Patterns of essay organization

Pages 296-310 of your hand-out 'Writing in English' give you detailed examples of different ways to organise your essay.

Your essay is divided into:
1) Introduction - first paragraph containing the thesis statement.
2) Body of essay - three or more paragraphs where you develop your ideas and examples in support of your thesis statement.
3) Conclusion - final paragraph where you summarise the reader of your main points/argument.

You need to think about how you will organise the body of your essay. You can use:
*Time order (p.296) for process essays (how to do something) or narrative essays (writing a history).
*Logical division of ideas (p.301) - like the point paragraph, you divide your topic into points (subtopics) which you then develop paragraph by paragraph in a logical order (least important to most important for example).
*Comparison and contrast (p.302) - discuss similarities and differences between two policies, issues, ideas, countries, forms of media etc. Note there are two ways to structure your essay when using comparison/contrast: Block organisation and point-by-point organisation.
*Cause and Effect(p.306)- use this pattern if you are writing an essay that discusses the causes for a problem or event.
*Argumentation (p.307) - many of you are writing essays that argue a particular point of view. Use this pattern to persuade your reader to accept your opinion on the problem/issue you are discussing. Hogue makes a good point: state the opposite opinion first and then respond to it, clearly showing how it is wrong and how your view is more exact. Have with this one.

Remember every paragraph you write must follow the basic rules of paragraph writing:

One paragraph, one topic, one block of text.
Topic sentence (topic+main idea/s) - support sentences - concluding sentence
Pattern of organisation and signal words
Remember: brainstorm and plan each paragraph.

Please spend this week writing a plan for your essay. Look at the example essays I have you last week and consider how the writers have planned them: what happens in each paragraph, how does it support and develop the argument/thesis presented in the first paragraph.

On a blank piece of paper, make a paragraph-by-paragraph plan of your essay using one, or a combination, of the patterns noted above and in your handout. Remember you also have to plan each paragraph with a topic sentence, your ideas and the examples that support your ideas.

Remember good examples will make your argument stronger, inlcuding details will make it more interesting for the reader.

Often college essays follow the five paragraph essay structure. You can use that if you like (as with the examples from last week) or you are free to use more paragraphs as you need them. Remember to make the topic of each paragraph clear in the topic sentence, and be sure that it supports and develops your overall argument.

Good luck! Try to enjoy your essay writing!