III essay

3.1. Parts of an essay

The nucleus piece of writing is a paragraph. If the logic of its organisa­tion is comprehended, writing larger pieces will be easily mastered. The structure of an essay stems from, or is an enlarged, elaborate copy of a paragraph organisation. The main parts of an essay are: title, the name and position of the author(s), introduction, supporting paragraphs, sum­mary/concluding paragraph, references/literature cited.

Title/ thesis statement

Title presents the thesis of your writing. It is a one-sentence state­ment about your topic, an assertion, something you claim to be true. A good title, or a thesis statement asks to have more said about it. Because of this, the paper that follows is expected to prove it. Thus, a good title justifies the existence of the paper and vice versa.

Here is an example of a good title/thesis statement: Plastic material has advantages over glass in manufacturing fiber optic cable for use in auto­mobiles, homes and small business. The essay would deal with the elabora­tion on the advantages so that the thesis is justified (E.H.Weiss 1982).

Name of the author

Below the title of the work, the name of the author (or authors, if it is a group project) should be written, with appropriate titles, qualifications and the name of the organisation they work for. Students should provide student numbers and contact details, yet these requirements should be checked with the lecturer.

Introduction

Introduction is the first paragraph in an essay. It introduces the main idea and tells why the topic is important (that is done by the control­ling idea of the topic sentence). When writing an introductory paragraph you should first write the thesis statement, a single sentence in which the main idea of the entire paragraph is stated. The essay must be limited to the topic introduced in the thesis statement. This paragraph also provides some back­ground informa­tion about the topic. Those can be facts, quotations, defini­tions, or important terms that will be used later in the essay.

Supporting paragraphs

These make up the body of an essay and develop its main idea. Each should focus on a single aspect of the issue presented in the introduction. In these paragraphs, it is highly recommended that the closing sentence not only summarises the facts of the paragraph, but also indicates what is to come in the next one and so make a logical transition from one point to an­other. For that purpose, supporting paragraphs are better delineated with linking words that indicate some kind of logical order.

For listing different points: first, second, third, ...

For counter examples: however, even though, on the other hand, neverthe­less.

For additional ideas: another, in addition to, related to, furthermore, also.

To show cause and effect: therefore, thus, as a result of, consequently.

Summary paragraph

The summary paragraph comes at the end of the essay after all the ideas have been developed. It is also called a conclusion. It summarises or restates the main idea of the essay for the purpose of leaving the reader con­vinced that the essay is complete. Therefore, here the main points of the es­say that support the main idea should be restated. The main idea itself is also expressed again but in different words as an ultimate conclusion. Finally, it is possible in certain types of essays to give a personal opinion or suggest a plan for further action.