Academic Essays 1: Components of an Academic Essay

For the last eight years, I have taught English composition to hundreds of students who range in age from 17 to 67. No student is exempt from having to take it - much to their chagrin.

What I want to do in the next several posts is offer mini-lectures that I typically give to my students that first week of school when I talk about what an essay is and how to develop a good one.

An essay, in its simplest form, is a paper that does two things: states a purpose and supports that purpose with clear, vivid details and examples. Of course, your mastery of the English language and of style can take those two things and develop an essay that either moves readers into action or does just enough to get you a C.

First, an essay must serve a purpose.

Traditionally, there are four purposes in essay writing:

• to inform - very important in academic writing because no matter what class a student takes, he/she will be asked to explain, to illustrate things.
• to persuade - another important purpose in academic writing; students (and people in general) should be able to argue a point using logical reasoning.
• to express - we see this more in journal writing, in creative non-fiction; it's the expression of feelings.
• to entertain - again, we see this more outside of academic writing and more in works with a creative quality.

Once you have your topic and have figured out your essay's purpose, you need to know the must-have components for any academic essay:

1- Introduction - something that engages readers about your topic and makes them want to continue reading.

2- Thesis - usually seen at the end of the introduction, the thesis expresses two things: the essay's topic and the writer's overall thought on that topic.

This is your argument, and as such, it has to be something that can be ARGUED, i.e., an opinion. FACTS are not good theses; where is there to go once you've stated a fact?

3- Body Paragraphs - The body of an essay is where you SHOW support for your argument, your thesis. Clear points need to be established, support of those points need to be developed, and connection to the essay's overall idea needs to be stated. Within the body section of an essay, you will find three important components: topic sentences, support sentences, and closing sentences. These will be discussed more in an upcoming post on body development. Here, I'll mention this - topic, support, and closing sentences are what give body paragraphs points, support, and connection to essay's overall idea.

4- Conclusion - something that closes the essay without simply repeating what's already been stated. In the worst essays, I've had students who literally cut and pasted parts of their introduction into their conclusion. BIG no no. A conclusion should make a reader feel something, think something, or do something.

In post two on academic essays, I'll dig deeper and talk about the importance of introductions and conclusions.

In post three, I will look at the importance of body development and transitions.

Academic Essays 2 - Importance of Introductions and Conclusions

First impressions can make or break you; the same holds true for your introduction.

At the very onset of your essay, you must draw the reader in - into your topic, into your style, and into your purpose (their reason for reading) - in a way that makes them one to continue reading.

Some of the weakest introductions start off, "In this essay, I will examine." While some courses might suggest this way of starting an essay or even starting your thesis, it doesn't draw a reader into the piece.

We can draw a reader in by...

• starting with an anecdote. We all love stories - telling and hearing them. If there is an anecdote that ties into your essay's topic, use that to begin your introduction.
• starting with a quote. I had a student last year who loved quotes, and no matter the essay topic, she had a knack for finding the most perfect quote to start her introductions. If there is a quote that resonates your topic or your opinion of your topic or that sets the tone for the essay, definitely use it. Keep in mind, the quote doesn't act as your introduction; it merely begins it.
• starting with a question. It's almost innate for us to answer a question, even when it's not directed toward us. What question does your essay answer? Develop that question and start your introduction with it. It will alert the reader's mind and activate him/her to keep reading.
• starting with a fact. You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who will argue a fact. And a strong, startling fact can give readers a wake up call that will keep them reading.

The point is the introduction of an academic essay does not have to be boring; in fact, you will lose a reader if you are boring.

The introduction invites readers into your work. The body presents all the bells and whistles that support that invitation. The conclusion tells them why it was important to come along for the ride.

