Degree requirements essay

A good introduction paragraph is an essential part of any academic essay. It sets up your argument and tells the reader what to expect. Catch your reader’s attention. Give background on your topic. Present your thesis —the central point of your essay. This introduction example is taken from our interactive essay example on the history of Braille.

Particularly in longer essays, it’s helpful to end the introduction by signposting what will be covered in each part. Keep it concise and give your reader a clear sense of the direction your argument will take. Example: Signposting This essay begins by discussing the situation of blind people in nineteenth-century Europe.

Essay Structure. Writing an academic essay means fashioning a coherent set of ideas into an argument. Because essays are essentially linear—they offer one idea at a time—they must present their ideas in the order that makes most sense to a reader. Successfully structuring an essay means attending to a reader's logic.

Writing an academic essay means fashioning a coherent set of ideas into an argument. Because essays are essentially linear—they offer one idea at a time—they must present their ideas in the order that makes most sense to a reader. Successfully structuring an essay means attending to a reader's logic.