How to Write a Body Paragraph for a College Essay


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- Body paragraphs play an essential role in crafting a successful college essay.
- The basic body paragraph structure has six parts, including a topic sentence and evidence.
- Key paragraphing tips include moving transitions and avoiding repetition in your essay.
Paragraphing is an essential key to successful academic writing. A writer's organizing decisions control the reader's (i.e., your professor's) attention by raising or decreasing engagement with the subject. Writing an effective paragraph includes determining what goes into each paragraph and how your paragraphs and ideas relate to one another.
The first paragraph in any academic essay is the introduction , and the last is the conclusion, both of which are critical to crafting a compelling essay. But what is a body paragraph? The body paragraphs — all the paragraphs that come between the intro and conclusion — comprise the bulk of the essay and together form the student's primary argument.
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In this article, we look at the function of a body paragraph and provide guidance on how to write a good body paragraph for any college essay.
What Is the Purpose of a Body Paragraph?
Body paragraphs play an indispensable role in proving the essay's thesis , which is presented in the introduction. As a sequence, body paragraphs provide a path from the introduction — which forecasts the structure of the essay's content — to the conclusion, which summarizes the arguments and looks at how final insights may apply in different contexts. Each body paragraph must therefore relate logically to the one immediately before and after it.
If you can eliminate a paragraph without losing crucial information that supports your thesis claim, then that paragraph is a divergence from this path and should be edited so that it fits with the rest of your essay and contains necessary evidence, context, and/or details.
Each body paragraph must relate logically to the one immediately before and after it, and must also focus on a single topic or idea.
Each paragraph must also focus on a single topic or idea. If the topic is complex or has multiple parts, consider whether each would benefit from its own paragraph.
People tend to absorb information in short increments, and readers usually time mental breaks at paragraph ends. This stop is also where they pause to consider content or write notes. As such, you should avoid lengthy paragraphs.
Finally, most academic style conventions frown upon one-sentence paragraphs. Similar to how body paragraphs can be too long and messy, one-sentence paragraphs can feel far too short and underdeveloped. Following the six steps below will allow you to avoid this style trap.
6 Steps for Writing an Effective Body Paragraph
There are six main steps to crafting a compelling body paragraph. Some steps are essential in every paragraph and must appear in a fixed location, e.g., as the first sentence. Writers have more flexibility with other steps, which can be delayed or reordered (more on this later).
Step 1: Write a Topic Sentence
Consider the first sentence in a body paragraph a mini-thesis statement for that paragraph. The topic sentence should establish the main point of the paragraph and bear some relationship to the essay's overarching thesis statement.
In theory, by reading only the topic sentence of every paragraph, a reader should be able to understand a summary outline of the ideas that prove your paper's thesis. If the topic sentence is too complex, it'll confuse the reader and set you up to write paragraphs that are too long-winded.
Step 2: Unpack the Topic Sentence
Now, it's time to develop the claims in your paragraph's topic sentence by explaining or expanding all the individual parts. In other words, you'll parse out the discussion points your paragraph will address to support its topic sentence.
You may use as many sentences as necessary to achieve this step, but if there are too many components, consider writing a paragraph for each of them, or for a few that fit particularly well together. In this case, you'll likely need to revise your topic sentence. The key here is only one major idea per paragraph.
Step 3: Give Evidence
The next step is to prove your topic sentence's claim by supplying arguments, facts, data, and quotations from reputable sources . The goal is to offer original ideas while referencing primary sources and research, such as books, journal articles, studies, and personal experiences.
Step 4: Analyze the Evidence
Never leave your body paragraph's evidence hanging. As the writer, it's your job to do the linking work, that is, to connect your evidence to the main ideas the paragraph seeks to prove. You can do this by explaining, expanding, interpreting, or commentating on your evidence. You can even debunk the evidence you've presented if you want to give a counterargument.
Step 5: Prove Your Objective
This next step consists of two parts. First, tie up your body paragraph by restating the topic sentence. Be sure to use different language so that your writing is not repetitive. Whereas the first step states what your paragraph will prove, this step states what your paragraph has proven .
