ESSAY STRUCTURE AND

WRITING

Programa de Desarrollo Vocacional Estudiantil

Lic. Dina Corts
INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH

The primary purpose of an introductory paragraph is to

attract the reader's attention and identify
the topic and purpose of the essay. A thesis
statement often appears at the end of an introductory
paragraph.
Bad vs Good introductory paragraph
THESIS STATEMENT

A thesis statement is a sentence in an essay that

identifies the main idea and/or central purpose of the
text and usually appears in the introductory paragraph,
often at the end.
The thesis gives a clear indication about what your body
paragraphs will be about. The purpose of the thesis is to
give order both to the reader and to the writer.
SAMPLE OF THESIS STATEMENT
Look at these examples of a weak and a strong thesis
statement.
Weak thesis statement:
India has a lot of interesting festivals.
The statement is too broad--the writer can't discuss all
Indian festivals. Even though it does state the writer's
opinion, the statement is not clear: it doesn't explain
why the festivals are interesting.
Strong thesis statement:
Diwali is an important festival for Indians because they
celebrate, remember traditional legends, and enjoy
time with their families.
BODY PARAGRAPHS

The body paragraphs give more elaborated support

to your thesis statement. Each of your body
paragraphs should contain a topic sentence and
must be directly related to your thesis statement.
In other words, one subtopic (one individual point)
can be developed in each of your three body
paragraphs.
 Conclusion outline

Topic sentence
Fresh rephrasing of thesis statement
Supporting sentences
Summarize or wrap up the main points in
the body of the essay
Explain how ideas fit together
Closing sentence
Final words
Connects back to the introduction
Provides a sense of closure
 Orientate the reader
Identify the purpose
General scope
INTRODUCTION
State thesis

Topic sentence 1
Supporting sentence
Concluding sentence

Topic sentence 2
BODY
Supporting sentence
Concluding sentence

Topic sentence 3
Supporting sentence
Concluding sentence

Restate thesis statement

CONCLUSION Summarize