A basic essay consists of three main parts: introduction, body and conclusion. This basic essay format will help you to write and organize an essay. However, flexibility is important. While keeping this basic essay format in mind, let the topic and specific assignment guide the writing and organization.

Parts of an Essay

Introduction

The introduction guides your reader to the paper by grabbing attention and introducing the topic. It should begin with a hook that catches the reader’s interest. This could be a quote, an analogy, a question, etc. After getting the reader’s attention, the introduction should give some background information on the topic. The ideas within the introduction should begin as general and gradually get specific, until it ends with the thesis statement.