Second, every three or four paragraphs, or where it seems most fitting, tie your proven claim back to the paper's thesis statement on page 1. Doing so makes a concrete link between your discussion and the essay's main claim.
Step 6: Provide a Transition
A transition is like a bridge with two ramps: The first ramp takes the reader out of a topic or paragraph, whereas the second deposits them into a new, albeit related, topic. The transition must be smooth, and the connection between the two ideas should be strong and clear.
Purdue University lists some of the most commonly used transition words for body paragraphs.
Body Paragraph Example
Here is an example of a well-structured body paragraph, and the beginning of another body paragraph, from an essay on William Shakespeare's play "Twelfth Night." See whether you can identify the topic sentence and its development, the evidence, the writer's analysis and proof of the objective, and the transition to the next paragraph.
As well as harmony between parent and child, music represents the lasting bond between romantic couples. Shakespeare illustrates this tunefulness in the relationship between Viola and Orsino. Viola's name evokes a musical instrument that fits between violin and cello when it comes to the depth of tone. Orsino always wants to hear sad songs until he meets Viola, whose wit forces him to be less gloomy. The viola's supporting role in an orchestra, and Orsino's need for Viola to break out of his depression, foreshadow the benefits of the forthcoming marriage between the two. The viola is necessary in both lamenting and celebratory music. Shakespeare uses the language of orchestral string music to illustrate how the bonds of good marriages often depend on mediating between things.
The play also references cacophonous music. The unharmonious songs that Sir Toby and Andrew sing illustrate how indulging bad habits is bad for society as a whole. These characters are always drunk, do no work, play mean tricks, and are either broke or squander their money. …
Strategies for Crafting a Compelling Body Paragraph
Break down complex topic sentences.
A topic sentence with too many parts will force you to write a lot of support. But as you already know, readers typically find long paragraphs more difficult to absorb. The solution is to break down complicated topic sentences into two or more smaller ideas, and then devote a separate paragraph for each.
Move the Transition to the Following Paragraph
Though a body paragraph should always begin with a topic sentence and end with proof of your objective — sometimes with a direct connection to the essay's thesis — you don't need to include the transition in that paragraph; instead, you may insert it right before the topic sentence of the next paragraph.
For example, if a body paragraph is already incredibly long, you might want to avoid adding a transition at the end.
Your body paragraphs should be no longer than half to three-quarters of a double-spaced page with 1-inch margins in Times New Roman 12-point font. A little longer is sometimes acceptable, but you should generally avoid writing paragraphs that fill or exceed one page.
Shift Around Some of the Paragraph Steps Above
The steps above are a general guide, but you may change the order of them (to an extent). For instance, if your topic sentence is fairly complicated, you might need to unpack it into several parts, with each needing its own evidence and analysis.
You could also swap steps 3 and 4 by starting with your analysis and then providing evidence. Even better, consider alternating between giving evidence and providing analysis.
The idea here is that using more than one design for your paragraphs usually makes the essay more engaging. Remember that monotony can make a reader quickly lose interest, so feel free to change it up.
Don't Repeat the Same Information Between Paragraphs
If similar evidence or analysis works well for other paragraphs too, you need to help the reader make these connections. You can do this by incorporating signal phrases like "As the following paragraph also indicates" and "As already stated."
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Traditional Academic Essays In Three Parts
Part i: the introduction.
An introduction is usually the first paragraph of your academic essay. If you’re writing a long essay, you might need 2 or 3 paragraphs to introduce your topic to your reader. A good introduction does 2 things:
- Gets the reader’s attention. You can get a reader’s attention by telling a story, providing a statistic, pointing out something strange or interesting, providing and discussing an interesting quote, etc. Be interesting and find some original angle via which to engage others in your topic.
- Provides a specific and debatable thesis statement. The thesis statement is usually just one sentence long, but it might be longer—even a whole paragraph—if the essay you’re writing is long. A good thesis statement makes a debatable point, meaning a point someone might disagree with and argue against. It also serves as a roadmap for what you argue in your paper.
