2491 how to write an essay

The essay writing process consists of three main stages: Preparation: Decide on your topic, do your research, and create an essay outline. Writing: Set out your argument in the introduction, develop it with evidence in the main body, and wrap it up with a conclusion.

Revision: Check the content, organization, grammar, spelling, and formatting of your essay. In this guide, we walk you through what to include in the introduction, body and conclusion of an academic essay, using paragraphs from our interactive essay example.

To give your essay a clear structure, it is important to make use of paragraphs and headings. This makes the content scannable and easy to digest. Each paragraph should be centered around just one argument or idea. The purpose of each paragraph is introduced using topic sentences.

Writing the introduction. 1 1. Hook your reader. The first sentence of the introduction should pique your reader’s interest and curiosity. This sentence is sometimes called the ... 2 2. Provide background on your topic. 3 3. Present the thesis statement. 4 4. Map the structure.