essay planning ideas

How to plan an essay: Essay Planning

• What's in this guide
• Essay Planning
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How to plan an essay

Essay planning is an important step in academic essay writing.

Proper planning helps you write your essay faster, and focus more on the exact question.  As you draft and write your essay, record any changes on the plan as well as in the essay itself, so they develop side by side.

One way to start planning an essay is with a ‘box plan’.

First, decide how many stages you want in your argument – how many important points do you want to make? Then, divide a box into an introduction + one paragraph for each stage + a conclusion.

Next, figure out how many words per paragraph you'll need.

Usually, the introduction and conclusion are each about 10% of the word count. This leaves about 80% of the word count for the body - for your real argument. Find how many words that is, and divide it by the number of body paragraphs you want. That tells you about how many words each paragraph can have.

Remember, each body paragraph discusses one main point, so make sure each paragraph's long enough to discuss the point properly (flexible, but usually at least 150 words).

For example, say the assignment is

Fill in the table as follows:

Next, record each paragraph's main argument, as either a heading or  topic sentence (a sentence to start that paragraph, to immediately make its point clear).

Finally, use dot points to list useful information or ideas from your research notes for each paragraph. Remember to include references so you can connect each point to your reading.

The other useful document for essay planning is the marking rubric .

This indicates what the lecturer is looking for, and helps you make sure all the necessary elements are there.

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Planning an Essay

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This page is the first of two that describe the processes involved in producing an essay for academic purposes, for school, college or university and covers the planning stages of essay writing, which are important to the overall process.

The second page, Writing an Essay , provides more information on the steps involved in actually writing an essay. We recommend you read both pages to gain a full understanding.

Developing the skill of essay writing takes practice, time and patience , your essay writing skills will improve and develop the more you write.

With the help of your course tutor (teacher or lecturer) and peers (other students) and from constructive feedback from the marker of your work, writing an essay will become easier as you progress through your studies and your confidence increases.

This page details general good practice in essay planning, including what you should do and what you should try to avoid. It is important however, that you understand the specific requirements of your school, college or university.

Writing an essay helps you to consider the issues raised in your course and to relate them to your own experience, way of thinking, and also any wider additional reading and research you may have undertaken in order to tackle the essay topic. 

Writing an essay (or other assignment) is an important part of the learning process.  In the writing of an assignment, learning occurs as you think through and interpret the points raised (together with those of other writers on the subject).

Presenting your experience and showing understanding within your assignment will, from the marker's point of view, demonstrate your knowledge of the subject area.

The Purpose of an Essay

The original meaning of an essay is ' an attempt ', or a try, at something. It is therefore appropriate to consider writing an essay as a learning exercise.

Essays, and other academic writing, focus the mind and encourage you to come to conclusions about what you are studying.

Writing is often the best possible way to assimilate and organise information. Writing helps to highlight any areas that you have not fully understood and enables you to make further clarifications. It develops your powers of criticism, analysis and expression, and gives you a chance to try out your and other writers' ideas on the subject.

The feedback you receive from the marker of your essay should help to advance your study skills, writing, research and  critical thinking skills .

What is the Marker Looking For?

As an essay - in the context of this page - is an assessed piece of work, it can be very useful to consider what the person who will be assessing the work, the marker, will be looking for.

Although different types of essays in different subject areas may vary considerably in their style and content there are some key concepts that will help you understand what is required of you and your essay.

When marking an assignment, a marker will look for some of the following elements, which will demonstrate you are able to:

Find relevant information and use the knowledge to focus on the essay question or subject.

Structure knowledge and information logically, clearly and concisely.

Read purposefully and critically. (See our page: Critical Reading for more)

Relate theory to practical examples.

Analyse processes and problems.

Be persuasive and argue a case.

Find links and combine information from a number of different sources.

Answer the Question

One main factor, always worth bearing in mind, is that a marker will usually only award marks for how well you have answered the essay question.

It is likely that the marker will have a set of criteria or marking guidelines that will dictate how many marks can be awarded for each element of your essay.

Remember it is perfectly possible to write an outstanding essay, but not to have answered the original question.  This will, in all likelihood, mean a low mark.

Planning Your Essay

Planning is the process of sorting out what you want to include in your essay.

A well-planned and organised essay indicates that you have your ideas in order; it makes points clearly and logically.  In this way, a well-planned and structured essay enables the reader, or marker, to follow the points being made easily.

Essay assignments are usually formulated in one of the following ways:

As a question

A statement is given and you are asked to comment on it

An invitation to ‘ outline’ , ‘ discuss’ or ‘ critically assess’ a particular argument or point of view

Remember always write your essay based on the question that is set and not on another aspect of the subject. Although this may sound obvious, many students do not fully answer the essay question and include irrelevant information. The primary aim of an academic essay is to answer the task set, in some detail.

To help you do this, you might find the following list of stages helpful.

Producing an Essay Plan

The essay plan below contains ten steps.

It is often useful to complete the first six steps soon after receiving your essay question. That way information will be fresh and you are more likely to be thinking about your essay plan as you do other things.

Study the essay question intently.

Write the essay question out in full.

Spend some time, at least half an hour, brainstorming the subject area.

Write down your thoughts on the question subject, its scope and various aspects.

List words or phrases that you think need to be included.

Note the main points you should include to answer the question.

If, at this point, you feel unsure of what to include, talk to your tutor or a peer to clarify that you are on the right track.

Once you have finished the first six steps and you feel sure you know how to proceed, continue to expand on your initial thoughts and build a more in-depth essay outline.

Skim through any course material or lecture handouts and start to build up a more detailed outline. Scan through your own lecture notes, and if anything strikes you as relevant to the assignment task, write where to find it on your detailed outline

Write down where you will find the necessary information on each of the points in your detailed outline (lecture notes, course handouts etc.).  Indicate on the outline where you feel that some further research is necessary.

Be careful not to allow your outline to become too complicated; stick to main points and keep it relevant to the question.

If you have been given a reading list or a core text book then check the relevant sections of that.

See our page: Sources of Information for more ideas of where you can find relevant information for your essay.

Academic essays usually have a word limit and writing within the word limit is an important consideration. Many institutions will penalise students for not writing the correct amount of words – for example, the essay question may call for a 2,000 word essay, there may be a 10% grace, so anything between 1,800 and 2,200 is acceptable.

Think about the main elements that need to be covered in the essay. Make sure you allocate the greatest number of words to the 'main body of the essay' and not to a subsidiary point.

Decide how much space you can devote to each section of your outline.  For example, a third of a page for the introduction, half a page for point 1 which has two sub-points, one and a half pages for point 2 which has five sub-points etc.  Although you will not follow such a space scheme rigidly, it does enable you to keep things under control and to know how much detail to put in, keeping the balance of the essay as you originally planned.

Of course, you will make minor adjustments to your essay plan as you actually write. However, do not make major adjustments unless you are absolutely certain about the alternative and how it fits into your original scheme.

Having a strong essay plan makes the actual task of writing an essay much more efficient.

Continue to: Writing an Essay Sources of Information

See also: Essay Writing Tips Note-Taking for Reading Finding Time To Study

Essay writing

• Introduction

Answering the question

Generating ideas, planning your essay, different planning methods.

• Writing your essay
• Developing your essay writing

Useful links for writing essays

• Study Advice Helping students to achieve study success with guides, video tutorials, seminars and one-to-one advice sessions.
• Academic writing LibGuide Expert guidance on punctuation, grammar, writing style and proof-reading.
• Guide to citing references Includes guidance on why, when and how to use references correctly in your academic writing.
• Reading and notemaking LibGuide Expert guidance on managing your reading and making effective notes.
• Academic Phrasebank Use this site for examples of linking phrases and ways to refer to sources.
• Ten stages of assignment success (Prezi) Based upon Burns and Sinfield, Essential Study Skills.
• Critical Thinking A short video on Critical Thinking that the BBC have prepared in partnership with The Open University

The first thing to do when preparing to write an essay is to make a plan. You could just rush in and write everything that comes into your head, but that would make it difficult for your marker to read and would reduce the effectiveness of your ideas. These will make much stronger arguments if you group them together than they would do on their own.

