Home > Knowledge Base > Essay Writing Guidelines > Essay Structure

Essay Structure

Published by Ellie Cross at November 1st, 2021 , Revised On August 21, 2025

You can craft a perfect essay structure by distributing the content into an introduction, main body paragraphs, and a conclusion. It is not the structure of an essay that challenges many students, but the order of information within the body.

Not sure how to structure an essay and organise the information within it? Let us walk you through the proven essay structure format to follow, from planning the essay outline to writing the introduction and conclusion.

What to Consider When Making the Structure of an Essay?

There are a couple of essential points to be aware of when structuring an essay.

Make sure to present correct information in each part of the essay.
Figure out how to best organize the information within the main body.

What Constitutes the Perfect Structure of an Essay?

There are three main components of an essay: the introduction, the main body, and the conclusion. The following table describes the attributes of each of these three components.

Component	Attributes
Introduction	States the topic Includes a bold claim to hook the audience Provides background information Presents the thesis statement Includes an essay structure map for more extended essays
Main body	Expresses arguments and analysis relating to the essay’s central argument Includes supporting evidence material Each paragraph starts with a topic sentence and discusses a unique point. The content of each paragraph should relate to the central claim of your essay
Conclusion	Provides a summary of the points discussed in the main body Links back to the thesis statement Demonstrate the significance and value of your arguments on the topic.

How to Place Content Structurally in the Essay?

Once you know how to organize your essay, the next step is to figure out how to best present information within the main body.

The main body is the longest part of the essay, but it should follow a logical structure. Expand your argument from the most straightforward claim to the most complicated ones.

Tips to Create a Perfect Essay Format

Here are some tips and guidelines to help you with this.

Tip #1: Start the first paragraph with a widely accepted claim and gradually state more complicated argumentative claims.

For example, you could start by explaining a widely accepted social concept and applying it to a specific situation. The knowledge of the general idea will enable your audience to understand your mention of it.

Tip 2#: The second rule that you should keep in mind is that background information should be presented at the start of the essay. While the introduction part of the essay includes the most relevant and vital background information, you can provide additional background information at the beginning of the body.

Tip 3#: The third rule is that every piece of information presented in the essay should be directly related to the essay title and the thesis statement. Ensure everything in your essay helps complement your main argument or provides the necessary background.

There are different essay writing structures used in academic writing, including the compare-and-contrast structure, the chronological approach, and the problem-methods-solutions strategy. All of them are briefly explained below:

Also read: How long is an essay?

Compare-and-Contrast Approach of Structuring an Essay

Choose this approach when you need to compare and contrast two or more subjects, arguments, or texts. For example, suppose you want to compare and contrast ADN and BSN nursing.

In that case, you will need to structure your essay around the compare-and-contrast approach. You can base your essay on a compare-and-contrast structure using two methods: the block method and the alternating method.

Also read: How to shorten an essay?

Alternating Method to Structure an Essay

The alternating method involves comparing and contrasting the subjects concerning a specific point of interest. Each paragraph of the body compares subjects in terms of one particular point of interest.

Altering Essay Outline Example

1. Introduction
  1. A claim to signify the importance of distance learning.
  2. The growing popularity of distance learning after COVID-19.
  3. Thesis Statement: Distance learning is beneficial for students globally, but it has some accessibility issues that need to be addressed.
2. Teacher’s inability to help struggling students
  1. On-Campus education: Teachers can easily point out struggling students in an in-person class.
  2. Distance learning: The teacher can’t identify weak students, so they are unable to help.
3. Accessibility limitation
  1. On campus education: Challenges in getting to the classroom (disability, transportation issues, long commuting distances)
  2. Distance learning: Issues such as inadequate tech literacy, poor internet connection.
4. Engagement and communication
  1. On-campus education: Teachers can encourage communication and engagement with in-person interaction.
  2. Distance education: Students can reach their instructor privately by email, ensuring improved communication.
5. Conclusion
  1. Presents a summary of how distance learning is still in an evolution phase and is more challenging than traditional learning.
  2. Distance learning can be a game changer for the promotion of literacy globally, but a lot of improvements are still needed.

Block Method of Structuring an Essay

The block method involves exploring each subject in one go. You can cover each subject over several paragraphs if needed.

For example, you could write a couple of paragraphs about the advantages and limitations of distance education, and then write a couple of paragraphs about the advantages and limitations of on-campus education. Present the comparison between the two subjects in the paragraphs.

