Paragraph and Essay Form

In this course (and in the rest of college), you will write paragraphs and essays. Each kind of writing has a basic structure.

PARAGRAPH FORM

A paragraph has three necessary parts: the topic sentence, the body, and the concluding sentence.

PARAGRAPH PART PURPOSE OF THE PARAGRAPH PART
1. The topic sentence states the main point. The topic sentence is often the first sentence of the paragraph.
2. The body supports (shows, explains, or proves) the main point with support sentences that contain facts and details.
3. The concluding sentence reminds readers of the main point and often makes an observation.

ESSAY FORM

An essay is a piece of writing that examines a topic in more depth than a paragraph. A short essay may have four or five paragraphs, totaling three hundred to six hundred words. A long essay may be many pages long, depending on what the essay needs to accomplish, such as persuading someone to do something, using research to make a point, or explaining a complex concept.

An essay has three necessary parts: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion.

ESSAY PART PURPOSE OF THE ESSAY PART
1. The introduction states the main point, or thesis, generally in a single, strong statement. The introduction may be a single paragraph or multiple paragraphs.
2. The body supports (shows, explains, or proves) the main point. It generally has at least three support paragraphs, each containing facts and details that develop the main point. Each support paragraph has a topic sentence that supports the thesis statement.
3. The conclusion reminds readers of the main point and makes an observation. Often, it also summarizes and reinforces the support.

The following diagram shows how the parts of an essay correspond to the parts of a paragraph.

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