As stated in the first post, I've had students who cut and pasted introductions into conclusions. A conclusion does more than simply restate the thesis or summarize the body. A conclusion, in a way, puts what's been written into the hands of the reader; it gives them the option to take the information and make it theirs. For example, in an essay that explores the effects of divorce on children, a conclusion might offer suggestions on how to keep a marriage strong and intact to avoid divorce and its ramifications. An essay that explains why it's important to be a part and have a voice in the political world might conclude with ways in which a person can get involved. An essay on the types of losers a woman might meet in the dating world can conclude by showing what NOT to do to avoid meeting these "losers."

The point is a conclusion shifts the power from the writer to the reader. The conclusion propels a reader to think, to feel, and to act.

So, for you the writer, you need to ask yourself, "Why would someone read this essay?" "What do I want a reader to do with this information?" Finding answers to these questions will help you develop a conclusion that closes out the essay and evokes a thought, feeling, or action from your reader.

Academic Essays 3 - Importance of Body Development and Transitions

An essential component of an essay is its body paragraphs. Without them, you have a great opinion that falls gracelessly to the ground because it lacks support.

Body paragraphs (and truly every paragraph in an essay) should be unified, coherent, and well developed.

When a paragraph is unified, every sentence in that paragraph supports the essay's thesis.

When a paragraph is coherent, every sentence in that paragraph is presented logically and is arranged in a way that provides strong transitional flow, and again, supports the thesis and overall development of the essay.

When a paragraph is well-developed, evidence and details are provided as concrete, visual proof that supports your thesis.

To have a strong body paragraph that is unified, coherent, and well-developed, you must do four things:

1. Write a topic sentence that illustrates the paragraph’s (or paragraphs') purpose.
2. Supply concrete and specific details and examples to explain generalities and support your essay's thesis.
3. Close the paragraph in a way that restates the topic sentence and ties the paragraph back to the essay's thesis.
4. Have transitions that make for smooth reading within a paragraph as well as between paragraphs.

Topic Sentence
The topic sentence is typically the first sentence in a paragraph, and it introduces the paragraph's main idea. Topic sentences are, essentially, “mini-theses.” The thesis tells the reader what the essay's main purpose is, and a topic sentence tells the reader what each body section's purpose is.

Supporting Sentences
Supporting sentences come after the topic sentence and make up the body of the paragraph. Supporting sentences give details and evidence that develop and support the topic sentence. Facts, details, and examples are ways to add support to a paragraph.

Closing Sentence
The last sentence of a paragraph (or set of paragraphs - a body section) should summarize the main idea of your paragraph. You want to make sure not to copy/paste your topic sentence as your closing sentence.

By doing the above three, creating a topic sentence, supporting the topic sentence with details, and adding a closing sentence, you will have a self-contained paragraph (or body section).

To supply movement within paragraphs and between paragraphs, you must use transitions. Without transitions, an essay is jarring to read and may cause confusion to your reader.

Below is a list of transitions and connectors that are often used to achieve a smooth read for a reader. These words, depending on the type of essay you are writing, can indicate order, chronology, degrees of emphasis, spatial order, and more.

Transitions/Connectors

Addition: again, also, even more important, finally, first, further, furthermore, in addition, in the first place, in the second place, last, likewise, next second, third, too.

Alternative: and then, besides, moreover, nor, or.

Cause/Effect: accordingly, as a result, because, consequently, for, hence, so, then, therefore, thereupon, thus.

Comparison: in like manner, likewise, similarly.

Contrast: although this may be true, and yet, at the same time, but, conversely, even so, however, in contrast, nevertheless, notwithstanding, on the contrary, on the other hand, or, otherwise, still, yet.

Exemplification: for example, for instance, in the case of, to see, to show, to understand.

Intensification: in fact, indeed, to tell the truth.

Place: adjacent to, beyond, here, nearby, next to, on the opposite side, opposite to.

Purpose: for that reason, for this purpose, in order to, to this end, with this object.

Repetition: as has been noted, as I have said, in other words, that is, to be sure.

Summary: in any event, in brief, in short, in sum, on the whole, to sum up.

Time: after a few days, afterward, at length, in the meantime, in the past, later, meanwhile, now, soon, then, while.