type of essay requires an introduction section, several body paragraphs, and a conclusion. However, dividing the text into these parts isn't enough. The main idea is to make a solid outline that logically connects all parts.

Formal Tone

The point of an argumentative paper is to describe ideas using solely formal language. So, no slang, only scientific terms!

Types of Academic Essays

To start writing an academic essay, one has to know its type. Overall, an academic essay can fall into one of these categories:

Expository Essay

This kind of paper exists to describe and explain a specific topic in detail. An expository essay gives facts without emotions. Surprisingly, all students are familiar with expository writing since they visit lectures and see presentations.

Argumentative Essay

As their name implies, argumentative essays present arguments to convince the readers to take an author's side. All argumentative essay outline examples have several body paragraphs with supporting points for a thesis statement. In an argumentative essay outline, every topic sentence has strong evidence.

Descriptive Essay

Are there papers that describe objects, people, events, or anything else? Yes, descriptive essays do that! Every body paragraph, introduction, and conclusion create an immersive experience for the audience.

Persuasive Essay

The point of such essays is to convince people that the author's ideas are correct. But, a persuasive essay contains objective evidence and moral reasoning.

Narrative Essay 

If someone wants to describe a personal experience in their own words, a narrative essay helps out! An introduction paragraph hooks people, while the body paragraphs have a thrilling plot. Finally, the conclusion states the moral of the story.

Academic Essay Format

Following a standard format is key for academic essays. This ensures clarity, consistency, and professionalism. Common formats include APA, MLA, Chicago, and Harvard. Each style has specific guidelines for citations, headings, and overall structure.

Key elements of an academic essay format include:

• Title page: Includes essay title, author's name, course, instructor, and date.
• Abstract: A concise summary of the essay's purpose, methods, findings, and conclusions (often required for longer essays).
• Introduction: Grabs reader attention with a strong hook, presents the thesis statement, and outlines the essay's structure.
• Body paragraphs: Develop the argument with clear topic sentences, supporting evidence, and analysis.
• Conclusion: Summarizes main points, restates the thesis, and offers final thoughts or implications.
• References/Works Cited: Lists all sources used in the essay, formatted according to the chosen style.

Hook examples:

• Surprising fact: Did you know that the average person checks their phone 150 times a day?
• Vivid description: The sterile, white-coated environment of a hospital is often a battleground for life and death.
• Provocative question: How does social media impact the mental health of teenagers?
• Anecdotal story: A brief personal experience can draw readers in and establish a connection.
• Thought-provoking quote: "The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing." - Socrates

How to Write an Academic Essay: 6 Important Steps

Writing a successful academic essay requires a systematic approach. This section outlines a six-step process that will guide you from understanding the assignment to producing a polished final product.

• Understand the question
• Do your research
• Make a plan
• Write your essay
• Check your sources

By following these steps, you can develop a clear, well-structured, and evidence-based essay that effectively communicates your ideas.

Understanding the Essay Prompt

Sometimes, academic essay titles aren't enough for students to understand the assignment. For this reason, writing an academic essay prompt is a necessary step for teachers. A prompt can be one sentence or several full sentences long, discussing the theme and needed key points in the paper. How to understand the prompt correctly?

First, a person should thoroughly read every sentence to find all confusing phrases or words. In such a case, asking a teacher is necessary! Secondly, it is essential to highlight important words, more specifically verbs. For example, some prompts ask writers to analyze, describe or elaborate.

Conducting Research and Gathering Evidence

Since the thesis statement in every academic essay requires supporting points, a preliminary examination is crucial. To begin with, a writer has to assess their time limits and existing knowledge. For instance, they may already know something about the topic. Plus, it's half the success if they know possible examples of evidence sources. Finally, it is necessary to check all literature for an academic format essay for reliability!

A bonus tip is to collect evidence from multiple media types. For example, information on global pandemic topics is online, not in libraries.

Creating an Academic Essay Outline

Undoubtedly, essay outlines are like skeletons for the text. The plan can be either in the form of an alphanumeric outline or a full-sentence outline. Overall, how to make an outline for an essay and succeed? Every academic essay outline has several components:

Introduction  

• Hook or attention-grabbing opening

Any academic essay example has to begin with a captivating point or idea. This keeps people interested!

• Background information 

The introduction paragraph also mentions existing theories. Students base their essays on these sources.