The guidance on this page will show you how to plan and structure your essay to produce a strong and focused response to the question.

A very common complaint from lecturers and examiners is that students write a lot of information but they just don't answer the question. Don't rush straight into researching – give yourself time to think carefully about the question and understand what it is asking.

Underlining key words – This is a good start point for making sure you understand all the terms (some might need defining); identifying the crucial information in the question; and clarifying what the question is asking you to do (compare & contrast, analyse, discuss). But make sure you then consider the question as a whole again, not just as a series of unconnected words.

Re-read the question – Read the question through a few times. Explain it to yourself, so you are sure you know what it is asking you to do.

Try breaking the question down into sub-questions – What is the question asking? Why is this important? How am I going to answer it? What do I need to find out first, second, third in order to answer the question? This is a good way of working out what important points or issues make up the overall question – it can help focus your reading and start giving your essay a structure. However, try not to have too many sub-questions as this can lead to following up minor issues, as opposed to the most important points.

• Answering the question and planning (video) Watch this brief video tutorial for more on the topic.
• Answering the question and planning (transcript) Read along while watching the video tutorial.

The kinds of things to note briefly are:

• What you already know about the topic – from lectures, seminars, general knowledge.
• Things you don't know about the topic, but need to find out in order to answer the question.
• Initial responses or answers to the question – what you think your conclusion might possibly be.

This helps you start formulating your argument and direction for answering the question. It also helps you focus your reading, as you can pinpoint what you need to find out and go straight to the parts of books, chapters, articles that will be most relevant.

After reading - After your reading, it is often good to summarise all your findings on a page. Again, a spider diagram can help with this.

Bringing together the key points from your reading helps clarify what you have found out, and helps you find a pathway through all the ideas and issues you have encountered. If you include brief details of authors and page nos. for key information, it can act as a quick at-a-glance guide for finding the evidence you need to support your points later.

It also helps you see how your initial response to the question might have changed or become more sophisticated in light of the reading you've done. It leads into planning your essay structure.

• It enables you to work out a logical structure and an end point for your argument before you start writing.
• It means you don't have to do this type of complex thinking at the same time as trying to find the right words to express your ideas.
• It helps you to commit yourself to sticking to the point!

You need to work out what to include, and what can be left out. It is impossible to cover everything in an essay, and your markers will be looking for evidence of your ability to choose material and put it in order. Brainstorm all your ideas, then arrange them in three or four groups. Not everything will fit so be prepared to discard some points (you can mention them briefly in your introduction).

Outline what you are going to include in each section:

• Introduction : Address the question, show why it's interesting and how you will answer it.
• Main body : Build your argument. Put your groups of ideas in a sequence to make a persuasive argument. One main point in each paragraph.
• Conclusion : Summarise your arguments and evidence, and show how they answer the original question.

Writing a summary - Some people plan best once they have written something, as this helps clarify their thinking. If you prefer to write first, try summarising the central idea of your essay in a few sentences. This gives you a clear direction for working out how you are going to break it down into points supported by evidence. You can then use one of the methods below to write a more detailed plan.

• Structuring your essay (video) Watch this brief video tutorial for more on the topic.
• Structuring your essay (transcript) Read along while watching the video tutorial.

Bullet points / linear plans - This type of plan lists the main points using bullet points or numbers. It can be a brief outline of the main point per paragraph, or a more detailed plan with sub-points and a note of the evidence to support each point (e.g. source and page no.).

No plan is perfect, so be prepared for your ideas to change as you write your essay. However, once you have an initial plan it is much easier to adapt it and see where new things fit if your thinking does change.

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How to Write a Perfect Essay Plan

4-minute read

• 9th December 2019

Every good essay starts with a good essay plan. And planning your essay is important, as it will help you express each point you need to make clearly and in a logical order. But what goes into a good essay plan? And how can you write one? Join us for a quick look at how this works.

1. Read the Question Closely

The first step in any essay plan is to look at the question you’ve been set. It should provide some clue as to the kind of essay required, such as whether it is an open or closed question . These differ as follows:

• An open question permits various answers. For instance, if you were set an English literature essay, you might be asked What are the main social themes in the writing of Charles Dickens? This would allow you to discuss a range of concepts in response. Writing you essay plan would then involve narrowing down your subject matter so you can focus on one issue.
• A closed question focuses on a specific issue, often asking you to agree or disagree with something. For instance, a closed question could be Is technology a destructive force in the writing of Charles Dickens? In this case, the question dictates the form of the essay, as you would need to look at arguments for and against the claim and, finally, come to a conclusion.

Keep in mind that both question types require an in-depth answer! Some closed questions could technically be answered by writing ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ on a piece of paper, but this won’t get you great marks. Instead, think of the question as a prompt for you to show off what you know on the topic.

And if you’re not sure about anything, such as how a question is worded, you will want to check this with whomever set the assignment.

2. Brainstorm Ideas and Organise Your Research

After studying the essay question, the next step is to brainstorm ideas for answering it. And the starting point for this is to organise your research.

In other words, it’s time to get out those lecture notes! In fact, you should make a mind map of everything you know on the essay topic.

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Look for anything that is relevant to the essay question. You can then narrow down the possible answers to the topics that interest you most. This should also help you identify any gaps in your knowledge, so you can make notes on what else you may need to research for your essay.

3. Draft an Essay Outline

The last step in writing an essay plan is to outline your essay. This means breaking it down section by section, paragraph by paragraph, so you know exactly what you need to write to answer the essay question.

The exact content will depend on the topic and word count . But, as a rule, most essays will have a basic structure along the following lines:

• Introduction – A paragraph or two that sets out your main argument.
• Main Body – This is the main chunk of your essay. To plan this, break down your argument into paragraphs or sections, sticking to one main idea per paragraph. Once you’ve done this, note down how each point supports your argument, plus any quotes or examples you will use.
• Conclusion – A brief summary of your arguments and evidence.
• References – A list of sources you plan to use in your essay.

This will then guide the writing process, making sure you always stay on topic.

Expert Essay Proofreading

Planning your essay is just the first step: you then need to write it! And to make sure it’s the best it can be, you’ll want to have it proofread . Our expert editors can help with that, making sure that your writing is always academic in tone and completely error free. Just let us know how we can help!

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Construct an Essay Plan

Construct an initial essay plan.

After you have generated some ideas, it’s important to write an initial plan before you head for the library. This can feel strange—after all, how can you answer a question when you haven’t done any research?—but starting with an initial plan helps you order your ideas and focus your reading. Without a sense of which direction to head in, it’s easy to get lost in the research process.

This initial plan will be provisional and might consist of:

• a provisional answer to the question (or thesis statement)
• a brief outline of possible main point.

As you research and develop your understanding of the topic, your ideas will likely change, and your answers may change with them. Try to see your essay plan as something that evolves as you engage further with your topic.

While it’s a good idea to write an initial plan before you start researching, if you really know nothing at all about the topic, some initial skimming and browsing through recommended or assigned readings can provide a few ideas. However, the initial planning stage is not the time for a lot of intensive or detailed reading.

What elements should an essay plan consist of?

A 1-2 sentence thesis statement.

A plan should indicate the answer to the question. A clear and well-written thesis statement will help you to determine the direction and structure of your argument.

What is a thesis statement?

