Every student’s life is a cycle of events associated with the educational process. Every day you have to face certain challenges and tasks. Prepare to be writing essays as often as saying things like, “Good morning, professor!” Usually, experienced students have no problem with such papers as they already know all the tricks and secrets. But what if you are at the beginning of your journey and don’t know where to start? How to properly structure your essay, and are there any key writing rules? Well, here’s everything you might need.
Know the Classical Structure
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First of all, you should know that such assignments consist of three parts: intro, body, and conclusion. You should not change this sequence no matter what happens. Any intro part should present your goals and ideas and provide some background that you will build on in the following paragraphs. Also, the beginning of your essay is the place for your thesis statement as a starting point for making inferences and providing facts to support certain ideas and views.
The so-called “body” part is the three main paragraphs where you provide key arguments or analyze certain facts. In addition, you can provide evidence of the veracity of any statements. As a general rule, you should use a point per paragraph and not switch between certain wordings for no apparent reason. And don’t forget that each part should relate to your thesis.
The final part is the culmination of your research. Imagine that you have dozens of pieces of fabric, and you have to sew a blanket. So this is what your conclusion looks like at the initial stage. Systematize and summarize everything you have learned so far and demonstrate why your arguments matter. As you understand, all advice is good until a freshman starts writing an essay. That is why you can start with a workaround. How about delegating your first essay to someone else? For example, you can choose speedypaper.com or some other writing service as a way to get the perfect essay. With a good sample, you will learn all the secrets related to the paper structure and other aspects.
Order of Information
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And now, you should concentrate on how you will formulate your thoughts and statements in the context of a particular topic. Start with general facts and principles and work your way up to the main goal or issue. Imagine that your paper is something like an avalanche and every inch you overcome brings you closer to the final. Start with common knowledge and then move on to controversial or innovative aspects that are the basis for your assignment. Imagine that your thoughts should form a single unbreakable chain, and each link is an argument or an important statement.
Don’t Forget About the Chronological Structure
Sometimes your essay may be related to certain events, so a chronological structure is a good starting point for writing. Let’s say your goal is to describe certain military events, the process of creating vaccines, or scientific discoveries. Describe all the steps that are important to your topic in chronological order, structuring all the key facts along the way. This approach is the most correct for many situations, as you can avoid confusion.
Compare-And-Contrast Structure
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You may have to compare two objects, historical facts, people, or events. In this case, your goal is a step-by-step comparison of something with a detailed argumentation of any judgments. Besides, you should argue consistently if the purpose of your assignment is to see contrast and key differences. In this case, you can apply the so-called “alternating method” to make a comparison based on a particular aspect or feature.
In this way, each of your paragraphs will relate to a certain important fact that will help you get closer to the final judgment. However, you may prefer the block method where a particular topic or aspect can span two paragraphs at once. Then you can concentrate on the following important nuances. As you can see, every two blocks are reserved for certain tasks and informational backgrounds.
Problems-Methods-Solutions Structure
This structure is quite simple and convenient for most first-year students. Let’s say your goal is to analyze some problem, regardless of the central topic. To begin with, you should characterize those patterns that make the problem relevant. The next stage describes the theoretical background, methods, or ideas for solving the problem. And the final part is about finding the most effective solution that will help you answer questions or solve a problem.
Good Transitions Are Very Important for Any Paper
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At the information gathering stage, your structure will look more like a swamp than a clear pond where you can see every stone at the bottom. So this is why you should use transitions to link paragraphs and ideas. Let’s say you’re writing an essay about the Chernobyl disaster. Here is a good example to help you understand how transitions work.
- The Chernobyl tragedy is an example of how not to approach the construction of nuclear reactors. Given the danger of rising temperatures and the instability of uranium rods, any nuclear power plant must have several degrees of protection to prevent explosions and the spread of radiation. Unfortunately, even the technically advanced technologies that formed the basis of the Fukushima reactor did not guarantee safety. The human factor and incorrectly chosen technical solutions cause problems at hazardous energy facilities. That is why humanity must develop a new, safer method of energy synthesis.
As you can see, your task is to ensure a smooth transition between sentences and certain aspects that are important for your paper. Take your time and choose your words carefully so that each paragraph looks polished.
Final Words
Choosing the right structure is not an easy task for many people. The fact is that your topic can be quite tricky, and it will take you a lot of time to organize the information. However, you should build on the above basics to save time and avoid key mistakes. Fortunately, all the key structural tricks are quite simple, and you don’t have to spend hours formulating a thesis and looking for smooth transitions between facts. Follow the prompts, and you will achieve a positive result.