• Thesis statement

Next, what is a thesis statement generally? In academic essay format, a thesis statement ends the introduction. It briefly expresses an author's main point.

Body paragraphs 

• Topic sentences and supporting arguments

Every body paragraph starts with a topic sentence that expresses one idea. Then, supporting points elaborate further on these full sentences.

• Evidence, examples, and citations

Each paragraph should contain examples or facts that support the author's point.

• Analysis and critical thinking

While developing the essay outlines, students should be able to interpret the information and place it accordingly.

Conclusion  

• Summarizing key points

Every essay example summarizes the main ideas and supporting points in the conclusion.

• Restating the thesis

A conclusion also repeats the thesis statement using different wording.

• Providing a concluding thought or recommendation

A final suggestion from the author helps to wrap up a conclusion.

Writing the Draft 

The next step after building outlines is writing an academic essay draft. Usually, this is a rough copy of the future work, which requires additional time. So, a student can write as many drafts as they want if the deadline allows it. 

Naturally, the first draft looks the least like the final paper. For instance, someone might plan three body paragraphs that turn into a five-paragraph essay. Ideas and supporting points can transform during the initial brainstorming, and full sentences can appear and disappear.

Although drafts constantly change, their point is to stick to the original outlines. And, as far as creativity goes, every paragraph must connect to the thesis. However, the whole academic essay format is optional in drafts since they become polished later.

Referencing and Citations

By all means, an example of an academic essay requires referencing and citations. The point here is to acknowledge every idea that a student borrows. If everything is correct, then the paper passes a plagiarism check. 

Which citation style to choose? There are several examples. For instance, MLA style fits a literary analysis essay or any other humanities paper. But, science works usually have APA citation style, and business essays use the Chicago style.

Revising and Editing

The concluding stage of writing an academic essay is making the final minor adjustments. Surprisingly, rereading is necessary even if people order essay online to save time. Contrarily, skipping this part lowers the grade since a teacher can point out the obvious mistakes. Also, remember that lengthy work requires more time for checking than a five-paragraph essay.

Academic Essay Example

Seeing an example of a well-structured academic essay can be invaluable. It provides a concrete model for understanding essay components and formatting. By analyzing an example, you can grasp how ideas are developed, how evidence is incorporated, and how the overall argument is constructed.

Tips on Writing an Academic Essay

What else should a person know before submitting an academic essay? There are a few tips:

• Start early

Although the urge to procrastinate is strong, overcoming it is crucial. So, start early instead of rushing the night before the deadline.

• Carefully read the prompt

Sometimes, people hurry when reading academic essay titles and prompts. As a result, they misinterpret the task. Hence, it is essential to take time and analyze the prompt.

• Thoughtfully choose the point of view 

Indeed, everyone has an opinion on particular topics. However, finding evidence is tricky if the student's point of view is unpopular.

• Filter other people's ideas

Usually, professional essay writers recommend studying as many sources as possible. Because they are different, the goal is to choose only the best notions.

• Ask a friend for help

Some writers sample academic essay online or search for ' write essay for me ' services. Meanwhile, the others get assistance from the people around them. Get a friend to reread the draft!

The Bottom Line

Writing an impressive academic essay requires a structured approach. Follow these steps:

• Clearly grasp the essay's requirements.
• Gather relevant information.
• Organize your ideas effectively.
• Develop your arguments clearly.
• Give credit where it's due.
• Perfect your essay.

Remember, whether you need support choosing a topic, crafting your argument, or perfecting your final draft, our expert essay writing service is ready to guide you every step of the way!

What Is the Format of an Academic Essay?

How to start an academic essay, how do you write an academic essay.

Mark Bradford , a passionate and talented artist, utilizes his innovative spirit to support academic pursuits. In partnering with EssayHub, he leverages his artistic insights to assist students as a professional essay writer, helping them navigate and complete their academic assignments at every level of difficulty.

• updated definition and format;
• added FAQs and a PDF example.

• Plagiarism Report
• Unlimited Revisions
• 24/7 Support

19 August 2022

What are the key elements of a good essay?

It’s likely you’ll have to write many essays throughout your time at uni. While you may know generally what an essay is and how to write one, it’s important to keep improving your approach to research, writing and essay structure. There’s always areas in which you can improve.

Here, we’ve recapped some essay basics, as well as things that your assessor will be looking for. 