• A clear and direct answer to the essay questio.
• A claim that can be discussed and expanded further in the body of the essay.
• One or two complete sentences.
• A part of the introduction.

In the initial plan, the thesis statement is usually provisional. However, after you’ve done some research, you will need to work on your thesis statement until it is clear, concise and effective.

• Try introducing your thesis statement with the phrase ‘this essay will argue’ or ‘this essay argues’.
• Paraphrasing the assignment question can help ensure that you are answering it.

Possible main points

Once you have a thesis statement, follow it with a paragraph or a set of points that indicate the ‘reasons why’ for your answer. The ‘reasons why’ can be developed into the main points of your essay.

What are main points?

• Main points make up the body of an essay.
• Each point should be developed in a paragraph. These paragraphs are the building blocks used to construct the argument.
• In a 1000-1500 word essay, aim for three to four main points

In the initial plan, try to express the main idea of each point in a single, clear sentence. These can become topic sentences—usually the first sentence of each paragraph which summarise the information in the paragraph. In your second plan, you develop these points further. 

Arrange your main points in a logical order and number them. Is there one that would seem to go first or one that would seem to go last? Are there any two that are closely linked? How are the ideas connected to each other? Do the main points, when considered as a whole, present a unified discussion?).

The structure of the essay

A plan should follow the structureof an essay, e.g. Introduction, body and conclusion.

While you may not be ready to construct an introduction or conclusion, this three-part structure should be at least suggested in your plan.

Some indication of the research

A plan should include some indication of the sources you might use to RESEARCH the topic.

Make a few notes about how each main point might be developed. If possible, specify the evidence you might draw on and which texts you might refer to. Jot down titles, authors, page numbers etc.

    Next: Step 4 - Research and gather information

Essay and assignment writing guide.

• Essay writing basics
• Analyse the task
• Work out your ideas
• Construct an essay plan
• Research and gather information
• Write a second essay plan
• Answering assignment questions
• Editing checklist
• Writing a critical review
• Annotated bibliography
• Reflective writing
• ^ More support

Scholarly Resources 4 Students | scite.ai 21 May 2024

Discover your Library: Main Library 21 May 2024

7 Steps for Writing an Essay Plan

Have you ever started writing an essay then realized you have run out of ideas to talk about?

This can make you feel deflated and you start to hate your essay!

The best way to avoid this mid-essay disaster is to plan ahead: you need to write an Essay Plan!

Essay planning is one of the most important skills I teach my students. When I have one-to-one tutorials with my students, I always send them off with an essay plan and clear goals about what to write.

Essay Planning isn’t as dull as you think. In fact, it really does only take a short amount of time and can make you feel oh so relieved that you know what you’re doing!

Here’s my 7-Step method that I encourage you to use for your next essay:

The 7-Step Guide on How to write an Essay Plan

• Figure out your Essay Topic (5 minutes)
• Gather your Sources and take Quick Notes (20 minutes)
• Brainstorm using a Mind-Map (10 minutes)
• Arrange your Topics (2 minutes)
• Write your topic Sentences (5 minutes)
• Write a No-Pressure Draft in 3 Hours (3 hours)
• Edit your Draft Once every Few Days until Submission (30 minutes)

I’ve been using this 7-Step essay planning strategy since I was in my undergraduate degree. Now, I’ve completed a PhD and written over 20 academic journal articles and dozens of blog posts using this method – and it still works!

Let’s go through my 7 steps for how to write an essay plan.

Prefer to Watch than Read? Here’s our video on writing an Essay Plan.

how to write an essay plan

1. figure out your essay topic. here’s how..

Where did your teacher provide you with your assessment details?

Find it. This is where you begin.

Now, far, far, far too many students end up writing essays that aren’t relevant to the essay question given to you by your teacher. So print out your essay question and any other advice or guidelines provided by your teacher.

Here’s some things that your assessment details page might include:

• The essay question;
• The marking criteria;
• Suggested sources to read;
• Some background information on the topic

The essay question is really important. Once you’ve printed it I want you to do one thing:

Highlight the key phrases in the essay question.

Here’s some essay questions and the key phrases you’d want to highlight:

This strategy helps you to hone in on exactly what you want to talk about. These are the key phrases you’re going to use frequently in your writing and use when you look for sources to cite in your essay!

The other top thing to look at is the marking criteria. Some teachers don’t provide this, but if they do then make sure you pay attention to the marking criteria !

Here’s an example of a marking criteria sheet:

Sample Essay Topic: Is Climate Change the Greatest Moral Challenge of our Generation?

Now, if you have a marking criteria you really need to pay attention to this. You have to make sure you’ve ticked off all the key criteria that you will be marked on. For the example above, your essay is going to have to make sure it:

• Takes a position about whether climate change is a serious challenge for human kind;
• Discusses multiple different people’s views on the topic;
• Explores examples and case studies (‘practical situations’);
• Uses referencing to back up your points.

The reason you need to be really careful to pay attention to this marking criteria is because it is your cheat sheet: it tells you what to talk about!

Step 1 only takes you five minutes and helps you to clearly clarify what you’re going to be talking about! Now your mind is tuned in and you can start doing some preliminary research.

2. Gather your Sources and take Quick Notes. Here’s how.

Now that you know what your focus is, you can start finding some information to discuss. You don’t want to just write things from the top of your head. If you want top marks, you want some deep, detailed and specific pieces of information.

Fortunately, your teacher has probably made this easy for you.

The top source for finding information will be the resources your teacher provided. These resources were hand picked by your teacher because they believed these were the best sources available our there on the topic. Here are the most common resources teachers provide:

• Lecture Slides;
• Assigned Readings.

The lecture slides are one of the best resources for you to access. Lecture slides are usually provided online for you. Download them, save them on your computer, and dig them up when it’s time to write the essay plan.

Find the lecture slides most relevant to your topic. To take the example of our climate change essay, maybe climate change is only discussed in three of the weeks in your course. Those are the three weeks’ lecture slides you want to hone-in on.

Flick through those lecture slides and take quick notes on a piece of paper – what are the most important topics and statistics that are relevant to your essay question?

Now, move on to the assigned readings . Your teacher will have selected some readings for you to do for homework through the semester. They may be eBooks, Textbooks or Journal Articles.

These assigned readings were assigned for a reason: because they have very important information to read ! Scan through them and see if there’s any more points you can add to your list of statistics and key ideas to discuss.

Next, try to find a few more sources using Google Scholar. This is a great resource for finding more academic articles that you can read to find even more details and ideas to add to your essay.

Here’s my notes that I researched for the essay question “Is Climate Change the Greatest Moral Challenge of our Generation?” As you can see, it doesn’t have to be beautiful #Studygram notes! It’s just rough notes to get all the important information down:

Once you’ve read the assigned lecture slides and readings, you should have a good preliminary list of ideas, topics, statistics and even quotes that you can use in step 3.

3. Brainstorm using a Mind-Map. Here’s how.

Do your initial notes look a little disorganized?

That’s okay. The point of Step 2 was to gather information. Now it’s time to start sorting these ideas in your mind.

The best way to organize thoughts is to create a Mind-Map. Here’s how Mind-Maps often look:

For your essay plan Mind-Map, write the essay question in the middle of the page and draw a circle around it.

Then, select the biggest and most important key ideas that you think are worth discussing in the essay. To decide on these, you might want to look back at the notes you took in Step 2.

Each key idea will take up around about 200 – 350 words (1 to 2 sentences).

