Essay Body Paragraphs

While a writer needs a lot of knowledge to produce a professional essay, it is essential that s/he first understands the peculiar nature of an essay’s structure. Without exception, an essay should be written according to a prescribed structure that should not be altered. This structure comprises an introduction, the essay body and a conclusion. Strict adherence to this basic structure provides a foundation to develop a well constructed work. To ease the writing process, it is essential not to lose sight of these basic rules of the essay structure.

The essay body paragraphs provide detailed information on the essay’s subject. From your rough notes, create a paragraph for each main point. So, if you identified three key points in your notes, your essay will contain three essay body paragraphs. Begin your essay by writing down one main idea, in sentences.
Each individual body paragraph will follow the prescribed structure.

1. As a first step, write down one of your key points, in the form of sentences. If this key point is “reduces freeway congestion”, you may want to write it as “Public transport contributes to the reduction of freeway congestion”.
2. The next step is to write down each point that supports that key point. Leave a gap of several lines between each of your supporting points.

3. In the gap or blank space between each point, expand your ideas on that point by providing more detail, analysis or argument as explanation.
As a supporting point, you may have said that
Commuters appreciate the savings they make by taking public transport opposed to driving.
You may want to expand that point by saying that
Less time spent driving equals less expense on maintenance, such as oil changes.
Of course, less time spent driving also equals cost savings on gasoline. It is often the case that these savings exceed the cost of taking public transport.
4. Paragraph summary clauses can appear stiff and are unnecessary. But, if you want, use them discretionally.

An individual body paragraph concentrates on one main point, example or argument to back up your theory. Every paragraph should have a distinct subject sentence acting as a summary theory describing the key point of that paragraph. Where possible, to underline your point persuasively, use specific proof, evidence or argument.
While the evidence used to sustain your argument is important, so is the way in which you structure the essay body paragraphs. A good format is for each body paragraph to begin with a subject sentence, followed by two or three more specific sentences. While your essay develops, ensure that each new subject sentence is relevant to the thesis statement to keep your flow smooth and unified. In turn, to retain coherence throughout, it should be obvious that the detailed information in each body paragraph is relevant to the subject sentence of that paragraph.