1. The Puzzle Pieces of the Essay
This presentation will explain the basic parts of the academic essay.

2. An Essay is a Puzzle…
Think of an essay as a puzzle consisting of three main pieces:
The Introduction Paragraph
Body Paragraphs
The Conclusion Paragraph

3. The Introduction
The Introduction is the first puzzle piece, and is the first paragraph in the essay. The introduction has three main purposes:
Hooks the reader
Provides context
Provides the thesis statement

4. Introduction: The Hook
A hook is an interesting statement, rhetorical question, or statistic that grabs the reader’s attention. The hook usually comes early in the introduction.
Examples:
“One out of three people drive four wheel drive vehicles...”
“Twenty five percent of cat owners are actually allergic to them…”

5. Introduction: Context
Context refers to the brief discussion that occurs after the hook but before the thesis statement.
Functions like a wide-shot in a movie: it provides the “bigger picture.”
It usually consists of several general statements about the overall topic of the essay.

6. The Introduction: Thesis Statement
The thesis statement is typically the last sentence in the introduction.
It is normally one sentence.
It tells the reader what your essay will argue, and it should also preview your main points.

7. Body Paragraph
The body paragraph is the next puzzle piece, and an essay usually consists of several of them. For the body paragraph, always remember “TEEC”:
Topic sentence
Evidence
Explanation
Concluding Sentence

8. Body Paragraph: TEEC Topic Sentence:
A topic sentence is the first sentence in a body paragraph.
It is like a mini-thesis statement because it tells the reader what that particular body paragraph will be about.

9. Body Paragraph: TEEC Evidence:
Your body paragraphs should always feature several pieces of evidence. These are facts and/or direct quotes from the text that support your points. Think of this as your “proof.”

10. Body Paragraph: TEEC Explanation:
After you provide evidence, you must analyze it.
How does it connect to your topic sentence and thesis statement?
What sort of analysis does your statistic, quote, etc. provoke?

11. Body Paragraph: TEEC Concluding Sentence:
The concluding sentence is the final sentence in your body paragraph. It wraps up the paragraph and transitions to the next one.

12. The Conclusion
The conclusion is the final puzzle piece. It consists of three parts:
A rephrased thesis statement
A recap of main points
A “lasting thought”

13. The Conclusion: Rephrased Thesis
Begin your conclusion with a rephrased thesis.
Make the same point that you made in your thesis statement, but say it by phrasing your sentence differently.

14. The Conclusion: Recap Recap:
The middle of your conclusion should consist of a recap of your essay’s main points.
Think of this as the “highlight reel” of your essay. What should the reader remember about your writing?

15. Conclusion: Lasting Thought
This is the final part of the conclusion.
The lasting thought is the final sentence that tells the reader why he or she should care about your essay’s topic/argument. What is truly at stake?