Here’s a rough guide for how many key ideas you’ll want depending on your essay length:

• 1000-word essay: 3 to 4 key ideas
• 1500-word essay: 5 to 7 key ideas
• 2000-word essay: 6 to 8 key ideas
• 3000-word essay: 9 to 12 key ideas

Once you’ve selected your key ideas you can list them in a circle around the essay question, just like this:

Last, we need to add detail and depth to each key idea. So, draw more lines out from each key ideas and list:

• Two sources that you will cite for each key idea;
• A statistic or example that you will provide for each key idea;
• Any additional interesting facts for each key idea

Here’s how it might look once you’re done:

4. Arrange your Topics. Here’s how.

You’re well and truly on your way to getting your essay down on paper now.

There’s one last thing to do before you start getting words down on the manuscript that you will submit. You need to arrange your topics to decide which to write first, second, third, fourth, and last!

Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Start and end with your strongest points;
• Ensure the points logically flow.

To ensure your points logically flow, think about how you’re going to transition from one idea to the next . Does one key point need to be made first so that the other ones make sense?

Do two key points seem to fit next to one another? If so, make sure you list them side-by-side.

Have a play around with the order you want to discuss the ideas until you’re comfortable. Then, list them in order. Here’s my order for my Climate Change essay:

Each of these key ideas is going to turn into a paragraph or two (probably two) in the essay.

5. Write your topic Sentences in just 5 minutes. Here’s how.

All good essays have clear paragraphs that start with a topic sentence . To turn these brainstormed key points into an essay, you need to get that list you wrote in Step 5 and turn each point into a topic sentence for a paragraph.

It’s important that the first sentence of each paragraph clearly states the paragraph’s topic. Your marker is going to want to know exactly what your paragraph is about immediately. You don’t want your marker to wait until the 3 rd , 4 th or 5 th line of a paragraph before they figure out what you’re talking about in the paragraph.

So, you need to state what your key idea is in the first sentence of the paragraph.

Let’s have a go at turning each of our key ideas into a topic sentence:

6. Write a No-Pressure Essay Draft in just 3 Hours. Here’s how.

Okay, now the rubber hits the road. Let’s get writing!

When you write your first draft, don’t put pressure on yourself. Remind yourself that this is the first of several attempts at creating a great essay, so it doesn’t need to be perfect right away. The important thing is that you get words down on paper.

To write the draft, have a go at adding to each of your topic sentences to turn them into full paragraphs. Follow the information you wrote down in your notes and Mind-Map to get some great details down on paper.

Forget about the introduction and conclusion for now. You can write them last.

Let’s have a go at one together. I’m going to choose the paragraph on my key idea “Is climate change caused by humans?”

I’ve already got my first sentence and my brainstormed ideas. Let’s build on them to write a draft paragraph:

• “Most scientists believe climate change is caused by humans. In fact, according to the IPCC, over 98% of climate change scientists accept the scientific data that climate change is caused by humans (IPCC, 2018). This figure is very high, signalling overwhelming expert consensus. This consensus holds that the emission of carbon from burning of fossil fuels in the 20 th Century is trapping heat into the atmosphere. However, a minority of dissenting scientists continue to claim that this carbon build-up is mostly the fault of natural forces such as volcanoes which emit enormous amounts of carbon into the atmosphere (Bier, 2013).”

Your turn – have a go at your own draft paragraphs based on your Mind-Map for your essay topic! If you hit a rut or have some trouble, don’t forget to check out our article on how to write perfect paragraphs .

Once you’ve written all your paragraphs, make sure you write an introduction and conclusion .

Gone over the word count? Check out our article on how to reduce your word count.

7. Edit your Draft Once every Few Days until Submission. Check out this simple approach:

Okay, hopefully after your three hour essay drafting session you’ve got all your words down on paper. Congratulations!

However, we’re not done yet.

The best students finish their drafts early on so they have a good three or four weeks to come back and re-read their draft and edit it every few days.

When coming back to edit your draft , here’s a few things to look out for:

• Make sure all the paragraph and sentence structure makes sense. Feel free to change words around until things sound right. You might find that the first time you edit something it sounds great, but next time you realize it’s not as good as you thought. That’s why we do multiple rounds of edits over the course of a few weeks;
• Check for spelling, grammar and punctuation errors;
• Print out your draft and read it on paper. You notice more mistakes when you read a printed-out version;
• Work on adding any more details and academic sources from online sources like Google Scholar to increase your chance of getting a top grade. Here’s our ultimate guide on finding scholarly sources online – it might be helpful for this step!

Before you go – Here’s the Actionable Essay Plan Tips Summed up for you

Phew! That essay was tough. But with this essay plan, you can get through any essay and do a stellar job! Essay planning is a great way to ensure your essays make sense, have a clear and compelling argument, and don’t go off-topic.

I never write an essay without one.

To sum up, here are the 7 steps to essay planning one more time:

The 7-Step Guide for How to Write an Essay Plan

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 5 Top Tips for Succeeding at University
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 50 Durable Goods Examples
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 100 Consumer Goods Examples
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 30 Globalization Pros and Cons

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Essay Writing Guide

Essay Outline

Last updated on: Jun 10, 2023

A Complete Essay Outline - Guidelines and Format

By: Nova A.

13 min read

Reviewed By: Melisa C.

Published on: Jan 15, 2019

To write an effective essay, you need to create a clear and well-organized essay outline. An essay outline will shape the essay’s entire content and determine how successful the essay will be.

In this blog post, we'll be going over the basics of essay outlines and provide a template for you to follow. We will also include a few examples so that you can get an idea about how these outlines look when they are put into practice.

Essay writing is not easy, but it becomes much easier with time, practice, and a detailed essay writing guide. Once you have developed your outline, everything else will come together more smoothly.

The key to success in any area is preparation - take the time now to develop a solid outline and then write your essays!

So, let’s get started!

On this Page

What is an Essay Outline?

An essay outline is your essay plan and a roadmap to essay writing. It is the structure of an essay you are about to write. It includes all the main points you have to discuss in each section along with the thesis statement.

Like every house has a map before it is constructed, the same is the importance of an essay outline. You can write an essay without crafting an outline, but you may miss essential information, and it is more time-consuming.

Once the outline is created, there is no chance of missing any important information. Also, it will help you to:

• Organize your thoughts and ideas.
• Understand the information flow.
• Never miss any crucial information or reference.
• Finish your work faster.

These are the reasons if someone asks you why an essay outline is needed. Now there are some points that must be kept in mind before proceeding to craft an essay outline.

Easily Outline Your Essays In Seconds!

Prewriting Process of Essay Outline

Your teacher may ask you to submit your essay outline before your essay. Therefore, you must know the preliminary guidelines that are necessary before writing an essay outline.

Here are the guidelines:

• You must go through your assignments’ guidelines carefully.
• Understand the purpose of your assignment.
• Know your audience.
• Mark the important point while researching your topic data.
• Select the structure of your essay outline; whether you are going to use a decimal point bullet or a simple one.

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How to Write an Essay Outline in 4 Steps

Creating an essay outline is a crucial step in crafting a well-structured and organized piece of writing. Follow these four simple steps to create an effective outline:

Step 1: Understand the Topic

To begin, thoroughly grasp the essence of your essay topic. 

Break it down into its key components and identify the main ideas you want to convey. This step ensures you have a clear direction and focus for your essay.

Step 2: Brainstorm and Gather Ideas

Let your creativity flow and brainstorm ideas related to your topic. 

Jot down key pieces of information, arguments, and supporting evidence that will strengthen your essay's overall message. Consider different perspectives and potential counterarguments to make your essay well-rounded.

Step 3: Organize Your Thoughts

Now it's time to give structure to your ideas. 

Arrange your main points in a logical order, starting with an attention-grabbing introduction, followed by body paragraphs that present your arguments. 

Finally, tie everything together with a compelling conclusion. Remember to use transitional phrases to create smooth transitions between sections.