Part II: The Body Paragraphs
Body paragraphs help you prove your thesis and move you along a compelling trajectory from your introduction to your conclusion. If your thesis is a simple one, you might not need a lot of body paragraphs to prove it. If it’s more complicated, you’ll need more body paragraphs. An easy way to remember the parts of a body paragraph is to think of them as the MEAT of your essay:
Main Idea. The part of a topic sentence that states the main idea of the body paragraph. All of the sentences in the paragraph connect to it. Keep in mind that main ideas are…
- like labels. They appear in the first sentence of the paragraph and tell your reader what’s inside the paragraph.
- arguable. They’re not statements of fact; they’re debatable points that you prove with evidence.
- focused. Make a specific point in each paragraph and then prove that point.
Evidence. The parts of a paragraph that prove the main idea. You might include different types of evidence in different sentences. Keep in mind that different disciplines have different ideas about what counts as evidence and they adhere to different citation styles. Examples of evidence include…
- quotations and/or paraphrases from sources.
- facts , e.g. statistics or findings from studies you’ve conducted.
- narratives and/or descriptions , e.g. of your own experiences.
Analysis. The parts of a paragraph that explain the evidence. Make sure you tie the evidence you provide back to the paragraph’s main idea. In other words, discuss the evidence.
Transition. The part of a paragraph that helps you move fluidly from the last paragraph. Transitions appear in topic sentences along with main ideas, and they look both backward and forward in order to help you connect your ideas for your reader. Don’t end paragraphs with transitions; start with them.
Keep in mind that MEAT does not occur in that order. The “ T ransition” and the “ M ain Idea” often combine to form the first sentence—the topic sentence—and then paragraphs contain multiple sentences of evidence and analysis. For example, a paragraph might look like this: TM. E. E. A. E. E. A. A.
Part III: The Conclusion
A conclusion is the last paragraph of your essay, or, if you’re writing a really long essay, you might need 2 or 3 paragraphs to conclude. A conclusion typically does one of two things—or, of course, it can do both:
- Summarizes the argument. Some instructors expect you not to say anything new in your conclusion. They just want you to restate your main points. Especially if you’ve made a long and complicated argument, it’s useful to restate your main points for your reader by the time you’ve gotten to your conclusion. If you opt to do so, keep in mind that you should use different language than you used in your introduction and your body paragraphs. The introduction and conclusion shouldn’t be the same.
- For example, your argument might be significant to studies of a certain time period .
- Alternately, it might be significant to a certain geographical region .
- Alternately still, it might influence how your readers think about the future . You might even opt to speculate about the future and/or call your readers to action in your conclusion.
Handout by Dr. Liliana Naydan. Do not reproduce without permission.

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How to Write the Perfect Body Paragraph
A body paragraph is any paragraph in the middle of an essay , paper, or article that comes after the introduction but before the conclusion. Generally, body paragraphs support the work’s thesis and shed new light on the main topic, whether through empirical data, logical deduction, deliberate persuasion, or anecdotal evidence.
Some English teachers will tell you good writing has a beginning, middle, and end, but then leave it at that. And that’s true—almost all good writing follows an introduction-body-conclusion format. But what no one seems to talk about is that the vast majority of your writing will be middle . That puts a lot of significance on knowing how to write a body paragraph.
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Don’t get us wrong—introductions and conclusions are crucial. They fulfill additional responsibilities of preparing the reader and sending them off with a lasting impression, which is why every good writer knows how to write an introduction and how to write a conclusion . But in terms of volume , body paragraphs comprise almost all of your work.
We explain precisely how to write a body paragraph so your writing has substance through and through. After all, it’s what’s on the inside that counts!
Structure of a body paragraph
Think of individual paragraphs as microcosms of the greater work; each paragraph has its own miniature introduction, body, and conclusion in the form of sentences.
Let’s break it down. A good body paragraph contains the following four elements, some of which you may recognize from our ultimate guide to paragraphs :
- Transitions: These are a few words at the beginning or end of a paragraph that connect the body paragraph to the others, creating a coherent flow throughout the entire piece.
