How to Build the Structure of an Essay Body Paragraph

The best way to build the structure of an essay body paragraph or any other long piece of writing is to ask yourself, “Where are the white spaces in this paragraph?”

The main point of your essay is the answer to that question. It’s up to you to figure out what it will be and make your body paragraph reflect it. This article will explain how to build out that argument paragraph by section, sprinkling a dash of fun.

What Is a Body Paragraph?

Body paragraphs are all the paragraphs that make up an article of writing, except the first and last one, i.e., the Introduction and conclusion.

Words may vary in length, topic, or content, but all written work must have body paragraphs to make sense. While a piece of writing (e.g., an essay) is incomplete without a decent introduction and conclusion, the body paragraphs contain the article’s essence and reason for existence.

What Constitutes a Body Paragraph?

Transitions

words, expressions, or whole sentences are used at the beginning or end of a body paragraph to create a continuous glide between sections.

These things help the connection between paragraphs, making the essay flow smoothly from one to the next. People who read and appreciate good writing will find these transitions vital because they know the overall skill of the writer is developed through them. 

Theme

This is a clear idea or concept your essay is trying to develop or improve upon. This idea should be explained in every body paragraph.

But it should be brief enough to distract from the main idea and to get in the way of other ideas. Your essay can be strong, but it could collapse under its weight if you don’t support it well enough. 

How to Write an Essay Body Paragraph

We mentioned earlier that a body paragraph has a structure like an essay. On the other hand, length-wise is less so. Therefore, you have just a few sentences left to get your point across;

Be Intentional in Your Writing

Body paragraphs exist to back up a claim you made in your thesis statement, and the purpose is to back it up. Use these facts, statistics, experiments, etc. Make sure that you convince your reader of your point. 

Preparation Is Key

While having convincing arguments is essential, you must also know how to explain your claims. You should also prepare an outline and assess your ideas for what fits where best. 

Start With a Topic Sentence

Through this sentence, you let your readers know what you will discuss in the rest of the paragraph. Start by making a claim or stating a fact through the topic sentence. There is always the option of using a simple statement or asking a question, but the subject sentence should always explain what the paragraph is about. 

Wrap It Up

After providing enough arguments or evidence to support your topic sentence, what you end is often as important as how you begin it. So make sure you use your concluding sentence wisely. Summarize your point in the paragraph concisely, non-repetitive, and preferably cleverly. Leave your readers informed and impressed by taking a trip out with a bang. 

Conclusion

A body paragraph is a paragraph within an essay that explains the meaning of a particular passage of the text or develops a specific point.

A body paragraph usually begins with a topic sentence and then continues with supporting text that supports that topic sentence. Although it’s essential to have a solid opening topic sentence, the paragraph is more important than the topic sentence.

This is because it can provide the needed direction to the essay. Make sure to be concise with the structure of an essay’s body paragraph to produce a quality write-up.