What is the structure of an essay

Before talking about the parts of an essay and what the structure of an essay is like, it is essential to know what an essay is and what its main characteristics are. In this way, you will be able to perfectly distinguish this type of text and write it within the limits that it requires.

An essay, as we have advanced, is a written text in which the author analyze and give your opinion on a specific topic. It is an especially relevant type of document in the academic field, since many students must complete an essay to demonstrate their learning throughout a degree. These are the characteristics of a trial:

• Although it does not have a mandatory length, the essays are usually short and entertaining.
• The structure of an essay is free, although it must always have certain specific parts.
• The essay is a completely personal text, that is, it depends mainly on the critical opinion of the author.
• The essay is aimed at a general audience, that is, it does not have to be written for a specialized group.
• Despite being a personal text and for the general public, the essay must be rigorous, since the author’s opinion must be based on data and analyzable arguments.

Test types

While it is true that there are many possible divisions within trials, the main trial types are said to be as follows:

• Argumentative essay: the argumentative essay is the most common, since in it the writer presents various arguments that can be debated and that serve to justify a statement. In addition, the structure of the argumentative essay is the simplest, since it allows us to clearly see how far each section goes.
• Scientific essay: This is the most specific essay of all, since in it the author presents a very specific scientific topic and, in his own words, tries to answer a single question.
• Descriptive essay: The descriptive essay does not have to be scientific, although these are the most common. In this type of text, the author presents all the information collected throughout a previous analysis to try to explain a case study or a phenomenon.
• Philosophical essay: the philosophical essay is a reflective text in which the author exposes and analyzes different ethical, religious or, as its name says, philosophical issues.
• Literary essayAlthough it may resemble the argumentative essay, the literary essay must always be about a literary work. Through his opinions and his analysis of this work, the writer shows his point of view. If you want more information about How to do a literary essay, don’t miss out on this other oneHOWTO article.

Now that you know what an essay is and what characteristics define it, it is time to know what are the parts of an essay. From UNCOMO we explain it to you.

The essays should all have a clear introduction, a development and a conclusion. This is, broadly speaking, the essential structure that you must take into account in order to write or identify an essay.

• Introduction: in the introduction of an essay the author will make it clear what is the subject to which he is going to approach, what is his thesis and what are his main lines of argument. This represents 10% of the entire essay, and in this part, the problems of the subject in question, some reflections of the author, readings by other authors, etc. can be raised. In this other article we explain you in more detail How to introduce an essay.
• Development: in the development, the author exposes and analyzes the topic he has chosen in depth. He raises his ideas and arguments based on other sources such as magazines, interviews, books and even online sources. It is the largest part, since it occupies 80% of the essay. In addition, it is necessary to synthesize and summarize all the content, because even if it is the broadest part, it should not be tedious. It is in the development where the author presents his main ideas, which must be argued through secondary explanations and be fostered in concrete data obtained from different sources of information and from his own evaluations and opinions. It is important that all the ideas presented are well intertwined and that the essay has coherence.
• conclusion: finally we find the conclusion, the part in which the most important idea or ideas in the text are summarized, that is, those that the author wants to highlight above others. In the conclusion, the writer will clearly show his position and list the most important arguments given in the development. Within the different parts of an essay, the conclusion is essential because it is what will invite readers to want to know more about the subject. Feel free to take a look at this other article about How to make an essay conclusion.

We are already clear about the structure of an essay, so, below, we will see some examples that will help you put what you have learned into practice and show you how to write an essay exactly.

When choosing what each part of an essay should include, you must bear in mind that each text is different; not only because it will depend on the type of work, but also on the subject covered and the author’s preferences.

However, so that you know how to write an essay more clearly, we show you a example of an essay structure with some points to be covered in each section, that is, in the introduction, in the development and in the conclusion.

As an example, from unCOMO we explain how to divide an essay entitled: “Ageism in Spain: Analysis of employment discrimination by age in our country”.

Introduction

In the introduction we have to make it clear why we have chosen a specific topic and what our objective is. But we can’t forget that we have to attract the reader, make you see that we are about to analyze a topic of great relevance that can contribute something to you, so we will base ourselves on the following structure:

• Commonly known idea: We will start by talking about the fact that, in theory, preparation is the most important thing when looking for and offering work. We have always known that companies are looking for the best prepared, most experienced and most qualified people for the specific position.
• Surprise effect: We will continue with an unexpected twist, arguing that, despite this belief, ageism is increasingly palpable in Spain and more and more people over 50 years of age feel invisible in the world of work, regardless of their preparation and their experience. This is also a good time to explain what exactly ageism is and when (and why) the term was coined.
• Suspense effect: We will finish the brief introduction by asking ourselves why this is due, why the panorama has changed so much in recent years and trying to find out where this situation can lead us.

Development

Throughout the development, the longest part of the essay, we will have to try to answer each of the questions that we have asked ourselves during the introduction. It is important to argue and contrast the information that is provided from different sources, and, in the case of an academic essay, it is essential to expose the information, never give the subjective opinion.

• Comparison of situations: We will start our speech by talking about how the situation was before, that is, analyzing whether academic degrees were valued the same, finding out why ageism is a growing problem today, etc.
• Analysis of the current situation: In general, throughout development you should make a brief analysis of the current social context and its relationship with the current employment situation. It is essential to provide verified data from trusted sources. Thanks to this analysis, you will be able to determine if the situation is really as serious as it seems and you will be able to argue why in recent years this problem has only been increasing.
• Testimonials: in addition to the information you get from different sources, we also recommend that you provide the testimony of an affected person and another of an expert. Not only will this give your arguments more weight, but it will help you draw a clearer picture of the future and what it may hold for those affected by the problem.

conclusion

The time has come to look back and see if we have met our goal. Have we been able to show that ageism is a national problem that should concern us all? How is the situation in …