- Topic sentence: A sentence—almost always the first sentence—introduces what the entire paragraph is about.
- Supporting sentences: These make up the “body” of your body paragraph, with usually one to three sentences that develop and support the topic sentence’s assertion with evidence, logic, persuasive opinion, or expert testimonial.
- Conclusion (Summary): This is your paragraph’s concluding sentence, summing up or reasserting your original point in light of the supporting evidence.
To understand how these components make up a body paragraph, let’s look at a sample from literary icon Kurt Vonnegut Jr. In it, he himself looks to other literary phenoms William Shakespeare and James Joyce. The following sample comes from Vonnegut’s essay “ How to write with style .” It’s a great example of how a body paragraph supports the thesis, which in this case is: To write well, “keep it simple.”
As for your use of language: Remember that two great masters of language, William Shakespeare and James Joyce, wrote sentences which were almost childlike when their subjects were most profound. “To be or not to be?” asks Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The longest word is three letters long. Joyce, when he was frisky, could put together a sentence as intricate and as glittering as a necklace for Cleopatra, but my favorite sentence in his short story “Eveline” is this one: “She was tired.” At that point in the story, no other words could break the heart of a reader as those three words do.
In this sample, Vonnegut demonstrates the four main elements of body paragraphs in a way that makes it easy to identify them. Let’s take a closer look at each.
As for your use of language:
Rather than opening the paragraph with an abrupt change of topic, Vonnegut uses a simple, even generic, transition that softy guides the reader into a new conversation. The point of transitions is to remove any jarring distractions when moving from one paragraph to the next. They don’t need to be complicated; sometimes a quick phrase like “on the other hand” or even a single word like “however” will suffice.
Topic sentence
Remember that two great masters of language, William Shakespeare and James Joyce, wrote sentences which were almost childlike when their subjects were most profound.
Here, Vonnegut puts forth his main point, that even the greatest writers sometimes use simple language to convey complex ideas—the thesis of this particular body paragraph.
Supporting sentences
“To be or not to be?” asks Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The longest word is three letters long. Joyce, when he was frisky, could put together a sentence as intricate and as glittering as a necklace for Cleopatra, but my favorite sentence in his short story “Eveline” is this one: “She was tired.”
To support his thesis, Vonnegut pulls two direct quotes from respected writers and then dissects the wording to support his initial claim. Notice how there are a few different sentences with each exploring their own points, but they all relate to and support the paragraph’s main thesis.
At that point in the story, no other words could break the heart of a reader as those three words do.
Vonnegut ends the paragraph with a pithy statement claiming that complex language would have been less effective, reaffirming his central claim that great writers know simple language works best.
How to start a body paragraph
Often the hardest sentence to write, the first sentence of your body paragraph should act as the topic sentence, introducing the main point of the entire paragraph. Also known as the “paragraph leader,” the topic sentence opens the discussion with an underlying claim (or sometimes a question).
After reading the opening sentence, the reader should know, in no uncertain terms, what the rest of the paragraph is about. That’s why topic sentences should always be clear, concise, and to the point. Avoid distractions or tangents—there will be time for elaboration in the supporting sentences. At times you can be coy and mysterious to build suspense, opening with a question that ultimately gets answered later in the paragraph. Nonetheless, you should still reveal enough information to set the stage for the rest of the sentences.
More often than not, your first sentence should also contain a transition to bridge the gap from the preceding paragraph. Under special circumstances, you may also put a transition at the end of the sentence, but in general, putting it at the beginning is better for readability.
Don’t let transitions intimidate you; they can be quite simple and even easy to apply. Usually, a single word or short phrase will do the job. Just be careful not to overuse the same transitions one after another. To help expand your transitional vocabulary, our guide to connecting sentences collects some of the most common transition words and phrases for inspiration.
How to end a body paragraph
Likewise, the concluding sentence to your body paragraph holds extra weight. Because the reader takes a momentary pause at the end of each paragraph, that last sentence will “echo” just a bit longer in their minds while their eyes find the beginning of the next paragraph. You can take advantage of those extra milliseconds to leave a lasting impression on your reader.
