An essay has the beginning, a middle, and an end. If a task is to write a five-paragraph essay, the first paragraph is called the introduction. The following 3 paragraphs consist of the body of the writing paper. The fifth and concluding paragraph is the conclusion.

The introduction of an essay

The introduction consists of an introductory opening, a hook or a transitional sentence. The hook consists of several sentences that develop a more detailed story. The thesis statement is 1 or 2 sentences that state the idea of the essay. Try to introduce a thesis statement. In the body paragraphs, write the topic sentence and use details and examples. In the conclusion, sum all previously elaborated statements with a final clincher.

A thesis statement should clearly express what the essay is about, provide a discussion, and indicate the structure of the essay.

The body of an essay

The body of an essay is composed of the topic sentence, detail sentence, and a concluding or transitional sentence.

Thus, of great help is if the writer has a target audience so to be able to write most understandably. The writer’s ability to evaluate the topic properly and to adapt it, in the same way, is of paramount importance.

There are several types of essays. The most common are narrative – describes an event or series of events. The expository essay explains, clarifies and illustrates the desired plots. Response to literature clarifies your understanding of a literary piece such as a poem, a book or a story. The information report provides extensive research on the given thesis such as the ones written in magazines or online journals.

In the beginning, introduce the main idea for the corresponding essay in a concise manner. The importance to be focused on the paper and present a thesis is of vital importance.

The aim is to choose a topic that will be captivating and grab more focus on the essay itself. Brainstorm on an idea that will be presented first. Avoid the frequently used quotations and clichés because the audience may be bored with them. Explain thoroughly quotes if presented.

Afterwards, focus on body paragraphs. The concluding paragraph typically has 2 parts: the summary statement is one or two sentences that freshly restate the thesis to reinforce the main plot. The clincher is a final thought which should create a lasting impression on the reader.

The clincher

The clincher or the closer is the last step to make connections with the audience. It may be in a form of an anecdote, a final rhetorical question, a novel quotation, or a predictive statement.

Prior to any submitting, make sure you have revised the essay properly in a way to fix grammar errors, punctuation, and spelling mistakes.

Although informative writing requires a hypothesis, analysis, and interpretation, it is objective and logical.

The body of the essay aims to explain the main points that are outlined in the introduction. In each paragraph restate the point and provide enough evidence to support it.  The final point in the body of the essay should be based on the final point from the introduction.  The concluding sentence in this paragraph links the thesis with the question to adequately place the point.

The informative essay

The informative essay aims to educate the readers about a certain topic.  To begin an essay, outline the topic to be understandable. Then, provide supporting details for every paragraph.  Brainstorm what you already know about the topic. Then, think about where to find the most reliable topics for your thesis.  Search for the ideas for the thesis in the news magazines, encyclopedias, and relevant databases. 

The informational texts are writing tasks aimed to describe, explain, inform.  These kinds of texts use facts and opinions to explain to the audience the author’s view on a given issue.  An informative essay is seen in-laws, comparisons of two things, newspaper articles, speeches, magazines, analysis of literature, and online journals. 

Depending on the topic, an informative essay can be organized in a variety of ways such as chronological order, cause and effect, and the main idea and supporting details. The most common way of the informative essay organization is chronological. 

How to start an informative essay?

This is always a vital issue when writing essays. The topic needs to be thoroughly researched. Brainstorming is the perfect technique when learning how to start an informative essay task.

Perform extensive research to address the detailed version of the essay with valid arguments. Add primary and secondary sources.  The primary sources are the present evidence and the secondary are articles and papers based on the given topic.

The elements of informative writing

The purpose of the informative essay is to share information with the reader. This type of essay includes facts about real individuals and events. The information must be presented in a straightforward way (chronologically).  It includes diagrams, photos, etc to understand the objects better.

First, identify and understand the topic, then develop a thesis. Select and analyze the most relevant content. Try to describe ideas precisely and clearly with the best possible structure. The informative essay should maintain a standard format and stay within the specified word limit. It should have 5 distinct sections including the introduction, the main body and a conclusion.

The introduction should begin with a hook to explain the main thesis. The thesis statement should appear at the end of the introductory paragraph. Thus, it should be able to define the main objective of writing on the topic issue.

According to Farleigh, a reflective essay is an exploration of a topic using personal thought and experience. The objectives are to combine reflections in an organized manner following the essay format. The most important are thoughts about the topic and the experience or group interaction throughout the activity.

Types of reflection are reflection-in-action (journaling) which means getting to the main point of what is happening during the learning process. The other type is a reflection-on-action (reflective essay) that tells about a previous event to take into account new information or theoretical perspectives linked with the reader’s processes, feelings and actions.

How to prepare a reflective writing assignment?

First, focus on an experience or event that was outstanding or meaningful, either negative or positive. Brainstorm the ideas at the beginning, then describe the experience to stimulate a range of perspectives.

Identify several solutions for similar events, then develop a new perspective by describing the situation differently. The reflective essays are personal and subjective, but still at an academic level.

There are 2 sources in the reflective essays used for the reflective writing assignments: your reflections from essential evidence of personal experiences and academic evidence from published case studies and theories to show your ideas.

The structure of the reflective essay

The most frequent reflective essay topics are real-life experience, something you imagined, a place or special object, something read, watched or experienced. There are two types of reflective essays such as experiential and reading reflection.  The critical reflection is based on the assumption analysis, contextual awareness, imaginative speculation and reflective scepticism.  The reflective writing task aims to reflect on a deeper level to show the understanding of theory and essay content. It links experience and knowledge. Thus, it uses reflections to inform and further extend writing skills for lifelong learning. 

Both, an academic essay and a critical reflection essay, integrate a variety of source material, use formal English and correlate with the academic citation and referencing guidelines.

The introduction of a reflective essay is a main component of the essay. The introduction paragraph is the first one that describes the thesis. It aims to identify the subject and provide a general overview of the impression on the audience.

The body paragraph consists of several paragraphs to introduce a theme or topic. They provide evidence from practice or current literature.

The concluding statement summarizes the main points and restates the main idea in a different way.  Finally, provide a summary of the issue described and suggest an appropriate course of action for further research.

The following are great examples of narrative essay introductions:

1. Quotes

Search for quotes from literature, authors or great philosophers that can connect to your subject. Use that to eloquently connect your audience to your composition
a. Lao Tzu once said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” As I venture in the land of Pakistan, it was a faith-based decision that I made. It was not easy but I have to take one step at a time.

2. Anecdote

Authors usually use this to catch the reader’s attention. Whether it’s funny or dramatic, starting your narrative this way can raise a question from your reader’s mind.
a. It was one cold morning when my mother woke me up and prepared my breakfast and lunch. She then packed all my things and sent me to the bus station. As I sat down on the bus, I waved at my mother goodbye not knowing it was the last time I’m going to see her.

3. Shocking or Surprising statement

If you want to deliver a direct statement, you can try giving them a shocking information that will intrigue them on how you arrive there.
a. Free will does not exist. If it’s true that there is such thing, then I would have a chance to choose when to be born, what hospital I will be delivered to, and who my parents will be.

4. Statistics about a certain subject

This enables your audience to know where or what direction you’re going to. Just be sure you have a right source for your statistic.
a. 1 out of 10 people in this country will die of cancer. You don’t want to be the “1”.
Though these are not the complete list of introduction for essays, these will give you an idea on how to make a great one.
Have fun and be creative on making your own or get some help from MyHomeworkDone.