The parts of an essay are the introduction, the development, the conclusion, and the bibliography/references if they are necessary. Essays are short, non-fictional compositions that describe, clarify, discuss, or analyze a topic. In this article we will provide you the information about the Parts of an Essay and Their Characteristics.

Students can find essay assignments in any subject and at any level of school, from a personal experience “vacation” essay in middle school to a complex analysis of a scientific process in graduate school.

Essays are generally written from an author’s personal point of view. The essays are not fictitious, but they are usually subjective. They can be of literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, memories and reflections of the author. Almost all modern essays are written in prose, but there are works in verse that have been called essays.

Questions to know if an essay has been developed correctly

As we have said, an essay consists of an introduction, a development, a conclusion and the references / bibliography. To know if it has been developed correctly, you can ask yourself the following questions:

– The introduction

– Does the essay have a good opening / introduction paragraph?

– Is the subject clear?

– Do you know what the intention is?

– The development

– Is the body of the essay ordered? Are the ideas in the best order?

– Does the writer present strong arguments / evidence?

– Are the writer’s arguments convincing?

– Does the writer give sufficient evidence?

– Do the paragraphs have a meaningful sequence?

– The conclusion

– Is the conclusion clear?

– Does the conclusion reaffirm the thesis?

– Does the conclusion give the reader closure?

– The references

– Have the sources and bibliographic references used for the essay been cited correctly?

Parts of an essay and their characteristics

– Introduction

An essay begins with a short introduction, which prepares the audience to read the essay. An effective introduction should:

– Capture the reader’s attention. This can be done for example by using a direct advertisement, a quote, a question, a definition, an unusual comparison or a controversial position.

– Introduce the topic of the essay. It is about informing the reader and providing a context for the topic covered.

– The idea to be explained is clarified. This can be done as a hypothesis. For example, one could say: “The steps of the scientific method  have been important for the reliability and validity of the investigations, however it is worth wondering if with the new technologies and the new society it would be necessary to review them”.

– Introduce the purpose of the essay. It can inform, persuade, argue, describe, narrate… Example: “With this essay I intend to describe how pollution is really affecting heart disease…”.

Introductions can explain a situation or give an opinion:

a) Status introductions

The current situation of a problem, event, investigations, etc. is explained, and it is discussed what will develop next.

It also can:

-Explain the situation in the past and today.

-Explain the situation in different places.

-Explain the situation in different people or under different conditions.

b) Opinion introductions

Opinion introductions explain what the author thinks about a particular topic. You can give different opinions, from different people, different moments …

Finally, if you have trouble thinking about an introduction, leave some space (enough for three or four sentences) and write it later after writing the body or conclusion, having a clearer idea of ​​the topic.

– Developing

The development paragraphs will account for approximately 70-75% of all text. In this part the main idea (thesis or statement) of the essay will be developed. An effective body paragraph should:

– Explain, illustrate, discuss or provide evidence to support the main idea (thesis or claim) of the essay.

– Correct division of the paragraphs. One paragraph leads to another in a fluid way, so that the reader understands more easily.

– Work together with the other body paragraphs to support the main idea of ​​your essay.

– Work together with the other body paragraphs to create a clear and cohesive document. Clarity and consistency can be achieved through the use of transitions.

The body/development of the essay should always be divided into paragraphs. You should never write a single long paragraph, as the white space makes the essay easier to read. In addition, having paragraphs shows that the writer has the ability to relate the different ideas of the topic in a single essay.

During the development, the thesis/hypothesis is defended or the opinion/situation is clearly explained, providing research, references and other data.

In order to correctly make the connection of ideas, and thus link the paragraphs of the body, there are the following examples of transition words:

To list different points:

• First.
• Second.
• Third.

For contrary examples:

• However.
• Even if.
• On the other hand.

For more ideas:

• Other.
• In addition to.
• Related to.
• What’s more.
• Also.

To show cause and effect:

• Therefore.
• A) Yes.
• As a result of.
• Therefore.

– Conclusion

An essay ends with a short conclusion, which brings the essay to a logical end. An effective conclusion should:

– Provide closure for the reader by reviewing the main points, linking the main idea of ​​the essay to a broader topic, predicting an outcome related to the main idea, giving an opinion, or using a quote that helps to summarize an essential aspect of your main point.

– Remind readers of the main focus of the essay, which can be done by repeating the main idea in different words.

– Avoid introducing new ideas.

– Avoid apologies.

The conclusion is the end of the essay. It is a short paragraph of about three sentences. It often has the same idea as the introduction, just in different words.

A good conclusion reformulates the question, summarizes the main ideas, gives the writer’s opinion (if not already), looks to the future (explains what will happen if the situation continues or changes), but never adds new information.

– Bibliographic references

The references  must carry the author of the publication, the title of the article or book, website, publisher or journal, date and sometimes the exact pages where the information was taken.