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  • AWELU contents
  • Writing at university
  • Different kinds of student texts
  • Understanding instructions and stylesheets
  • Understanding essay/exam questions
  • Peer review instructions
  • Dealing with feedback
  • Checklist for writers
  • Research writing resources
  • Administrative writing resources
  • LU language policy

Introduction

  • What characterises academic writing?
  • The heterogeneity of academic writing

Three-part essays

  • IMRaD essays
  • How to get started on your response paper
  • Student literature review
  • Annotated bibliography
  • Three versions of the RA
  • Examples of specificity within disciplines
  • Reviews (review articles and book reviews)
  • Popular science writing
  • Research posters
  • Grant proposals
  • Writing for Publication
  • Salutations
  • Structuring your email
  • Direct and indirect approaches
  • Useful email phrases
  • Language tips for email writers
  • Writing memos
  • Meeting terminology
  • The writing process
  • Identifying your audience
  • Using invention techniques
  • Research question
  • Thesis statement
  • Developing reading strategies
  • Taking notes
  • Identifying language resources
  • Choosing a writing tool
  • Framing the text: Title and reference list
  • Structure of the whole text
  • Structuring the argument
  • Structure of introductions
  • Structure within sections of the text
  • Structure within paragraphs
  • Signposting the structure
  • Using sources
  • What needs to be revised?
  • How to revise
  • Many vs. much
  • Other quantifiers
  • Quantifiers in a table
  • Miscellaneous quantifiers
  • Adjectives and adverbs
  • Capitalisation
  • Sentence fragment
  • Run-on sentences
  • What or which?
  • Singular noun phrases connected by "or"
  • Singular noun phrases connected by "either/or"
  • Connected singular and plural noun phrases
  • Noun phrases conjoined by "and"
  • Subjects containing "along with", "as well as", and "besides"
  • Indefinite pronouns and agreement
  • Sums of money and periods of time
  • Words that indicate portions
  • Uncountable nouns
  • Dependent clauses and agreement
  • Agreement with the right noun phrase
  • Some important exceptions and words of advice
  • Atypical nouns
  • The major word classes
  • The morphology of the major word classes
  • Words and phrases
  • Elements in the noun phrase
  • Classes of nouns
  • Determiners
  • Elements in the verb phrase
  • Classes of main verbs
  • Auxiliary verbs
  • Primary auxiliary verbs
  • Modal auxiliary verbs
  • Meanings of modal auxiliaries
  • Marginal auxiliary verbs
  • Time and tense
  • Simple and progressive forms
  • The perfect
  • Active and passive voice
  • Adjective phrases
  • Adverb phrases
  • Personal pronouns
  • Dummy pronouns
  • Possessive pronouns
  • Interrogative pronouns
  • Indefinite pronouns
  • Quantifiers
  • Prepositions and prepositional phrases
  • More on adverbials
  • The order of subjects and verbs
  • Subject-Verb agreement
  • Hyphen and dash
  • English spelling rules
  • Commonly confused words
  • Differences between British and American spelling
  • Vocabulary awareness
  • Useful words and phrases
  • Using abbreviations
  • Register types
  • Formal vs. informal
  • DOs & DON'Ts
  • General information on dictionary use
  • Online dictionary resources
  • What is a corpus?
  • Examples of the usefulness of a corpus
  • Using the World Wide Web as a corpus
  • Online corpus resources
  • Different kinds of sources
  • The functions of references
  • Paraphrasing
  • Summarising
  • Reference accuracy
  • Reference management tools
  • Different kinds of reference styles
  • Style format
  • Elements of the reference list
  • Documentary note style
  • Writing acknowledgements
  • What is academic integrity?
  • Academic integrity and writing
  • Academic integrity at LU
  • Different kinds of plagiarism
  • Avoiding plagiarism
  • About Awelu

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  • Start here AWELU contents Student writing resources Research writing resources Administrative writing resources LU language policy
  • Genres Introduction The Nature of Academic Writing Student writing genres Writing in Academic Genres Writing for Publication Writing for Administrative Purposes
  • Writing The writing process Pre-writing stage Writing stage Rewriting stage
  • Language Introduction Common problems and how to avoid them Selective mini grammar Coherence Punctuation Spelling Focus on vocabulary Register and style Dictionaries Corpora - resources for writer autonomy References
  • Referencing Introduction Different kinds of sources The functions of references How to give references Reference accuracy Reference management tools Using a reference style Quick guides to reference styles Writing acknowledgements
  • Academic integrity What is academic integrity? Academic integrity and writing Academic integrity at LU Plagiarism

Essays consisting of an introduction, a main body (which may be divided into sections), and a   conclusion   are referred to as three-part essays. You may be used to this essay format from school.

In the introduction, the reader is introduced to the topic that will be discussed and to the argument that will be presented. After the introduction comes the main part of the text, where the analysis and discussion are carried out and results are presented. Depending on the length of the essay, this body section may or may not be divided into different sections, and the division may be thematic, chronological, or based on comparison and contrast, for instance. In the final part of the essay, the argument will be summed up and conclusions will be drawn from what has been discussed in the body.

Structure of the three-part essay

Each section of the text needs to be structured in a way that helps the reader understand the argument and the points that the writer wishes to make.

The main purpose of the introduction is to provide the reader with a clear idea of the focus and aim of the text. The topic of the essay/article is presented in the introduction, often accompanied by a thesis statement (the claim that the writer wishes to make). Depending on the type of essay, the introduction section also

  • provides the context/background of the argument
  • introduces the theoretical perspectives, terminology, etc. that will be used
  • explains how the writing will be organised

All the information in the introduction must be relevant to the points that are subsequently made in the body of the text. The introduction often starts with a broad, or general, description of the topic and then gradually narrows down to the specific focus of the essay. Read more about the structure of introductions, and learn about the CARS (Creating a Research Space) model here:

After the introduction comes the main part of the text, which is often referred to as the body. This is where the analysis and discussion will be carried out and where results are presented. Everything that is brought up in this part of the text relates back to what was presented in the introduction. Depending on discipline, aim and context, there are various ways of structuring the body of the text. A basic strategy is to deal with one thing at a time and to order the different issues that are brought up in a logical sequence that makes the argument easy to follow.

Depending on the length of the essay, the body may or may not be divided into different sections. Note that there is never a heading called "Body" in essays; this word is only used when talking about the essay format to signal that it is the bulk of the essay text.

In the final part of the essay, the argument is summed up and conclusions are drawn from what has been discussed. Generally, a conclusion should not contain any new facts or ideas, but instead provide a brief restatement of the main arguments that have been presented in the essay.

The conclusion might refer back to the introduction and comment on the thesis statement or the research questions presented there. In some texts, it is appropriate to include a look forward, in the form of suggestions for further study, for instance.

You can watch this video for more information about the three-part essay structure:

Instructional video from the free online MOOC "Writing in English at University" which was developed at Lund University in 2016.

Further help on writing a three-part essay

For further information and advice about different parts of the essay, see:

  • Structure of Introductions

IMAGES

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