How to Structure an Essay

As well as communicating an idea or argument, a good essay should be structured in a way that makes it easy to follow for the reader. As such, an essay usually has the following parts:

• Title
• Introduction
• Main body
• Conclusion
• References or bibliography

Title

The title of an essay should reflect the subject matter and the conclusion you reach in your argument. One way of doing this is to have a main title and subtitle separated by a colon:

Marketing Trends: Why IKEA Customers are Spending More

Introduction

The introduction should clarify the subject of the essay, the reason for writing it (i.e. the purpose or rationale) and the general structure of what follows. You can often do this by providing a brief summary of what each chapter/section will cover.

Main Body

This is the core of your essay and where you develop your argument. In longer essays, such as a PhD dissertation, you will need to divide the main body of your work into separate chapters.

Each point you make in the main body of your essay should be supported by judicious use of data, arguments and examples. Remember, too, that citations are required when quoting or paraphrasing a source.

Conclusion

This section brings together the ideas discussed in the main body of your essay. This will involve summarising your argument, but also emphasising how each point contributes to your overall conclusion. It should not, however, introduce new material or information pertinent to your main argument.

Another consideration is that the conclusion is the last chance you have to leave an impression upon your reader. As such, it should be as concise, clear and impactful as possible.

Reference List/Bibliography

This comes at the very end of your document (unless you’re including an appendix – you can check if you need one in this blog post) and lists all of the sources you have cited in your essay.

The rules for writing a reference list depend on the referencing system you’re using, so make sure to check your style guide before you start.

If you need more advice about the structure of your essay, or any other aspect of academic writing, why not get in touch with Proofread My Essay today?