In form, your concluding sentence should summarize the thesis of your topic sentence while incorporating the supporting evidence—in other words, it should wrap things up.
It’s useful to end on a meaningful or even emotional point to encourage the reader to reflect on what was discussed. Vonnegut’s conclusion from our sample makes a strong and forceful statement, invoking heartbreak (“break the heart”) and using absolute language (“no other words”). Powerful language like this might be too climactic for the supporting sentences, but in a conclusion, it fits perfectly.
How to write a body paragraph
First and foremost, double-check that your body paragraph supports the main thesis of the entire piece, much like the paragraph’s supporting sentences support the topic sentence. Don’t forget your body paragraph’s place in the greater work.
When it comes to actually writing a body paragraph, as always we recommend planning out what you want to say beforehand, which is a good reason to learn how to write an outline . Crafting a good body paragraph involves organizing your supporting sentences in the optimal order—but you can’t do that if you don’t know what those sentences will be!
A lot of times, your supporting sentences will dictate their own logical progression, with one naturally leading into the next, as is often the case when building an argument. Other times, you’ll have to make a choice about which evidence to present first and last, as Vonnegut did when choosing between his Shakespeare and Joyce examples. Also as with Vonnegut’s example, your choice of conclusion may help determine the best order.
This can be a lot of take in, especially if you’re still learning the fundamentals of writing. Luckily, you don’t have to do it alone! Grammarly offers suggestions beyond spelling and grammar, helping you hone clarity, tone, and conciseness in your writing. With Grammarly, ensure your writing is clear, engaging, and polished, wherever you type.

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- How to write the body of an essay | Drafting & redrafting

How to Write the Body of an Essay | Drafting & Redrafting
Published on November 5, 2014 by Shane Bryson . Revised on June 10, 2022 by Shona McCombes.
The body is the longest part of an essay . This is where you lead the reader through your ideas, elaborating arguments and evidence for your thesis . The body is always divided into paragraphs .
You can work through the body in three main stages:
- Create an outline of what you want to say and in what order.
- Write a first draft to get your main ideas down on paper.
- Write a second draft to clarify your arguments and make sure everything fits together.
This article gives you some practical tips for how to approach each stage.
Table of contents
Start with an outline, write the first draft, write the second draft.
Before you start, make a rough outline that sketches out the main points you want to make and the order you’ll make them in. This can help you remember how each part of the essay should relate to the other parts.
However, remember that the outline isn’t set in stone – don’t be afraid to change the organization if necessary. Work on an essay’s structure begins before you start writing, but it continues as you write, and goes on even after you’ve finished writing the first draft.
While you’re writing a certain section, if you come up with an idea for something elsewhere in the essay, take a few moments to add to your outline or make notes on your organizational plans.
Your goals in the first draft are to turn your rough ideas into workable arguments, add detail to those arguments, and get a sense of what the final product will actually look like.
Write strong body paragraphs
Start wherever you want
Many writers do not begin writing at the introduction , or even the early body paragraphs. Start writing your essay where it seems most natural for you to do so.
Some writers might prefer to start with the easiest section to write, while others prefer to get the most difficult section out of the way first. Think about what material you need to clarify for yourself, and consider beginning there.
Tackle one idea at a time
Each paragraph should aim to focus on one central idea, giving evidence, explanation, and arguments that relate to that idea.
At the start of each paragraph, write a topic sentence that expresses the main point. Then elaborate and expand on the topic sentence in the rest of the paragraph.
When you’ve said everything you have to say about the idea, move onto a new paragraph.
Keep your argument flexible
You may realize as you write that some of your ideas don’t work as well as you thought they would. Don’t give up on them too easily, but be prepared to change or abandon sections if you realize they don’t make sense.
You’ll probably also come up with new ideas that you’d not yet thought of when writing the outline. Note these ideas down and incorporate them into the essay if there’s a logical place for them.
If you’re stuck on one section, move on to another part of the essay and come back to it later.
Don’t delete content
If you begin to dislike a certain section or even the whole essay, don’t scrap it in fit of rage!