Step 4: Add Depth with Subpoints

To add depth and clarity to your essay, incorporate subpoints under each main point. 

These subpoints provide more specific details, evidence, or examples that support your main ideas. They help to further strengthen your arguments and make your essay more convincing.

By following these four steps - you'll be well on your way to creating a clear and compelling essay outline.

Essay Outline Format

It is an easy way for you to write your thoughts in an organized manner. It may seem unnecessary and unimportant, but it is not.

It is one of the most crucial steps for essay writing as it shapes your entire essay and aids the writing process.

An essay outline consists of three main parts:

1. Introduction

The introduction body of your essay should be attention-grabbing. It should be written in such a manner that it attracts the reader’s interest. It should also provide background information about the topic for the readers.

You can use a dramatic tone to grab readers’ attention, but it should connect the audience to your thesis statement.

Here are some points without which your introduction paragraph is incomplete.

To attract the reader with the first few opening lines, we use a hook statement. It helps engage the reader and motivates them to read further. There are different types of hook sentences ranging from quotes, rhetorical questions to anecdotes and statistics, and much more.

Are you struggling to come up with an interesting hook? View these hook examples to get inspired!

A thesis statement is stated at the end of your introduction. It is the most important statement of your entire essay. It summarizes the purpose of the essay in one sentence.

The thesis statement tells the readers about the main theme of the essay, and it must be strong and clear. It holds the entire crux of your essay.

Need help creating a strong thesis statement? Check out this guide on thesis statements and learn to write a statement that perfectly captures your main argument!

2. Body Paragraphs

The body paragraphs of an essay are where all the details and evidence come into play. This is where you dive deep into the argument, providing explanations and supporting your ideas with solid evidence. 

If you're writing a persuasive essay, these paragraphs will be the powerhouse that convinces your readers. Similarly, in an argumentative essay, your body paragraphs will work their magic to sway your audience to your side.

Each paragraph should have a topic sentence and no more than one idea. A topic sentence is the crux of the contents of your paragraph. It is essential to keep your reader interested in the essay.

The topic sentence is followed by the supporting points and opinions, which are then justified with strong evidence.

3. Conclusion

When it comes to wrapping up your essay, never underestimate the power of a strong conclusion. Just like the introduction and body paragraphs, the conclusion plays a vital role in providing a sense of closure to your topic. 

To craft an impactful conclusion, it's crucial to summarize the key points discussed in the introduction and body paragraphs. You want to remind your readers of the important information you shared earlier. But keep it concise and to the point. Short, powerful sentences will leave a lasting impression.

Remember, your conclusion shouldn't drag on. Instead, restate your thesis statement and the supporting points you mentioned earlier. And here's a pro tip: go the extra mile and suggest a course of action. It leaves your readers with something to ponder or reflect on.

5 Paragraph Essay Outline Structure

An outline is an essential part of the writing as it helps the writer stay focused. A typical 5 paragraph essay outline example is shown here. This includes:

• State the topic
• Thesis statement
• Introduction
• Explanation
• A conclusion that ties to the thesis
• Summary of the essay
• Restate the thesis statement

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Essay Outline Template

The outline of the essay is the skeleton that you will fill out with the content. Both outline and relevant content are important for a good essay. The content you will add to flesh out the outline should be credible, relevant, and interesting.

The outline structure for the essay is not complex or difficult. No matter which type of essay you write, you either use an alphanumeric structure or a decimal structure for the outline.

Below is an outline sample that you can easily follow for your essay.

Essay Outline Sample

Essay Outline Examples

An essay outline template should follow when you start writing the essay. Every writer should learn how to write an outline for every type of essay and research paper.

Essay outline 4th grade

Essay outline 5th grade

Essay outline high school

Essay outline college

Given below are essay outline examples for different types of essay writing.

Argumentative Essay Outline

An  argumentative essay  is a type of essay that shows both sides of the topic that you are exploring. The argument that presents the basis of the essay should be created by providing evidence and supporting details.

Persuasive Essay Outline

A  persuasive essay  is similar to an argumentative essay. Your job is to provide facts and details to create the argument. In a persuasive essay, you convince your readers of your point of view.

Compare and Contrast Essay Outline

A  compare and contrast essay  explains the similarities and differences between two things. While comparing, you should focus on the differences between two seemingly similar objects. While contrasting, you should focus on the similarities between two different objects.

Narrative Essay Outline

A narrative essay is written to share a story. Normally, a narrative essay is written from a personal point of view in an essay. The basic purpose of the narrative essay is to describe something creatively.

Expository Essay Outline

An  expository essay  is a type of essay that explains, analyzes, and illustrates something for the readers. An expository essay should be unbiased and entirely based on facts. Be sure to use academic resources for your research and cite your sources.

Analytical Essay Outline

An  analytical essay  is written to analyze the topic from a critical point of view. An analytical essay breaks down the content into different parts and explains the topic bit by bit.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Outline

A rhetorical essay is written to examine the writer or artist’s work and develop a great essay. It also includes the discussion.

Cause and Effect Essay Outline

A  cause and effect essay  describes why something happens and examines the consequences of an occurrence or phenomenon. It is also a type of expository essay.

Informative Essay Outline

An  informative essay  is written to inform the audience about different objects, concepts, people, issues, etc.

The main purpose is to respond to the question with a detailed explanation and inform the target audience about the topic.

Synthesis Essay Outline

A  synthesis essay  requires the writer to describe a certain unique viewpoint about the issue or topic. Create a claim about the topic and use different sources and information to prove it.

Literary Analysis Essay Outline

A  literary analysis essay  is written to analyze and examine a novel, book, play, or any other piece of literature. The writer analyzes the different devices such as the ideas, characters, plot, theme, tone, etc., to deliver his message.

Definition Essay Outline

A  definition essay  requires students to pick a particular concept, term, or idea and define it in their own words and according to their understanding.

Descriptive Essay Outline

A  descriptive essay  is a type of essay written to describe a person, place, object, or event. The writer must describe the topic so that the reader can visualize it using their five senses.

Evaluation Essay Outline

Problem Solution Essay Outline

In a problem-solution essay, you are given a problem as a topic and you have to suggest multiple solutions on it.

Scholarship Essay Outline

A  scholarship essay  is required at the time of admission when you are applying for a scholarship. Scholarship essays must be written in a way that should stand alone to help you get a scholarship.

Reflective Essay Outline

A reflective essay  is written to express your own thoughts and point of view regarding a specific topic.

Getting started on your essay? Give this comprehensive essay writing guide a read to make sure you write an effective essay!

With this complete guide, now you understand how to create an outline for your essay successfully. However, if you still can’t write an effective essay, then the best option is to consult a professional academic writing service.

Essay writing is a dull and boring task for some people. So why not get some help instead of wasting your time and effort?  5StarEssays.com is here to help you. All your  do my essay for me  requests are managed by professional essay writers.

Place your order now, and our team of expert academic writers will help you.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the three types of outlines.

Here are the three types of essay outline;

• Working outline
• Speaking outline
• Full-sentence outline

All three types are different from each other and are used for different purposes.

What does a full-sentence outline look like?

A full sentence outline contains full sentences at each level of the essay’s outline. It is similar to an alphanumeric outline and it is a commonly used essay outline.

What is a traditional outline format?

A traditional essay outline begins with writing down all the important points in one place and listing them down and adding sub-topics to them. Besides, it will also include evidence and proof that you will use to back your arguments.

What is the benefit of using a traditional outline format and an informal outline format?

A traditional outline format helps the students in listing down all the important details in one palace while an informal outline will help you coming up with new ideas and highlighting important points

As a Digital Content Strategist, Nova Allison has eight years of experience in writing both technical and scientific content. With a focus on developing online content plans that engage audiences, Nova strives to write pieces that are not only informative but captivating as well.

