Essay Structure

Essay Structure

1. The focus of such an essay predicts its structure... attending to a reader´s logic

2. Parts of an Essay

   • Introductions and conclusions have fixed places
     • Counterargument and Background material in any section
   • What?
     • What evidence shows that the phenomenon described by your thesis is true?
   • How?
     • How does the thesis stand up to the challenge of a counterargument?
   • Why?
     • Why does your interpretation of a phenomenon matter to anyone beside you?

3. Mapping an Essay

   • via a written narrative
     • Examining your thesis and anticipating what a reader needs to know, and in what sequence, to grasp and be convinced by your argument as it unfolds

4. Signs of Trouble

   • A common structural flaw in college essays is the "walk-through"
   • Be wary of paragraph openers that lead off with "time" words
   • descriptive thesis vs argumentative thesis

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