How to Write a Structured Essay

Take notes and write your essay primarily from your notes.

Writing a structured essay can be difficult if you are new to this type of assignment. Don't let the wording scare you. Structuring is basically a term that commands you to construct an essay with organized thoughts as opposed to a randomly thrown together paragraph. Before you try to begin your essay, collect all of the information that you will need and read it while taking notes. Your essay is sure to flow smoothly if you start with those simple steps.

Things You'll Need

• Notes
• Outline

Instructions

1. Organize your thoughts. Decide what it is that you are trying to convey to the reader. Sort out your thoughts according to category. For example, if you are writing about traits of puppies, separate your facts into training, care and activities. By separating your information, you are already establishing the organization of your structured essay.

2. Record the essay structure by hand on a piece of paper or on your computer through a typing program. Start by typing "opening paragraph" and leave space to plug in information. Move down six lines or so and type "body." Under the body heading, number several sections each with lettered sub sections. Most people use A, B and C for the lettering labels. Space down six spaces or so and type "conclusion." Though the spacing may be off, you can adjust it after you plug in your information. This structure will be your outline.

3. Plug your information into the outline sections. The opening paragraph should state your topic and what you intend to do with it within the article. List the headings of the various topic sections toward the end of your paragraph. Within the body of the essay, plug in the topic section titles and three to four main points that you intend to cover for each. In a structured essay, the closing paragraph should offer a conclusion, including a summary of what was listed within the body of the essay. The summary can merely be the body headlines as you don't need to be extensive. You are basically summarizing the points that were presented within the essay.

4. Write your essay off of the outline. Use the exact opening and closing paragraph that you used in the outline. Expand on the points within the body of the outline. Follow your outline completely and you should have no problem completing your essay in a timely manner. Read over you essay after you have written it to check for spelling and grammatical errors.

References

• Uni Learning: How Is An Essay Structured