Learn What Are the Main Parts of an Essay from Our Guide!

What Are the Main Parts of an Essay?

Creating a good essay is impossible without paying considerable attention to all its parts. Basically, your essay should include five main parts that are equally important. No matter if you are writing a compare and contrast essay, a persuasive essay, a cause and effect essay, or any other paper, you will need to take good care of its structure because it is an important part of the grading rubric. If you are not sure what the main parts of an essay are, feel free to check our handy guide and we will provide you with the essential information that will help you succeed in creating any academic paper.

When working on your essay, you will need to follow the prompt requested by your teacher. Knowing what format to use in your paper will help you turn an ordinary essay into an incredible masterpiece that will bring you the anticipated outcome. As such, before you start working on your paper, you need to make sure that the tutor`s instructions are clear for you. According to common standards accepted in academic writing, your essay should contain a one-paragraph introduction, three paragraphs of the main body, and a one-paragraph conclusion. Whereas this structure may seem pretty simple, you should understand that each of these elements is important since they help convey the ideas properly. Let us have a closer look at what are the main parts of an essay:

Introduction

The introduction is the first part of your essay that should help you grab the reader`s attention. In the opening paragraph, you should not only introduce your topic, but you also need to engage your reader making them follow the flow of your ideas. If you want to provide some accurate background information to contextualize your topic, make sure to include it in your introductory paragraphs. Many writers prefer to engage their readers with the help of a hook. In a nutshell, a hook is an idea or statement that aims to grab the reader`s attention. It can be a joke, an interesting fact, a quote, or anything else that would allow the reader to get interested in your topic. Besides, an introduction should include a thesis statement, a central idea that is related to all the arguments suggested by the writer. A thesis statement is usually put at the end of the introduction and it greatly depends on the essay type to be written.

Main Body

The main body of your paper is its lengthiest part. It usually consists of three meaningful paragraphs that are dedicated to three meaningful ideas. Each of these paragraphs should begin with a clear topic sentence that will be developed further in the entire paragraph. All of your topic sentences should be related to a thesis statement. A good topic sentence is always clear, concise, and compelling. Pay attention that each paragraph should make a claim that should be supported with good evidence from the text. When you include direct or indirect in-text citations to back up your arguments, you need to format them in accordance with the style requested by your teacher. When moving from one paragraph to another, you need to use smooth transitions. Your paper will never receive a good grade if it lacks clarity and consistency.

Conclusion

A conclusion is the final part of your paper in which you need to summarize all the points that were discussed initially. In accordance with the rules established in academic writing, your conclusion should not include new information or in-text citations. You should not forget that the primary goal of your conclusion is just to summarize the discussion provided previously. At the same time, you should understand that a conclusion is your last chance to make a good impression on your reader. Thus, you need to take some time to make it strong and appealing.

Overall, you need to do everything to help your reader enjoy your essay and a good essay structure will definitely help you reach this goal.

We do hope that our guide has helped you understand what are the main parts of an essay. By following our suggestions and taking care of your professor`s guidelines, you will be able to create a winning essay that will bring you a good grade from your instructor. Good luck!

Free Essay Sample

Introduction

This paper presents an analysis of the essay, ‘Library as Survival’ by Alberto Manguel. The essay’s thesis is to be given, the dominant rhetorical mode used is discussed and the literally techniques used also brought to the fore. In this essay, the author is talking about the library as survival. He explains how the Nazis went on the rampage destroying the Jews’ libraries and books. All the material that was believed to have been authored by Jews was destroyed. Notwithstanding all such acts of destruction, some books still managed to hold on. Books are said to be of great importance since they pass information from one generation, group to the other. By so doing, knowledge and information is shared. Those in prison, albeit for political reasons and unfair detentions get to learn that they are not the only ones going through such torture. Somehow, their suffering will end. The thesis of this essay is implicit. This means that it has not been explicitly stated. However, it can be derived from the narrations made. The thesis statement can be stated as, ‘Libraries will always survive’.

Body

Various events as narrated in the essay allude towards the support for the thesis statement above. The Nazis looted and burnt Jewish books. Somehow, the information that was contained in the books would make its way to the followers. Those in prison could access the same information. Even those who were destroying the libraries and books, at some point decided it wise to keep and stock some of the very books they were burning in the archives. In prison, some were writing. This was based on what they had learnt and experienced.

Therefore, even if the books or libraries were destroyed, it was impossible to destroy what is in an individual’s head. This is because knowledge acquired cannot be destroyed even if the source of the information is destroyed. The term ‘Library’ is thus also symbolic to stand for knowledge and information, which will always survive.

The dominant rhetorical mode used in the essay is narration. The author talks about events that happened long periods ago. They revolve around acts surrounding the World War II. The conflict between the Nazis and Jews is discussed. How the Nazis went about destroying literature done by the Jews has been recorded in the essay. Stories of brutal rule are given. Individuals were tortured for who they were even without having committed any offense. False imprisonments were the order of the day. The author with the intention of passing the relevant information to the readers has therefore told very many stories using narration. This mode has widely been used throughout the text.

Symbolism has also been used as a literary technique. In the first paragraph, the author says, ’Like the Dead Sea scrolls, like every book that has come down to us from the hand of its distant readers, each of my books holds the history of its survival. From fire, water, the passage of time neglectful readers and the hand of the center, each book has escaped the threats of time’. The author has thereby used such scenarios or objects to mean other aspects or facts.

Irony is also another literary technique that has been employed in this essay by the author. He says that after Hitler became Chancellor of German, Dr. Joseph Goebbels became the new Propaganda minister. This is laughable since there is no such a ministry as that for propaganda. The claimed minister declared that the public burning of books by Authors, allowed ‘the souls of the Germany people to express themselves. This kind of utterance cannot be expected of a minister in the Government. Governments are ordinarily expected to promote freedom of expression at all levels. In this essay however, this particular government seems to muzzle the right to expression and information. The Propaganda minister goes on to state that the flames not only illuminate the end of an old era, they also light up the new. The new era proscribed the sale or circulation of thousands of books, in either shops or libraries, as well as the publishing of new ones. This is a contradiction to the acts the government has been encouraging. They encourage burning of books and claim to be supporting the free sale and circulation of books. Hence, it is ironical that they seem to purport to support something, which in essence they are working against.

Conclusion

From the essay, the library will always survive. No matter the acts of burning libraries and books, the knowledge and information in them will always find its way to the followers. This is well captured from the essay. The Nazis hugely burn down the Jewish books and libraries, but still quite a number of them remain in circulation. This is through mainly reproduction. Some escape with their copies, some write the contents, which they once read, and hence this promotes the spread of the relevant information contained therein. The author has used various literary techniques to pass his message. The uses of symbolism, irony, and narration have greatly enhanced the passing or the intended message to the readers.