Block Essay Outline Example

1. Introduction
  1. A statement to signify the importance of distance learning during the lockdown.
  2. The growing popularity of distance learning over the years.
  3. Thesis statement: Distance learning is advantageous and offers opportunities to students globally, but has some accessibility issues that need to be addressed.
2. Accessibility in distance education
  1. Advantages: Flexibility
  2. Disadvantages: Students need adequate tech literacy and a stable internet connection to get educated.
3. Engagement and interaction in distance learning
  1. Advantages: Students can discuss their problems anytime.
  2. Disadvantages: Teachers can’t identify weak students to offer help.
4. Accessibility in on-campus education
  1. Advantages: Same learning environment for every student.
  2. Disadvantages: Students living in remote areas face difficulties reaching the campus. Classrooms are also not equipped for students with disabilities.
5. Engagement and interaction in distance learning
  1. Advantages: Teachers can easily point out struggling students to offer required assistance.
  2. Disadvantages: Students may find it difficult to approach teachers to discuss problems.
6. Conclusion
  1. Presents a summary of how distance learning is still evolving and is going through challenges.
  2. Provide solutions as to how the issues with distance learning can be solved with its popularity.

Fear of failing the essay? Get help from an expert!

We make sure our essays are:

Well formulated
Timely delivered
100% plagiarism-free
100% confidential

Essay Samples Essay Writing Service

Problems-Methods-Solutions Approach

If an essay investigates a specific problem, whether theoretical or practical, then it should be addressed through the problem-methods-solutions structural approach.

The name of this method defines the structure the essay must follow.

Define the problem you are trying to solve
Propose a theory, method, or approach to address the problem
Present analysis and indicate a theory or method that could be implemented as the solution.

Propose a workable solution for practical problems. For theoretical problems, the answer could lie in the analysis of your present.

Problems-Methods-Solutions Example

1. Introduction
  1. Problem: The growing Islamophobia in the West
  2. The dominance of polarized news sources operating on a hidden agenda, spreading misinformation about Islam
  3. Thesis statement: There is a need to combat fake news and conspiracies by educating institutions and the public.
2. The reality of fake news
  1. In this day and age, misinformation is spread among the public by design.
  2. There is a realization among people that there is indeed prejudice against Islam or Muslims.
3. Eradicating disinformation by education
  1. There have been some efforts towards moderation and labelling on social media websites and mainstream media channels
  2. The real solution lies in ensuring media literacy so users can identify the real from the fake.
4. Educating the consumers
  1. Media literacy should be integrated into courses at colleges and universities.
  2. This approach will help end consumers evaluate any piece of information independently.
5. Conclusion
  1. The proposed solution will give the desired results over a longer time, but it will be highly effective.
  2. The solution needs a considerable amount of investment in the organization. And also persistence and patience from the practitioners.
  3. It would make more sense to dedicate our efforts towards teaching our next generation to avoid falling for fake news.

Enhancing the Clarity of Structure Through Signposting

Signposting can be defined as signs or hints to guide the reader through your essay. The use of signposting can help your readers predict your essay structure as they read, and clarify the structure and organisation of ideas for yourself.

The Essay Structure Map

The main body of extended essays is generally split into several smaller sections, each exploring a unique point. It is recommended to end the introduction section by providing an overview of the essay structure and the type of information within each section of the main body.

The essay structure map enables the readers to understand your essay’s structure and the flow of ideas. It summarises what will be covered and the order of information. It is written in the past tense.

Transition Words and Phrases

It is advised to link different points presented in the essay’s body using transition words and phrases. Transition words and phrases improve the flow of information and guide the reader through your text. Academic essays that use signposting and transitions are more effective than those that don’t.

The following example demonstrates how the use of transition words shows different relationships.

Transition words example

In this paragraph, I will discuss a few reasons why practice is important to mastering skills. Firstly, the only way to truly learn a skill is by actually doing what you’ll have to do in the real world. Secondly, I think practice can be a fun way of putting in the necessary hours. There are, however, some people who will disagree.

As you can see in the above example, with transition words, the reader does not need to wonder whether a sentence belongs to the previous argument or a new one. Moreover, it shows a clear link between sentences that are all part of one argument. The readers will find it easier to comprehend the information within the paragraph.

Likewise, use transition sentences to transition from one paragraph or section to the next. A good transition sentence relates to the ideas discussed in the previous paragraph and introduces the new one.

… Distance learning, then, seems to improve accessibility in some ways while representing a step backward in others.

However, considering the issue of personal interaction among students presents a different picture.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to structure an essay?

An essay consists of an introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction introduces the topic, provides background information, and expresses the main argument. The body includes analysis, evidence, and interpretation. The conclusion wraps up your ideas.

Do I have to stick to the original essay outline?

While you should try to stick to your original outline, if you notice your ideas have evolved as you improved your knowledge around the subject, and the essay structure can be improved, then, by all means, you can depart from the initial plan.

How to structure an English literature essay GCSE?

An introduction outline
Write 3 main arguments
Back up your arguments using quotes
Summarize in conclusion

What are the components or parts of an essay?

The main components of a standard essay are an introduction, a main body, and a conclusion. Generally, an essay is five paragraphs long.

How should an essay be structured?

An essay should follow a clear structure: an introduction with a thesis statement, body paragraphs presenting arguments, and a conclusion that summarizes key points and restates the thesis.

How many paragraphs should an essay have?

Essays usually have five paragraphs: one introduction, three body paragraphs, and one conclusion. However, the number of paragraphs or the length of an essay depends on the complexity and type of essay.