In general, an essay consists of five paragraphs. The first paragraph introduces your topic and includes your thesis statement. The next three paragraphs develop and expand upon your topic. The last paragraph summarizes your essay and brings it to a conclusion.
An academic essay is more formal than a personal essay, but they both follow the same format.
Although you might be writing essays of varying lengths, you can follow this general rule to give shape to your writing.
An essay's subject is narrow. You can't expect to fully develop and explore a complex subject in five paragraphs, so you need to choose a topic that you can write about within the framework of the essay. If the topic you've chosen is too broad for an essay, try narrowing it down by thinking about just one aspect of it. For example, you wouldn't be able to write your autobiography in only five paragraphs, but you could write about one of your interests, such as your stamp collection or even one rare stamp that you acquired or that you want to acquire.
You couldn't tell your readers everything of importance about New York City in an essay, but you could tell them about your visit to the Museum of Modern Art or about one of the exhibits there. By narrowing your focus, you'll be able to give more detailed information on your topic, and your writing will be stronger.
The thesis statement tells your readers what your essay is about. You can begin the first paragraph with it, or lead up to it in the first paragraph and make it the final sentence so that it leads into the first developmental paragraph.
For example, you could begin your essay with your thesis statement by saying, "Science-fiction movies encourage creative thinking in children" and develop your first paragraph from there. Or you could begin the same essay by saying, "Children learn to exercise their imaginations in many ways," then list a few ways that this learning happens and end the paragraph with your thesis statement.
The next three paragraphs are the body of your essay, where you develop your argument or present the reasons for your opinions. The first developmental paragraph should contain your strongest, most convincing evidence or arguments. If there are obvious objections to your opinions, you should state them here and then overcome them with well-thought-out rebuttals.
The second and third developmental paragraphs should present your second- and third-strongest arguments.
The last sentence of each paragraph should provide a transition into the next one. Use transitional words or phrases such as "however," "likewise," "in addition," to move smoothly from one thought, or paragraph, to the next.
In your last, concluding paragraph, summarize the information you've presented in the body of your essay with one or two sentences. Use language that reflects your thesis statement without repeating it. Think of it as a "see? I told you so" statement or two that tells the reader you've made the points you set out to make. If you find that you haven't made those points, re-read your essay several times to determine what your thesis statement should be and re-write it.