Essay Structure

Essay Structure

1. Answering Questions: The Parts of an Essay

   • "What?"
     • What evidence shows that the phenomenon described by your thesis is true?
     • "what" or "demonstration" section comes early in the essay
   • "How?"
     • How does the thesis stand up to the challenge of a counterargument?
     • This section usually comes after the "what,"
   • "Why?"
     • Why does your interpretation of a phenomenon matter to anyone beside you?
     • Although you might gesture at this question in your introduction, the fullest answer to it properly belongs at your essay's end.

2. Although there are guidelines for constructing certain classic essay types, there are no set formula.

3. Successfully structuring an essay means attending to a reader's logic.

4. Mapping an Essay

   • Essay maps ask you to predict where your reader will expect background information, counterargument, close analysis of a primary source, or a turn to secondary source material.
     • Try making your map like this:
       • State your thesis in a sentence or two
       • Answer the "what" question.
       • say why, and name some evidence. Continue until you've mapped out your essay.

5. Signs of Trouble

   • A common structural flaw in college essays is the "walk-through" (also labeled "summary" or "description").
   • Don´t reproduce the chronology of the source text