Essay basics

An essay is a piece of writing where you present your opinion, backed up by evidence, in response to a topic. This opinion is referred to as ‘your contention, position or thesis statement’. There are many different types of essays, but they have several common features to help you plan and complete them ­– if you follow these guidelines!

Essays commonly contain the following:

• your point of view, supported by ideas, arguments and evidence
• the summary and analysis of other writers’ research and opinions
• a clear structure, including an introduction, body paragraphs and a conclusion
• a reference list.

Always leave enough time to prepare for writing an essay: you will need to complete the required reading (both from your classes and wider sources), brainstorm keywords and concepts, decide on your point of view, and draft an outline of the contents of your paragraphs.

What your assessor is looking for

Always follow your specific task instructions and check your assessment rubric to confirm exactly what you are being asked to do.  Most commonly, these are the elements that your assessor will be looking for when they mark your essay.

• You have answered the essay question directly.
• You have met the assignment criteria.
• You have drawn on readings and discussions from your weekly seminars and classes (your unit’s weekly topics should be your guide for all of your assessments).
• You have provided a position on the topic and shown your understanding of it.
• You have completed the set and recommended readings.
• You have discussed and analysed sources, and formatted them in the required referencing style.
• You have planned your essay so that is readable, clear and logically sequenced, with a distinct introduction, body and conclusion.
• You have kept within the set word limit.

By following these guidelines, you will set yourself up to achieve the best that you can.

Could you use some help?

This is just a taste of the  Academic Skills Guide to Essay Writing . It contains information and resources on how to write an essay, including a  guide to paragraph structure , a  paragraph planner  and a handy explanation of the steps of the writing process. Have a read if you’re looking for detailed guidance about an aspect of essay writing, or about essays more generally.

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What Are the Different Types and Characteristics of Essays?

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The term essay comes from the French for "trial" or "attempt." French author Michel de Montaigne coined the term when he assigned the title Essais to his first publication in 1580. In "Montaigne: A Biography" (1984), Donald Frame notes that Montaigne "often used the verb essayer (in modern French, normally to try ) in ways close to his project, related to experience, with the sense of trying out or testing."

An essay is a short work of nonfiction , while a writer of essays is called an essayist. In writing instruction, essay is often used as another word for composition . In an essay, an authorial voice  (or narrator ) typically invites an implied reader  (the audience ) to accept as authentic a certain textual mode of experience. 

Definitions and Observations

• "[An essay is a] composition , usually in prose .., which may be of only a few hundred words (like Bacon's "Essays") or of book length (like Locke's "Essay Concerning Human Understanding") and which discusses, formally or informally, a topic or a variety of topics." (J.A. Cuddon, "Dictionary of Literary Terms". Basil, 1991)
• " Essays are how we speak to one another in print — caroming thoughts not merely in order to convey a certain packet of information, but with a special edge or bounce of personal character in a kind of public letter." (Edward Hoagland, Introduction, "The Best American Essays : 1999". Houghton, 1999)
• "[T]he essay traffics in fact and tells the truth, yet it seems to feel free to enliven, to shape, to embellish, to make use as necessary of elements of the imaginative and the fictive — thus its inclusion in that rather unfortunate current designation ' creative nonfiction .'" (G. Douglas Atkins, "Reading Essays: An Invitation". University of Georgia Press, 2007)

Montaigne's Autobiographical Essays "Although Michel de Montaigne, who fathered the modern essay in the 16th century, wrote autobiographically (like the essayists who claim to be his followers today), his autobiography was always in the service of larger existential discoveries. He was forever on the lookout for life lessons. If he recounted the sauces he had for dinner and the stones that weighted his kidney, it was to find an element of truth that we could put in our pockets and carry away, that he could put in his own pocket. After all, Philosophy — which is what he thought he practiced in his essays, as had his idols, Seneca and Cicero, before him — is about 'learning to live.' And here lies the problem with essayists today: not that they speak of themselves, but that they do so with no effort to make their experience relevant or useful to anyone else, with no effort to extract from it any generalizable insight into the human condition." (Cristina Nehring, "What’s Wrong With the American Essay." Truthdig, Nov. 29, 2007)

The Artful Formlessness of the Essay "[G]ood essays are works of literary art. Their supposed formlessness is more a strategy to disarm the reader with the appearance of unstudied spontaneity than a reality of composition. . . . "The essay form as a whole has long been associated with an experimental method. This idea goes back to Montaigne and his endlessly suggestive use of the term essai for his writing. To essay is to attempt, to test, to make a run at something without knowing whether you are going to succeed. The experimental association also derives from the other fountain-head of the essay, Francis Bacon , and his stress on the empirical inductive method, so useful in the development of the social sciences." (Phillip Lopate, "The Art of the Personal Essay". Anchor, 1994)

