Guides: Essays: Structure

What is the purpose of essay writing?

"Writing essays ideally requires students to engage actively with material, to examine ideas in depth, to integrate and critically evaluate what they read, and to state their understanding clearly - which often means that they develop their understanding further" (Hounsell, cited in McCune, 2004, p. 257).

Academic essays have multiple purposes, including to:

analyse, argue, and reflect;
compare and contrast different positions; and
discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a position.

Essays can be chronological, sequential, or logical in order. The essay question or purpose should guide how the content is organised and how your position/findings are presented.

Analysing Assignment Questions (PDF 611 KB)
Check out these workshop slides presented by the Student Success team to learn more about analysing assignment questions.

Types of essays

All essays follow a similar structure to that discussed so far, however there are some slight differences to their purpose, tone, vocabulary, and the way evidence is incorporated.

	Reflective essay	Argumentative essay	Analytical essay
Purpose	Consider the self as an object of inquiry. Your thoughts, observations, experiences are part of the research.	To persuade by arguing from a particular position.	To inform by presenting and analysing information on an issue.
Tone	Reflective, personal. However, objective, formal style may be required in some sections.	Objective, formal.	Objective, formal.
Vocabulary	Use of the first person: ‘I’, ‘me', 'my’.	Use of third person – sentences without use of ‘I’, ‘me', ‘my’, ‘our’, ‘we’.	Use of third person – sentences without use of ‘I’, ‘me', ‘my’, ‘our’, ‘we’.
Incorporation of evidence	Integrate references - research literature to support your observations (and connect to relevant course concepts).	Integrate references - research literature to support the particular argument position taken from a range of source material.	Integrate references - research literature to explain reasons for different positions taken on the topic chosen.

How do you structure an essay?

The table below indicates what is generally included in each section of an essay.

Section	What the section contains
Introduction (Overview) Approximately 10-15% of the word count, unless stated otherwise. For example, for a 1000-word essay this would be approximately 125 words.	A background statement to establish context, considering your main analysis idea and/or argument about the topic. A thesis statement (focus of the analysis or argument) with a clear stance/scope. A preview of the main points of each body paragraph that will be presented within the essay. TIP: The introduction is best written after the body paragraphs of the essay, not before.
Body (Analysis) Contains several body paragraphs, each of which expand on one idea related to your thesis statement or topic. Approximately 75% of the word count, unless stated otherwise. For example, in a 1000-word essay you may have three body paragraphs with around 250 words in each.	Each body paragraph contains: Topic sentence with main analysis idea. Supporting evidence, for example description/definition of key idea, from credible sources. Supporting evidence, for example explanation of details that relate to this idea. Supporting evidence, for example evaluate how this connects. Concluding sentence which summarises the main point of the current paragraph while linking back to the thesis statement. TIP: Use transition signals to connect ideas and compare and contrast information, for example 'however', 'therefore', 'despite', 'furthermore', 'conversely'.
Conclusion (Summary) Approximately 10-15% of the word count, unless stated otherwise. For example, in a 1000-word essay this would be around 125 words.	Restatement of the main argument/topic/analysis idea. Restate and relate the thesis statement, by paraphrasing the thesis statement from the introduction.. Summary of the main points from each paragraph (in the same order). Final comment linking back to the topic/thesis. TIP: The conclusion should not contain any new information or references.

Section

What the section contains

Introduction (Overview)

Approximately 10-15% of the word count, unless stated otherwise.
For example, for a 1000-word essay this would be approximately 125 words.

A background statement to establish context, considering your main analysis idea and/or argument about the topic.
A thesis statement (focus of the analysis or argument) with a clear stance/scope.
A preview of the main points of each body paragraph that will be presented within the essay.

TIP: The introduction is best written after the body paragraphs of the essay, not before.

Body (Analysis)

Contains several body paragraphs, each of which expand on one idea related to your thesis statement or topic.
Approximately 75% of the word count, unless stated otherwise.
For example, in a 1000-word essay you may have three body paragraphs with around 250 words in each.

Each body paragraph contains:

Topic sentence with main analysis idea.
Supporting evidence, for example description/definition of key idea, from credible sources.
Supporting evidence, for example explanation of details that relate to this idea.
Supporting evidence, for example evaluate how this connects.
Concluding sentence which summarises the main point of the current paragraph while linking back to the thesis statement.

TIP: Use transition signals to connect ideas and compare and contrast information, for example 'however', 'therefore', 'despite', 'furthermore', 'conversely'.

Conclusion (Summary)

Approximately 10-15% of the word count, unless stated otherwise.
For example, in a 1000-word essay this would be around 125 words.

Restatement of the main argument/topic/analysis idea.
Restate and relate the thesis statement, by paraphrasing the thesis statement from the introduction..
Summary of the main points from each paragraph (in the same order).
Final comment linking back to the topic/thesis.

TIP: The conclusion should not contain any new information or references.

Essay writing (RMIT)

This video (2:08 min) from RMIT provides an excellent overview of the structure of an essay.

Additional resources

Essay writing (2.17 MB)
Check out these workshop slides presented by the Student Success team to learn more about essay writing. This resource contains examples of an Introduction, Body paragraph and a Conclusion.

Academic Phrasebank (The University of Manchester)
Get some ideas for high quality sentence starters from the Academic Phrasebank.

See an example essay plan and annotated essays from Monash University (2024).

APA Style (American Pyschological Association, 2024)
APA Style is the place to go if you are referencing and formatting in APA7 style.
What are credible sources? (UniSC)
This resource will teach you the skills required to identify credible sources of information.

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Services and support (UniSC)
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Essays | Feedback (UniSC)
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References

Griffith University. (n.d.). Essay editing and review checklist.

Griffith University. (n.d.). Organise and analyse research literature.

Martin's Journaling Jive!. (2022, July 21). First draft tips for students and writers!. [Video]. YouTube.

McCune, V. (2004). Development of first-year students' conceptions of essay writing. Higher Education, 47(3), 257-282. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:HIGH.0000016419.61481.f9

Microsoft Education. (n.d.). School celebration [GIF]. GIFFY

Morley, J. (2023). Academic phrasebank. The University of Manchester.

Monash University. (2024). Example essay outlines.

RMIT University Library Videos. (2021, October 28). Essay writing. [Video]. YouTube.

The University of Melbourne. (2020, March 26). Task analysis. [Video]. YouTube.

UNSW. (2023, September 19). Construct an essay plan.

Essays

Learning objectives