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Essay writing: planning.

• Argument and criticality

Check the assignment instructions

Read the assignment brief and marking criteria carefully.  Re-read the module handbook and learning outcomes. Develop a clear picture of the skills and knowledge that the module was designed to impart and use your essay to demonstrate that you have understood the issues and developed the relevant skills.

As a general guide, an essay is usually assessed on the following criteria:

• Clear and coherent development of ideas
• Critical and insightful engagement with sources
• Originality of argument
• Appropriate referencing, including bibliography and in-text citations

Check your work against the marking criteria before you submit it (...for a fresh pair of eyes, see if a friend will help). Revise your work if there are aspects that have been neglected.

Analyse the essay question

It is not unusual for an essay to be marked down because it does not address the specific question posed . 

Remember...an essay is not an indiscriminate assemblage (or blob) of information you have found on the essay topic. It is a focused piece of writing that responds to the question posed.

To help you focus your writing, examine the title carefully and break it down...

• What are the key terms ? What underlying issues does the question want you to grapple with?  Why was it posed? 
• What items on your reading list does the question relate to?
• What sub-questions does the essay question pose? 
• Of these sub-questions, which are primary and which are secondary? Which need to be dealt with first in your discussion? 
• A comparison? A critical analysis? An evaluation? A glossary of these expressions is provided in the handout, 'Interpreting Assignment Questions', below. 

Analysing an essay question

This question has been broken down into two clauses, or claims (green and purple), to unpack issues hidden within it: control and the body; and generalised uncertainty. 

For each of these claims, we can ask, 'what', 'how' and 'why'. 

Significant terms in the green claim have also been identified for another round of 'what', 'how' and 'why'. 

By running this analysis a few times, we can generate a number of sub-questions to structure our discussion.

Finally, we will want to step back and ask  'what', 'how' and 'why' about the larger claim (green plus purple). 

• Interpreting essay questions Guidance on analysing essay questions

Understanding Questions

Understanding the question is vital to ensuring you get the highest marks for your essays. In this video we look at some of the key words in essay titles, and how they can help you plan your work.

Already ready to generate ideas?

Are you already familiar with the topic? Are you ready to try generating ideas and planning your work? If not, do some research  first. If you are, follow the steps outlined below.

Mind mapping

After doing some preliminary reading you should be able to generate ideas relating to the essay question. Why not draw a mind map?

Mind-mapping is a simple, practical tool for improving creative thinking, planning and problem-solving abilities. You can use your mind-map to zoom in  on the sub-topics inside the topic, and you can also use to to  zoom out and look at the topic from a broader perspective. Think about the context of the topic, theories relating to the topic and which bits of reading seem relevant to the topic.   

How to draw a mind map

Place a blank sheet in landscape position and write the essay question in the middle. Draw branches from the question, which are possible ideas and sub-topics to include in the essay. Add sub-topics (“leaves”) and connect ideas and evidence from your reading. You can use colours and images to stimulate your thinking.

You may find that your analysis of the question ( in the box above ) has already given you a head-start in generating ideas. Mind-mapping can help you to fill out your analysis and make new connections between ideas.

Planning your essay

Based on the key areas identified on your mind map, draft a plan for your essay.

Example of an essay plan:

Essay question: Critically evaluate the causes, consequences and possible solutions to climate change.

1. Introduction

2. Overview of global warming

3. Causes of climate change

3.1 Man-made causes

3.2 Natural processes

4. Consequences of climate change

4.1 Environmental

4.2 Social 

5. Solutions

5.1. Political

      5.1.1. National

      5.1.2. International

5.2. Technological

6. Conclusion

7. Bibliography

From this basic outline, you can then develop a paragraph plan in which you plan the points you will make in each section .

You should make one point per paragraph . 

It is a good idea to write down your topic sentences  for each paragraph (the sentence that informs the reader what each paragraph will be about).

When you have finished, check that the ideas in your paragraphs flow logically to the conclusion.

Headings: yes or no?

Check whether the assessment guidance and marking criteria discuss headings and subheadings. Sometimes headings provide the reader with useful cues but sometimes they indicate an inability to develop a cohesive discussion, with logical links between sub-topics. With or without headings, your essay should have an “implicit” structure: an introduction, a body that is divided into separate aspects of the topic, a conclusion and a bibliography.

The Shape of Essays

In this video we introduce six different types of essay question and show you how to answer them paragraph by paragraph.

Essay Planner

Essay planners:

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Essay Writing: A complete guide for students and teachers

P LANNING, PARAGRAPHING AND POLISHING: FINE-TUNING THE PERFECT ESSAY

Essay writing is an essential skill for every student. Whether writing a particular academic essay (such as persuasive, narrative, descriptive, or expository) or a timed exam essay, the key to getting good at writing is to write. Creating opportunities for our students to engage in extended writing activities will go a long way to helping them improve their skills as scribes.

But, putting the hours in alone will not be enough to attain the highest levels in essay writing. Practice must be meaningful. Once students have a broad overview of how to structure the various types of essays, they are ready to narrow in on the minor details that will enable them to fine-tune their work as a lean vehicle of their thoughts and ideas.

In this article, we will drill down to some aspects that will assist students in taking their essay writing skills up a notch. Many ideas and activities can be integrated into broader lesson plans based on essay writing. Often, though, they will work effectively in isolation – just as athletes isolate physical movements to drill that are relevant to their sport. When these movements become second nature, they can be repeated naturally in the context of the game or in our case, the writing of the essay.

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• All explanations are reinforced with  concrete examples.
• Links to  high-quality video  tutorials
• Clear objectives  easy to match to the demands of your curriculum

Planning an essay

The Boys Scouts’ motto is famously ‘Be Prepared’. It’s a solid motto that can be applied to most aspects of life; essay writing is no different. Given the purpose of an essay is generally to present a logical and reasoned argument, investing time in organising arguments, ideas, and structure would seem to be time well spent.

Given that essays can take a wide range of forms and that we all have our own individual approaches to writing, it stands to reason that there will be no single best approach to the planning stage of essay writing. That said, there are several helpful hints and techniques we can share with our students to help them wrestle their ideas into a writable form. Let’s take a look at a few of the best of these:

BREAK THE QUESTION DOWN: UNDERSTAND YOUR ESSAY TOPIC.

Whether students are tackling an assignment that you have set for them in class or responding to an essay prompt in an exam situation, they should get into the habit of analyzing the nature of the task. To do this, they should unravel the question’s meaning or prompt. Students can practice this in class by responding to various essay titles, questions, and prompts, thereby gaining valuable experience breaking these down.

Have students work in groups to underline and dissect the keywords and phrases and discuss what exactly is being asked of them in the task. Are they being asked to discuss, describe, persuade, or explain? Understanding the exact nature of the task is crucial before going any further in the planning process, never mind the writing process .

BRAINSTORM AND MIND MAP WHAT YOU KNOW:

Once students have understood what the essay task asks them, they should consider what they know about the topic and, often, how they feel about it. When teaching essay writing, we so often emphasize that it is about expressing our opinions on things, but for our younger students what they think about something isn’t always obvious, even to themselves.

Brainstorming and mind-mapping what they know about a topic offers them an opportunity to uncover not just what they already know about a topic, but also gives them a chance to reveal to themselves what they think about the topic. This will help guide them in structuring their research and, later, the essay they will write . When writing an essay in an exam context, this may be the only ‘research’ the student can undertake before the writing, so practicing this will be even more important.