Articles vs. Essays "[W]hat finally distinguishes an essay from an article may just be the author's gumption, the extent to which personal voice, vision, and style are the prime movers and shapers, even though the authorial 'I' may be only a remote energy, nowhere visible but everywhere present." (Justin Kaplan, ed. "The Best American Essays: 1990". Ticknor & Fields, 1990) "I am predisposed to the essay with knowledge to impart — but, unlike journalism, which exists primarily to present facts, the essays transcend their data, or transmute it into personal meaning. The memorable essay, unlike the article, is not place or time-bound; it survives the occasion of its original composition. Indeed, in the most brilliant essays, language is not merely the medium of communication ; it is communication." (Joyce Carol Oates, quoted by Robert Atwan in "The Best American Essays, College Edition", 2nd ed. Houghton Mifflin, 1998) "I speak of a 'genuine' essay because fakes abound. Here the old-fashioned term poetaster may apply, if only obliquely. As the poetaster is to the poet — a lesser aspirant — so the average article is to the essay: a look-alike knockoff guaranteed not to wear well. An article is often gossip. An essay is reflection and insight. An article often has the temporary advantage of social heat — what's hot out there right now. An essay's heat is interior. An article can be timely, topical, engaged in the issues and personalities of the moment; it is likely to be stale within the month. In five years it may have acquired the quaint aura of a rotary phone. An article is usually Siamese-twinned to its date of birth. An essay defies its date of birth — and ours, too. (A necessary caveat: some genuine essays are popularly called 'articles' — but this is no more than an idle, though persistent, habit of speech. What's in a name? The ephemeral is the ephemeral. The enduring is the enduring.)" (Cynthia Ozick, "SHE: Portrait of the Essay as a Warm Body." The Atlantic Monthly, September 1998)

The Status of the Essay "Though the essay has been a popular form of writing in British and American periodicals since the 18th century, until recently its status in the literary canon has been, at best, uncertain. Relegated to the composition class, frequently dismissed as mere journalism, and generally ignored as an object for serious academic study, the essay has sat, in James Thurber's phrase, ' on the edge of the chair of Literature.' "In recent years, however, prompted by both a renewed interest in rhetoric and by poststructuralist redefinitions of literature itself, the essay — as well as such related forms of 'literary nonfiction' as biography , autobiography , and travel and nature writing — has begun to attract increasing critical attention and respect." (Richard Nordquist, "Essay," in "Encylopedia of American Literature", ed. S. R. Serafin. Continuum, 1999)

The Contemporary Essay "At present, the American magazine essay , both the long feature piece and the critical essay, is flourishing, in unlikely circumstances... "There are plenty of reasons for this. One is that magazines, big and small, are taking over some of the cultural and literary ground vacated by newspapers in their seemingly unstoppable evaporation. Another is that the contemporary essay has for some time now been gaining energy as an escape from, or rival to, the perceived conservatism of much mainstream fiction... "So the contemporary essay is often to be seen engaged in acts of apparent anti-novelization: in place of plot , there is drift or the fracture of numbered paragraphs; in place of a frozen verisimilitude, there may be a sly and knowing movement between reality and fictionality; in place of the impersonal author of standard-issue third-person realism, the authorial self pops in and out of the picture, with a liberty hard to pull off in fiction." (James Wood, "Reality Effects." The New Yorker, Dec. 19 & 26, 2011)

The Lighter Side of Essays: "The Breakfast Club" Essay Assignment "All right people, we're going to try something a little different today. We are going to write an essay of not less than a thousand words describing to me who you think you are. And when I say 'essay,' I mean 'essay,' not one word repeated a thousand times. Is that clear, Mr. Bender?" (Paul Gleason as Mr. Vernon) Saturday, March 24, 1984 Shermer High School Shermer, Illinois 60062 Dear Mr. Vernon, We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. What we did was wrong. But we think you're crazy to make us write this essay telling you who we think we are. What do you care? You see us as you want to see us — in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. You see us as a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal. Correct? That's the way we saw each other at seven o'clock this morning. We were brainwashed... But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain and an athlete and a basket case, a princess, and a criminal. Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, The Breakfast Club (Anthony Michael Hall as Brian Johnson, "The Breakfast Club", 1985)