If something really isn’t working, you can paste it into a separate document, but keep what you have, even if you don’t plan on using it. You may find that it contains or inspires new ideas that you can use later.
Note your sources
Students often make work for themselves by forgetting to keep track of sources when writing drafts.
You can save yourself a lot of time later and ensure you avoid plagiarism by noting down the name, year, and page number every time you quote or paraphrase from a source.
You can also use a citation generator to save a list of your sources and copy-and-paste citations when you need them.
Avoid perfectionism
When you’re writing a first draft, it’s important not to get slowed down by small details. Get your ideas down on paper now and perfect them later. If you’re unsatisfied with a word, sentence, or argument, flag it in the draft and revisit it later.
When you finish the first draft, you will know which sections and paragraphs work and which might need to be changed. It doesn’t make sense to spend time polishing something you might later cut out or revise.
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Working on the second draft means assessing what you’ve got and rewriting it when necessary. You’ll likely end up cutting some parts of the essay and adding new ones.
Check your ideas against your thesis
Everything you write should be driven by your thesis . Looking at each piece of information or argumentation, ask yourself:
- Does the reader need to know this in order to understand or accept my thesis?
- Does this give evidence for my thesis?
- Does this explain the reasoning behind my thesis?
- Does this show something about the consequences or importance of my thesis?
If you can’t answer yes to any of these questions, reconsider whether it’s relevant enough to include.
If your essay has gone in a different direction than you originally planned, you might have to rework your thesis statement to more accurately reflect the argument you’ve made.
Watch out for weak points
Be critical of your arguments, and identify any potential weak points:
- Unjustified assumptions: Can you be confident that your reader shares or will accept your assumptions, or do they need to be spelled out?
- Lack of evidence: Do you make claims without backing them up?
- Logical inconsistencies: Do any of your points contradict each other?
- Uncertainty: Are there points where you’re unsure about your own claims or where you don’t sound confident in what you’re saying?
Fixing these issues might require some more research to clarify your position and give convincing evidence for it.
Check the organization
When you’re happy with all the main parts of your essay, take another look at the overall shape of it. You want to make sure that everything proceeds in a logical order without unnecessary repetition.
Try listing only the topic sentence of each paragraph and reading them in order. Are any of the topic sentences too similar? Each paragraph should discuss something different; if two paragraphs are about the same topic, they must approach it in different ways, and these differences should be made clear in the topic sentences.
Does the order of information make sense? Looking at only topic sentences lets you see at a glance the route your paper takes from start to finish, allowing you to spot organizational errors more easily.
Draw clear connections between your ideas
Finally, you should assess how your ideas fit together both within and between paragraphs. The connections might be clear to you, but you need to make sure they’ll also be clear to your reader.
Within each paragraph, does each sentence follow logically from the one before it? If not, you might need to add new sentences to make the connections clear. Try using transition words to clarify what you want to say.
Between one paragraph and the next, is it clear how your points relate to one another? If you are moving onto an entirely new topic, consider starting the paragraph with a transition sentence that moves from the previous topic and shows how it relates to the new one.
Cite this Scribbr article
If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.
Bryson, S. (2022, June 10). How to Write the Body of an Essay | Drafting & Redrafting. Scribbr. Retrieved March 1, 2023, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/body/
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Shane Bryson
Shane finished his master's degree in English literature in 2013 and has been working as a writing tutor and editor since 2009. He began proofreading and editing essays with Scribbr in early summer, 2014.
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How to write an essay: Body
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Body paragraphs
The essay body itself is organised into paragraphs, according to your plan. Remember that each paragraph focuses on one idea, or aspect of your topic, and should contain at least 4-5 sentences so you can deal with that idea properly.
Each body paragraph has three sections. First is the topic sentence . This lets the reader know what the paragraph is going to be about and the main point it will make. It gives the paragraph’s point straight away. Next – and largest – is the supporting sentences . These expand on the central idea, explaining it in more detail, exploring what it means, and of course giving the evidence and argument that back it up. This is where you use your research to support your argument. Then there is a concluding sentence . This restates the idea in the topic sentence, to remind the reader of your main point. It also shows how that point helps answer the question.

