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Essay structure to follow in college

An essay consists of three parts – an introduction, a central part, and a conclusion. An article always contains a thesis – the main idea, the position of an author. The argument may be at the beginning of an essay if an author already has a point of view on this problem, or in conclusion if she/he comes to it as a result of reasoning.

Any thesis should be supported by two or three arguments. Arguments, in turn, should be illustrated by two or three examples. A general outline of an essay:

  1. Introduction and thesis;
  2. Argument 1;
  3. Example 1;
  4. Example 2;
  5. Example 3;
  6. Argument 2;
  7. Example 1;
  8. Example 2;
  9. Example 3;
  10. Conclusion

Introduction peculiarities

The task of the opening is to capture the attention of the reader: ask a provocative question, confront it with a paradox, a contradiction. The introduction should intrigue the reader so that she/he cannot refrain from reading the rest of the text.

Writing a strong thesis

The thesis is the author’s main idea expressed in one or several sentences. The statement of the argument is the formulation of the primary purpose of the text, which is consistent with the question or the topic asked. If the examiner asked: ‘What is the main idea of this text?’ Then the thesis would be the answer.

It is important to remember that the thesis is not an objective truth, not a proven fact, but a subjective opinion that can always be argued with. An example of the argument for an essay on the topic ‘What is a professional mission for me?’: ‘I do not believe that mission is given to us from above: we choose it for ourselves’.

Errors in the statement of the thesis

A thesis is written in the form of a question. To put an argument means to take a particular position. It is impossible to write an essay without this.

Too large volume. The thesis should be extensive, but not take up much space: any thought can be expressed briefly and in simple words. One or two sentences will be enough.

Stamps and cliches that make the text unoriginal and stale. It is necessary to discard hackneyed phrases from the text, such as:

  • I was born …
  • from childhood, I aspired to become…
  • My mission is to make world peace
  • … is my purpose in life

Writing the arguments

Any statement must be justified, and thesis is based on discussions. One paragraph should be assigned to one debate and examples. Examples include personal experience and, if appropriate, links to statistics, forecasts, studies. However, usually in an essay, you need to concentrate on your own experience.

Argument Errors

Top mistakes here are:

  • Repetition of an argument. Arguments should be diverse. Evidence cannot be built on one debate.
  • Inconsistency. Arguments should be made only for those thoughts that have already been expressed in the text, and examples should be brought strictly to the appropriate arguments.

Conclusion section

The purpose of the conclusion is to summarize the reasoning. To do this, you need to briefly reformulate the thesis if it was at the beginning of the work or to put it if the author decided to place it after the arguments.

Errors in Conclusion

The most common mistakes:

  • New arguments. The conclusion sums the evidence up and does not develop it. There is no place for further information on the outcome.
  • Retelling the text. No need to describe the structure of the written work and literally repeat what was written above – if the reader reaches a conclusion, then he has already read all this.

List of sources

In the essay, you can add a list of sources (references) – this is a list of materials that the author refers to in his work. Such a list would be appropriate in an essay, where the author often turns to various practices, scientific research, statistical data, and the statements of authoritative experts. To draw up a source, you need to specify the name and surname of the author, the name of the cause, year of publication, and an electronic link if necessary.

Essay format

If a candidate submits an essay via the Internet, it is better to save the article in PDF format so that the document keeps the formatting when opened on another computer. Formatting should be consistent and not change from paragraph to paragraph.

Do not abuse the selection of words using italics or bold. Otherwise, the text will become colorful, and it will be difficult for the reader to perceive it. The topic of an essay and surname and name of the author can be indicated in the upper right or left corner.

Essay writing algorithm

The candidate may be asked to prepare an essay in advance or to give such a task right at the interview. The following algorithm of actions will help to cope with the job:

  • Carefully read the instructions for the assignment and the proposed topic of an essay;
  • Make a plan for the described three-part structure: write a thesis and come up with arguments and examples to support them;
  • Calculate time to complete each part of an essay;
  • Write a text without exceeding a given volume;
  • Double-check the text two or three times and fix the errors.

If the task was not given at the interview, it is important not to violate the established deadline.