• Definition and Examples of Formal Essays
• Conclusion in Compositions
• Definition and Examples of Evaluation Essays
• Models of Composition
• Understanding Organization in Composition and Speech
• Thesis: Definition and Examples in Composition
• Development in Composition: Building an Essay
• List (Grammar and Sentence Styles)
• Definition and Examples of Transitional Paragraphs
• Definition and Examples of Vignettes in Prose
• Composition Type: Problem-Solution Essays
• Mood in Composition and Literature
• Learn How to Use Extended Definitions in Essays and Speeches
• Definition and Examples of Body Paragraphs in Composition
• Periodical Essay Definition and Examples
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Characteristics of an Essay

An essay is a composition that defends a position or opinion, also called a thesis, that has been put forth by the author. Not only should an essay demonstrate your overall knowledge of the broader subject, but it should demonstrate your insight into particular aspects of that subject. It also should show that you performed extra and relevant research outside the course material to broaden your knowledge and hone your argument.

Narrowing A Topic

Picking a topic out of a broader subject can be difficult. Pick a topic you can explore fully, without picking one so broad that you try to cover too much information or one so narrow that your writing and research options are limited. It can help to come up with some topic options and review them with your professor. Many professors provide a list of topics for essays just for this reason. An example of narrowing a topic would be choosing one or two pivotal scenes in a novel and discussing setting, word choice and dialogue in relation to the larger theme of the novel.

Thesis Development

You must develop a strong and clear thesis offering some original insight. Your thesis should be a complete statement of your position in one or two sentences, including information on how you will defend your position. Reading essays and picking out thesis statements will help you identify and compose your own. You can always ask your professor to review yours and offer suggestions. Your thesis does not have to be fully formed at the beginning of writing and researching. Writing and researching it will help you develop it.

Write On Topic

How much you can cover will depend on the size of the essay, but regardless of the length, you should always write concisely and on topic. A standard 1,500-word essay, for example, will generally accommodate three to four paragraphs, not including the introduction and concluding paragraph. Each paragraph should have its own topic that relates to and supports your thesis. You should have no more than one or two quotes or paraphrased statements in support of your position, not in place of your own thinking. Quotes and paraphrasing must have proper citation.

Introduction And Conclusion

Your introduction should introduce both the broader subject and your specific topic. If you have written on a particular text, novel or poem, you must fully state the title and author. An introduction should engage the reader, prompt him to keep reading and briefly describe how you will develop your topic. Your thesis statement will come in the last lines of the introduction. Your concluding paragraph should briefly recap your subject, your thesis and how you defended your thesis.

Ann Craney started writing professionally in 2010, with articles appearing online at various websites. She specializes in food-related topics as she has formal patisserie training. Craney earned a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from the University of British Columbia.

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What Different Types of Essays Exist?

Table of content.

• 01. Determining What Types of Essay Writing You Need
• 02. Four Most Common Essay Forms
• 03. What Are the Different Types of Essays? 34 Common Kinds

There are many different types of essays students are asked to write. Some are easy to understand, but most others are either too similar to one another or so complex that even professors’ explanations don’t help much. It becomes a serious hindrance because without knowing what specific essays they’re writing, young people are almost guaranteed to get failing grades.

There are lots of examples of them being assigned an argumentative essay yet writing an analytical paper instead. Their college education largely depends on success in daily academic tasks, so it is vital to learn the difference between assignments. If you feel lost, don’t worry — in our article we will talk about every common type of such assignments in the most detailed way.

Determining What Types of Essay Writing You Need

The first thing students should do after reading their prompt is understand just what type of paper they’re expected to produce. Sometimes it happens instantly: professors explain what type you’ll be writing as they’re passing assignments, so from then on, all you need is figure out how to organize everything.  But there are also times when you only have a topic. For example, your prompt says the following: “Prove which city council candidate has better policies.” The question is clear, but how to determine which type it is? Start by identifying key words. In this instance, we should underline “prove,” “which,” “candidate,” and “better.” The first word points at an argument, the last one points at a comparison, so the majority essay forms are automatically eliminated.

Now, ask yourself questions. What is the goal of this topic? Again, an answer is simple: young writers must prove what candidate offers better policies. Proving something usually falls into an argumentative category, but it could be analytical, too. The next clue lies in additional instructions: study them attentively to understand whether professor expects subjective or objective opinion; should counter-arguments be regarded and addressed? This will help you settle on a specific type.