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Good Ways to Start Off the First Body Paragraph
Strong body paragraphs are the foundation of a strong essay. The introduction and conclusion paragraphs of an essay mostly exist for style and organization purposes; they do not develop substantive material. Body paragraphs deliver the real meat and potatoes: arguments, evidence and supporting details. The first body paragraph is especially important, since it usually contains the strongest argument in the paper. There are many good ways of starting of the first body paragraph; all aim to strengthen the key argument in the paper.
Topic Sentences
A topic sentence is one of the most popular ways of opening the first body paragraph. Typically, the topic sentence corresponds to one of the points in the thesis statement. For example, if your thesis statement reads, "Because of reason X, Y and Z, alternative medicine is fundamentally flawed," your first body paragraph could read, "Reason X is a big part of why alternative medicine will prove unsuccessful."
Transition Sentences
A transition sentence is a great way to open the first body paragraph in a paper. Transition sentences establish logical links between different ideas. For example, if your introduction ended with a thesis statement about how the author establishes setting, you could start the first body paragraph with a sentence like, "The first way the author establishes setting is through..." This phrasing creates a transition between the first body paragraph and the intro, because it flows naturally from the last sentence in the thesis statement.
Definitions
The first body paragraph is also a good place to define key terms in the paper. In a traditional five paragraph essay, this can be hard to do, because every body paragraph is supposed to do the same thing for a different argument. However, in more advanced papers, which do not demand such a symmetrical style, it is possible to use the first body paragraph primarily to define key terms. For example, if your paper deals with a technical topic like economics, you can open the first body paragraph by saying, "Before we can speak of economics, we must define supply and demand."
Key Example
If you are writing a paper based on a case study, it is a good idea to use the first paragraph to summarize the case in question. For example, if your paper is based on a crime report, you would use the first paragraph to summarize the facts of the case. If you are using the first body paragraph in this way, it is good to open the paragraph by describing the nature of the facts. For example, if the facts in question are contradictory, you could open by saying, "The facts in the John Doe murder case paint a complex and paradoxical picture."
- Berkely Division of Student Affairs: Structuring Your Personal Statement
- Bookrags: How to Write a Five Paragraph Essay
Based in St. John's, Canada, Andrew Button has been writing since 2008, covering politics, business and finance. He has contributed to newspapers and online magazines, including "The Evening Telegram" and cbc.ca. Button is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Memorial University in St. John's.
Essay Writing: Paragraphs and Transitions
- Essay Writing Basics
- Purdue OWL Page on Writing Your Thesis
- Paragraphs and Transitions
- How to Tell if a Website is Legitimate
- Formatting Your References Page
- Cite a Website
- Common Grammatical and Mechanical Errors
- Additional Resources
- Proofread Before You Submit Your Paper
- Structuring the 5-Paragraph Essay
Paragraph Structure
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Begins with a sentence that captures the reader’s attention
1) You may want to use an interesting example, a surprising statistic, or a challenging question.
B. Gives background information on the topic.
C. Includes the THESIS STATEMENT which:
1) States the main ideas of the essay and includes:
b. Viewpoint (what you plan to say about the topic)
2) Is more general than supporting data
3) May mention the main point of each of the body paragraphs
II. BODY PARAGRAPH #1
A. Begins with a topic sentence that:
1) States the main point of the paragraph
2) Relates to the THESIS STATEMENT
B. After the topic sentence, you need to fill the paragraph with well-organized details, facts, and examples.
C. Paragraph may end with a transition.
III. BODY PARAGRAPH #2
IV. BODY PARAGRAPH #3
3) States the main point of the paragraph
4) Relates to the THESIS STATEMENT
V. CONCLUSION
A. Echoes the THESIS STATEMENT but does not repeat it.
B. Poses a question for the future, suggests some action to be taken, or warns of a consequence.
C. Includes a detail or example from the INTRODUCTION to “tie up” the essay.
D. Ends with a strong image – or a humorous or surprising statement.
Transition Words and Phrases
More transitions and linking expressions.
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