Writing Basics: From paragraph to essay

If you have been writing paragraphs, and your writing instructor asks you to write an essay, you might try the following method. Think of an essay as an expanded paragraph. Like a paragraph, an essay has an introduction, body and conclusion. In a paragraph those parts are sentences. In an essay those parts are paragraphs; an introductory paragraph, two or more body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph. In an essay, the introductory paragraph usually begins by "setting the stage" about your topic, provides interesting information to grab the reader's attention, and ends with a Thesis Statement, which tells the reader what your essay is about and your perspective on the topic. Essays usually range from four to six or seven paragraphs, depending on how many body paragraphs your essay will have.

Essays can be fun to write if you take the time to think about what topic you want to write about and what you want to write about that topic. Many colleges require students to write a five or six paragrph as part of the application processs. They want to find out how well you write since writing is such an important skill for academic wrrcess.