RESEARCH YOUR ESSAY

The previous step above should reveal to students the general direction their research will take. With the ubiquitousness of the internet, gone are the days of students relying on a single well-thumbed encyclopaedia from the school library as their sole authoritative source in their essay. If anything, the real problem for our students today is narrowing down their sources to a manageable number. Students should use the information from the previous step to help here. At this stage, it is important that they:

●      Ensure the research material is directly relevant to the essay task

●      Record in detail the sources of the information that they will use in their essay

●      Engage with the material personally by asking questions and challenging their own biases

●      Identify the key points that will be made in their essay

●      Group ideas, counterarguments, and opinions together

●      Identify the overarching argument they will make in their own essay.

Once these stages have been completed the student is ready to organise their points into a logical order.

WRITING YOUR ESSAY

There are a number of ways for students to organize their points in preparation for writing. They can use graphic organizers , post-it notes, or any number of available writing apps. The important thing for them to consider here is that their points should follow a logical progression. This progression of their argument will be expressed in the form of body paragraphs that will inform the structure of their finished essay.

The number of paragraphs contained in an essay will depend on a number of factors such as word limits, time limits, the complexity of the question etc. Regardless of the essay’s length, students should ensure their essay follows the Rule of Three in that every essay they write contains an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Generally speaking, essay paragraphs will focus on one main idea that is usually expressed in a topic sentence that is followed by a series of supporting sentences that bolster that main idea. The first and final sentences are of the most significance here with the first sentence of a paragraph making the point to the reader and the final sentence of the paragraph making the overall relevance to the essay’s argument crystal clear. 

Though students will most likely be familiar with the broad generic structure of essays, it is worth investing time to ensure they have a clear conception of how each part of the essay works, that is, of the exact nature of the task it performs. Let’s review:

Common Essay Structure

Introduction: Provides the reader with context for the essay. It states the broad argument that the essay will make and informs the reader of the writer’s general perspective and approach to the question.

Body Paragraphs: These are the ‘meat’ of the essay and lay out the argument stated in the introduction point by point with supporting evidence.

Conclusion: Usually, the conclusion will restate the central argument while summarising the essay’s main supporting reasons before linking everything back to the original question.

ESSAY WRITING PARAGRAPH WRITING TIPS

●      Each paragraph should focus on a single main idea

●      Paragraphs should follow a logical sequence; students should group similar ideas together to avoid incoherence

●      Paragraphs should be denoted consistently; students should choose either to indent or skip a line

●      Transition words and phrases such as alternatively , consequently , in contrast should be used to give flow and provide a bridge between paragraphs.

HOW TO EDIT AN ESSAY

Students shouldn’t expect their essays to emerge from the writing process perfectly formed. Except in exam situations and the like, thorough editing is an essential aspect in the writing process. 

Often, students struggle with this aspect of the process the most. After spending hours of effort on planning, research, and writing the first draft, students can be reluctant to go back over the same terrain they have so recently travelled. It is important at this point to give them some helpful guidelines to help them to know what to look out for. The following tips will provide just such help: 

One Piece at a Time: There is a lot to look out for in the editing process and often students overlook aspects as they try to juggle too many balls during the process. One effective strategy to combat this is for students to perform a number of rounds of editing with each focusing on a different aspect. For example, the first round could focus on content, the second round on looking out for word repetition (use a thesaurus to help here), with the third attending to spelling and grammar.

Sum It Up: When reviewing the paragraphs they have written, a good starting point is for students to read each paragraph and attempt to sum up its main point in a single line. If this is not possible, their readers will most likely have difficulty following their train of thought too and the paragraph needs to be overhauled.

Let It Breathe: When possible, encourage students to allow some time for their essay to ‘breathe’ before returning to it for editing purposes. This may require some skilful time management on the part of the student, for example, a student rush-writing the night before the deadline does not lend itself to effective editing. Fresh eyes are one of the sharpest tools in the writer’s toolbox.

Read It Aloud: This time-tested editing method is a great way for students to identify mistakes and typos in their work. We tend to read things more slowly when reading aloud giving us the time to spot errors. Also, when we read silently our minds can often fill in the gaps or gloss over the mistakes that will become apparent when we read out loud.

Phone a Friend: Peer editing is another great way to identify errors that our brains may miss when reading our own work. Encourage students to partner up for a little ‘you scratch my back, I scratch yours’.

Use Tech Tools: We need to ensure our students have the mental tools to edit their own work and for this they will need a good grasp of English grammar and punctuation. However, there are also a wealth of tech tools such as spellcheck and grammar checks that can offer a great once-over option to catch anything students may have missed in earlier editing rounds.

Putting the Jewels on Display: While some struggle to edit, others struggle to let go. There comes a point when it is time for students to release their work to the reader. They must learn to relinquish control after the creation is complete. This will be much easier to achieve if the student feels that they have done everything in their control to ensure their essay is representative of the best of their abilities and if they have followed the advice here, they should be confident they have done so.

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Essay structure and planning

Information on how to structure and plan your essay.

What is an essay?

An essay is a focused, academic discussion of a particular question, problem or issue.

Many of you have been writing essays for years, and are probably good at it. That's great, and everything you look at here will build on and develop those skills.

But it's worth asking: are there different things expected of a university essay from those for school, college, or other contexts?

The obvious answer is yes, and it takes time and effort to learn the range of writing skills needed to produce university essays effectively.

There are all sorts of reasons why essays are common forms of assessment. They allow you to explore a problem in-depth, express yourself concisely and precisely, and debate other people's published opinions on a topic.

They're also a good warm-up for traditional forms of academic publication, such as a journal article.

Academic essays usually follow an established organisational structure that helps the writer to express their ideas clearly and the reader to follow the thread of their argument.

An essay's structure is guided by its content and argument so every essay question will pose unique structural challenges.

301 Recommends: Glossary of Instruction Words

Our Essay Structure and Planning workshop will outline how to analyse your essay question, discuss approaches logically structure all your ideas, help you make your introductions and conclusions more effective, and teach how to link your ideas and ensure all essay content flows logically from the introduction. The Putting it into Practise workshop  

Have a look at our  Glossary of Essay Instruction Words (PDF, 100KB) , or watch this short  Study Skills Hacks video  on identifying the tasks in a question to help you identify what is required.

Planning stages

Essay writing is a process with many stages, from topic selection, planning and reading around, through to drafting, revising and proofreading.

Breaking the task down and creating a clear plan with milestones and intermediate deadlines will allow you to focus attention more fully on the writing process itself when you put your plan into action either as part of an assignment or an exam.

1. Understand the question

• Is the question open-ended or closed? If it is open-ended you will need to narrow it down. Explain how and why you have decided to limit it in the introduction to your essay, so the reader knows you appreciate the wider issues, but that you can also be selective.
• If it is a closed question, your answer must refer to and stay within the limits of the question (ie specific dates, texts, or countries).
• What can you infer from the title about the structure of the essay?

2. Brainstorm for ideas

• What you know about the topic – from lectures, reading etc
• What you don't know about the topic, but need to find out to answer the question
• Possible responses or answers to the question – any ideas about your conclusion.
• Consider using a mind map to organise your thoughts…

3. Make a plan

• Planning your essay makes it more likely that you have a coherent argument
• It enables you to work out a logical structure and an endpoint for your argument before you start writing
• It means you don't have to do this type of complex thinking at the same time as trying to find the right words to express your ideas
• It helps you to commit yourself to sticking to the point!

The Hourglass essay

If you're stuck on an overall structure for your essay, try this simple model for organising a typical academic essay. An hourglass essay introduces a broad area, before narrowing the focus towards the specific question that you are answering. It finishes by placing that narrow area back into a wider context. 

Introduction: the funnel of the hourglass

Set the scene and lead your reader into your essay by introducing the broad area of interest and then narrowing towards your specific focus:

• Start broad with a hook to catch the reader's attention
• Provide some context for the hook. What does your project add to it?
• Focus on the narrow area of your essay: can you summarise it in a single sentence mission statement?

