Traditional Academic Essays in Three Parts: Part I: The Introduction

Traditional Academic Essays In Three Parts
Part I: The Introduction

An introduction is usually the first paragraph of your academic essay. If you’re writing a long essay, you
might need 2 or 3 paragraphs to introduce your topic to your reader. A good introduction does 2 things:
1. Gets the reader’s attention. You can get a reader’s attention by telling a story, providing a
statistic, pointing out something strange or interesting, providing and discussing an interesting
quote, etc. Be interesting and find some original angle via which to engage others in your topic.
2. Provides a specific and debatable thesis statement. The thesis statement is usually just one
sentence long, but it might be longer—even a whole paragraph—if the essay you’re writing is
long. A good thesis statement makes a debatable point, meaning a point someone might disagree
with and argue against. It also serves as a roadmap for what you argue in your paper.
Part II: The Body Paragraphs

Body paragraphs help you prove your thesis and move you along a compelling trajectory from your
introduction to your conclusion. If your thesis is a simple one, you might not need a lot of body
paragraphs to prove it. If it’s more complicated, you’ll need more body paragraphs. An easy way to
remember the parts of a body paragraph is to think of them as the MEAT of your essay:
Main Idea. The part of a topic sentence that states the main idea of the body paragraph. All of the
sentences in the paragraph connect to it. Keep in mind that main ideas are…
• like labels. They appear in the first sentence of the paragraph and tell your reader what’s inside
the paragraph.
• arguable. They’re not statements of fact; they’re debatable points that you prove with evidence.
• focused. Make a specific point in each paragraph and then prove that point.
Evidence. The parts of a paragraph that prove the main idea. You might include different types of
evidence in different sentences. Keep in mind that different disciplines have different ideas about
what counts as evidence and they adhere to different citation styles. Examples of evidence
include…
• quotations and/or paraphrases from sources.
• facts, e.g. statistics or findings from studies you’ve conducted.
• narratives and/or descriptions, e.g. of your own experiences.
Analysis. The parts of a paragraph that explain the evidence. Make sure you tie the evidence you
provide back to the paragraph’s main idea. In other words, discuss the evidence.
Transition. The part of a paragraph that helps you move fluidly from the last paragraph. Transitions
appear in topic sentences along with main ideas, and they look both backward and forward in order to
help you connect your ideas for your reader. Don’t end paragraphs with transitions; start with them.
Keep in mind that MEAT does not occur in that order. The “Transition” and the “Main Idea” often
combine to form the first sentence—the topic sentence—and then paragraphs contain multiple sentences
of evidence and analysis. For example, a paragraph might look like this: TM. E. E. A. E. E. A. A.
Handout by Dr. Liliana Naydan. Do not reproduce without permission.

Part III: The Conclusion
A conclusion is the last paragraph of your essay, or, if you’re writing a really long essay, you might need
2 or 3 paragraphs to conclude. A conclusion typically does one of two things—or, of course, it can do
both:
1. Summarizes the argument. Some instructors expect you not to say anything new in your
conclusion. They just want you to restate your main points. Especially if you’ve made a long
and complicated argument, it’s useful to restate your main points for your reader by the time
you’ve gotten to your conclusion. If you opt to do so, keep in mind that you should use different
language than you used in your introduction and your body paragraphs. The introduction and
conclusion shouldn’t be the same.
2. Explains the significance of the argument. Some instructors want you to avoid restating your
main points; they instead want you to explain your argument’s significance. In other words, they
want you to answer the “so what” question by giving your reader a clearer sense of why your
argument matters.
• For example, your argument might be significant to studies of a certain time period.
• Alternately, it might be significant to a certain geographical region.
• Alternately still, it might influence how your readers think about the future. You might
even opt to speculate about the future and/or call your readers to action in your
conclusion.
Handout by Dr. Liliana Naydan. Do not reproduce without permission.

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Traditional Academic Essays In Three Parts

Part I: The Introduction

Part II: The Body Paragraphs

Handout by Dr. Liliana Naydan. Do not reproduce without permission.

Handout by Dr. Liliana Naydan. Do not reproduce without permission.

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