Introduction to Academic Writing Structure

Academic writing deals with complex ideas and arguments, and often requires the use of multiple sources of information to address a list of specific points, over a long wordcount.  There are many things that will help you keep all of this in order, including the standard academic essay structure, and the suggested structure of a paragraph.  These structures provide a clear and effective container for your argument or response.  It allows you to methodically build an argument that your reader can easily follow.

The Essay Structure

Academic essays are generally structured on the format of

• Introduction 
• Paragraphs (Body)
• Conclusion

The general rule is 10% of your wordcount for the introduction, 80% for your paragraphs, or body, and the last 10% for your conclusion.

In a 1000 word essay, your introduction and conclusion would be roughly 100 words each, and the paragraphs would be 800 words.

The point to land here is that introductions and conclusions are brief pieces of writing.  They serve a specific purpose and should reflect your paragraphs.  Your paragraphs are where the magic happens, where you make your argument and show your research skills.  For more information on how to structure your essays and what to include in the introduction and conclusion, come to the Learning Hub for one of our workshops or a 1-1 appointment with a Learning Advisor.

The Paragraph Structure

Your academic paragraphs require structure to adequately present a coherent argument that is both relevant to the original topic, but also contributes to answering the question you have been asked, and advances your argument.  The TEEEL model provides an excellent container for this endeavour.

Each layer of the TEEEL burger has a specific job, this table explains each one.

Here is a paragraph broken down sentence by sentence.  Each sentence aligns with a layer of the burger and fulfils the function described above.  Read each sentence carefully and see if you can identify the elements of the table above in each sentence.  If you have any questions, come and talk to us in the Learning Hub!

Complete the true or false quiz to test your knowledge!