Four Most Common Essay Forms

There are 4 types of essays assigned most frequently. If you learn about them, you’re set by about 60% — other paper kinds are less specific and far easier to write. Take a look at the list below.

• Analytical Essay

It is based on analysis, research, and evaluation of findings. Writers could explore any subject, even controversial, but they must do it from an objective viewpoint, analyzing the existing evidence and making the conclusion on its basis.

• Argumentative Essay

It does resemble analytical papers, but there is a big difference: you should convince your reader that your point is valid by using evidence. Detached objectivity isn’t as crucial here as you could be arguing for the most ridiculous side for fun or out of spite — the goal is to be persuasive and use enough evidence. It could be both a serious and fun essay type.

• Cause and Effect Essay

The name says it all: you should identify the cause of something, explore it, and demonstrate what effect it has. The link between these two is that you should show how one thing leads to another. Some students like focusing on causes in particular while others pay more attention to effects — both options are acceptable.  

• Compare and Contrast Essay

This paper is often exciting for college students because it’s an easy and captivating task. Choose two or more things and start comparing as well as contrasting them. Comparison usually concerns differences while contrasting is related to similarities. You could compare/contrast topics, ways of expression, characters’ features, etc.

What Are the Different Types of Essays? 34 Common Kinds

Apart from 4 mentioned categories, there are plenty of other forms of essays. We are going to name them, clarify their main purpose, and list their characteristics. After seeing the table we’ve composed, you won’t have any questions left!

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Personal Characteristics Essay: Top Examples and Tips for Successful Writing

Looking to write a compelling personal characteristics essay? Our article offers top examples and tips for successful writing.

Posted August 18, 2023

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When it comes to writing a personal characteristics essay, there are several important factors to consider to ensure that your essay stands out from the rest. This type of essay requires you to talk about your personal traits and characteristics and how they have shaped your life experiences and decisions. Writing a personal characteristics essay can be daunting, but with the right strategies and techniques, you can craft an impressive essay that leaves a lasting impression.

Understanding the Purpose of a Personal Characteristics Essay

Before diving into the writing process, it's essential to understand the purpose of a personal characteristics essay. The purpose of this type of essay is to showcase your unique qualities and characteristics, which makes you stand out from the rest. It's an opportunity for the reader to gain insight into your personality and the way you think. Your essay should not only provide a description of your traits but also demonstrate how they influence your actions and decisions.

Additionally, a personal characteristics essay can also serve as a tool for self-reflection and personal growth. Through the process of writing about your traits and how they have impacted your life, you may gain a deeper understanding of yourself and your values. This type of essay can also help you identify areas for improvement and set goals for personal development.

How to Choose a Topic for Your Personal Characteristics Essay

Choosing the right topic for your personal characteristics essay is crucial. You want to select a topic that not only reflects your personality but also allows you to showcase your writing skills. Start by brainstorming a list of traits and characteristics that define you. From there, select a topic that highlights one or two of these traits. Think about a situation that showcases these traits and how you overcame a challenge or learned a valuable lesson.

Another important factor to consider when choosing a topic for your personal characteristics essay is your audience. Think about who will be reading your essay and what they might be interested in learning about you. Consider selecting a topic that is relatable and relevant to your audience, while still highlighting your unique qualities.

It's also important to remember that your personal characteristics essay should not just be a list of traits or accomplishments. Instead, focus on telling a story that illustrates your personality and how it has shaped your experiences and perspectives. Choose a topic that allows you to delve deeper into your personal journey and share insights that will resonate with your readers.

Brainstorming Techniques for Your Personal Characteristics Essay

Brainstorming is an essential step in the writing process. It allows you to generate ideas and make connections between them. Try using mind maps or free-writing to get your ideas down on paper. You might also consider asking friends or family members what they think your most prominent traits are to get an outside perspective.

Another effective technique for brainstorming your personal characteristics essay is to reflect on your past experiences and how they have shaped you. Think about challenges you have faced and how you overcame them, or moments of success and how they have contributed to your personal growth. These experiences can provide valuable insight into your character and help you identify key traits to highlight in your essay.

The Importance of Organizing Your Thoughts and Ideas

Once you've generated your ideas, it's time to organize them. Start by creating an outline that includes the main points you want to make in your essay. Your outline should also include the introduction, body, and conclusion sections of your essay. Organizing your thoughts and ideas will help you stay on track and ensure that you cover all the necessary points in your essay.

Moreover, organizing your thoughts and ideas can also help you identify any gaps in your argument or areas where you need to do more research. By creating an outline, you can see where you need to add more information or examples to support your points. This can help you create a more well-rounded and convincing essay.

Additionally, organizing your thoughts and ideas can also help you save time in the long run. When you have a clear outline to follow, you can write your essay more efficiently and effectively. You won't waste time trying to figure out what to write next or how to structure your essay. Instead, you can focus on writing high-quality content that supports your thesis statement and engages your readers.

Tips for Writing a Strong Introduction to Your Essay

The introduction to your essay is crucial as it sets the tone for the rest of your essay. Your introduction should grab the reader's attention and entice them to keep reading. Consider starting with a hook, such as a quote, an anecdote, or a question. Your introduction should also include your thesis statement, which outlines the main point of your essay.

In addition to a hook and thesis statement, your introduction should also provide some background information on the topic you are writing about. This can help to contextualize your essay and give the reader a better understanding of the subject matter. However, be careful not to include too much information in your introduction, as it can become overwhelming and detract from the main point of your essay.

The Art of Developing a Compelling Thesis Statement

Your thesis statement should be concise and clear. It should provide a roadmap for the rest of your essay. Think about the main point you want to make and how you plan on supporting it throughout your essay. Make sure your thesis statement is arguable and specific.

Supporting Your Claims with Relevant Examples and Evidence

To make your essay more compelling, you should back up your claims and arguments with relevant examples and evidence. This will help your reader understand the extent of your personal qualities and how they have impacted your life experiences. Make sure to include specific examples from your life that illustrate the qualities you're discussing in your essay.

One effective way to provide evidence for your claims is to use statistics or data that support your argument. For example, if you're writing an essay about the benefits of exercise, you could include statistics about the number of people who have improved their health through regular exercise. This will add credibility to your argument and make it more convincing.

Another way to support your claims is to use expert opinions or quotes from reputable sources. This can help to strengthen your argument and show that you have done your research on the topic. Be sure to properly cite any sources you use in your essay.

The Power of Descriptive Writing: Painting a Vivid Picture with Words

Descriptive writing is a powerful tool that can be used to paint a vivid picture of your experiences and personality in your essay. Use sensory details to help your reader visualize your experiences. Consider incorporating metaphors or similes to make your writing more interesting and engaging.

Adding Depth and Complexity to Your Essay through Analysis and Reflection

Analysis and reflection are essential elements of an outstanding personal characteristics essay. Once you have described your traits and experiences, you should analyze how they have contributed to your personal growth and development. Reflection is also important as it allows you to consider how you might apply your characteristics to future situations.

The Benefits of Peer Review and Collaboration in Essay Writing

Collaborating with others can be immensely helpful in refining your essay. You might consider having a friend or family member review your essay and provide feedback. Peer review can help you identify areas where your essay needs improvement and provide suggestions for how to improve it.

Strategies for Effective Editing and Proofreading

Editing and proofreading are crucial steps in the writing process. Once you have completed your essay, take a break and come back to it with fresh eyes. Look for errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Make sure to also check that your essay flows logically and that your arguments are well-supported.

Addressing Common Pitfalls in Personal Characteristics Essays

One common pitfall in personal characteristics essays is focusing too much on describing your traits instead of analyzing how they have impacted your life experiences. Another common pitfall is using cliches or generic language instead of making your essay unique and interesting. Be sure to avoid these pitfalls to ensure your essay stands out.

Using Keywords and Meta Tags to Optimize Your Essay for Search Engines

If you plan on publishing your essay online, you might consider optimizing it for search engines such as Google. This involves using keywords and meta tags in your essay that will help it appear higher in search results. Be sure to research the most popular keywords related to your topic and include them strategically in your essay.

Crafting an Impressive Conclusion that Leaves a Lasting Impression

Finally, your conclusion should leave a lasting impression on the reader. Summarize your main points and reiterate your thesis statement. Think about what you want your reader to take away from your essay. Consider ending with a call to action or a memorable quote.

Writing a personal characteristics essay can be a challenging task, but with the right strategies and techniques, you can craft an impressive essay that showcases your unique qualities and characteristics. By following the tips outlined above, you'll be well on your way to writing a successful personal characteristics essay that leaves a lasting impression.

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