Body: the stem of the hourglass

The body of your essay should be as narrow and focused as possible. Body paragraphs will take one sub-topic at a time and provide a logical flow of ideas for your reader:

• Start each paragraph with a topic sentence to tell your reader what it will cover
• Fill your paragraph with a range of supporting evidence and examples
• Finish your paragraph with a final wrapping-up sentence to summarise and/or link ahead

Conclusion: the base of the hourglass

Your chance to reinforce your key messages and go out with a bang:

• Revisit your mission statement: how have you addressed it?
• Summarise the main points of your argument or findings
• Finish with a broader scope, explaining how your topic might inform future research or practice, or where gaps remain

301 Recommends: Essay Planning Template

Use this template (google doc) to plan a structure for your essay, paying particular attention to the ways in which you have broken down the topic into sub-themes for your body paragraphs. 

Top tips and resources

• Start planning early, leave your plan for a couple of days, and then come back to it. This may give you a fresh perspective.
• It is often easiest to write the introduction last, but when you are planning your essay structure make sure you have your mission statement.
• A good plan will make it much easier to write a good essay. Invest the time in making a plan that works.
• Check what your tutor wants, but it is often best to focus on one element in great detail, rather than discuss several aspects superficially.
• Make sure you allow time to proofread your work before submission!

Internal resources

• Library Research and Critical Thinking - Referencing
• English Language Teaching Centre (ELTC)– Language Resources  

External resources

• Royal Literary Fund–  Writing Essays
• University of Reading–  Planning and structuring your essay
• Cottrell, S (2008) The Study Skills Handbook. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan
• Bailey, S (2003) Academic Writing: A Practical Guide for Students. Routledge
• Reading University–  Study Resources
• University of Manchester–  Academic Phrasebank

Related information

Academic Skills Certificate

Scientific writing and lab reports

Proofreading

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Essay Planning: The Key Elements of Effective Essay Writing

Table of contents

• 1.1 Introduction
• 1.2 Importance of Hook
• 1.3 Thesis Statement
• 1.4 Body Paragraphs
• 1.5 Topic Sentence
• 1.6 Your Points and Arguments
• 1.7 Concluding Sentence
• 1.8 Conclusion
• 2.1 Compare and contrast
• 2.2 Chronological
• 2.3 Problems-methods-solutions structure
• 3.1 Understand your Topic
• 3.2 Take Keynotes
• 3.3 Group Similar Ideas
• 3.4 Note Down Sources of Further Information
• 3.5 Outline What You Will Include in Each Section
• 3.6 Write a Draft
• 3.7 Figure out a Word Count
• 4.1 Title/Hypothesis
• 4.2 Subject
• 4.3 Due Date
• 4.4 Keynotes
• 4.5 Ideas to Discuss
• 4.6 Quotations
• 4.7 Sources
• 4.8 Outline/Structure
• 4.9 Additional Information
• 5 An Example of Using a Template
• 6.1 How do you structure a long essay?
• 6.2 How can you ensure that your essay is well organized?
• 6.3 What is the best essay structure?

Before getting to the writing process, you must think about an essay plan structure. The essay plan is drawn up to rebuild the stream of thoughts into coherent, logically combined sentences. Immediately after receiving the topic of the essay, ideas, and images will start appearing in your mind. Sketch out the phrases or words that come to mind on a draft sheet, they can be developed for the whole task. If you want to make an assignment well that will be worth an A-level grade, use these recommendations from our essay writing guide at PapersOwl.com to create the finest essays.

• In this piece, you get to learn Essay planning plus organizing and structuring the content and flow of it.
• You will find out how essay planning helps to clarify the main idea and argument.
• You also understand the structure of an essay plan constituents.
• The introduction, main body, conclusion, and references will also be discussed.

Basic Parts of An Essay

While the most basic form of your essay is the opening, body, and conclusion, breaking it down further helps to make the writing process more straightforward. This allows you to write down the main points that need to be made throughout the writing. Understanding each section of the paper means presenting a well-thought-out and coherent end product. For these reasons, using an essay outline helps the writer and reader. Follow along as we demystify how to structure an essay template and give you tips.

Introduction

A detailed thesis structure plan is crucial in writing an academic essay introduction. It helps to grasp the audience’s attention and guide the author’s writing. In essay planning, a well-written introduction follows the proper form and pays attention to detail. A good introduction paragraph helps focus the essay question and ideas and presents the paper’s topic in a single sentence. This makes it valuable for projects and research papers assigned to students.

Additionally, it will help focus your ideas at the beginning of a big assignment. A basic structure of essay works for various projects, texts, and research papers.

Importance of Hook

A hook is the first line of your paper intended to encourage your audience to read on and get their answer. It is among the key points of the opening ideas and is easy to learn. You can get a great hook by keeping a definite stance in your coherent argument, sensationalism, or stating an intriguing fact from the beginning. It keeps the reader entertained and eager to learn more from the paper you develop.

Thesis Statement

Simply put, the good thesis statement is the core sentence of your essay. It’s one of the essential components of an essay of all kinds. You can find it in a standard essay format of your essay plan at the beginning of the piece. For example, it could be resuming general points of the analysis, answering a “how to” answer the question, or just suggesting powerful ideas or useful tips.

Body Paragraphs

The essay’s thesis is backed up by the work’s body paragraphs. A standard body paragraph starts with a topic sentence, followed by supporting sentences, and ends with a conclusion. It sticks to one topic and connects to the other paragraphs.

Topic Sentence

The viewpoint is an information-packed section that throws a challenge at readers and requires a logical structure. This is where a detailed plan of the topic sentence comes in.

A topic sentence introduces the ideas you brainstorm, provides evidence, and concludes the topic in a condensed paragraph. This statement logically organizes the information, ensuring the reader understands the topic.

Your Points and Arguments

This will vary depending on what type of paper you are writing. If penning an expository job, a persuasive argument, or an argumentative academic essay , you will be doing lots of research and formulating your response to the responses you’re reading from professors and academics. This is the section where you state your position on an issue or its significance in world history and the points to substantiate your main argument to your audience.

Concluding Sentence

A concluding sentence in essay planning is the last sentence of a paragraph that summarizes the main idea and connects it to the rest of the essay. It should also signal the reader that the paragraph is ending and prepare them for the next one. Here are some tips for writing a good concluding sentence:

• Restate the main idea of the paragraph in different words from the topic sentence.
• Use a transition word or phrase to show how the paragraph relates to the previous or next one.
• End with a strong statement that leaves an impression on the reader. You can use an essay question, a quote, a call to action, etc.

The conclusion is the final section of an essay in that the essay’s conclusion helps the reader recall the important points and decide the end point of the essay. Each main point in your essay plan should be reduced to a statement in the last paragraph. This means that a three-point text will produce a template of three sentences for the conclusion. It gives readers a sense of completion by closing the work with a strong challenge and uniform writing conclusion across the entire essay.

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Types of Essay Structure

A structure is important for organizing your essay question and ideas in a proper logical structure. They help you present your topic, provide background information, give your thesis statement, support your claims with evidence and show why your argument matters. Different academic essay structures can suit different types of topics, purposes, and audiences.

For instance, if you employ a student’s essay writer online , they can use a chronological essay plan to show the cause and effect of events over time. At the same time, you use a compare-and-contrast structure to highlight the similarities and differences between two or more subjects. Choosing an appropriate essay structure can help engage your readers and support your argument.

Compare and contrast

In this basic essay structure, you write about several subjects, such as historical events, themes, or novels. As the name suggests, you then spend a passage comparing the subjects of your essay and the following passage contrasting them against each other. For example, the first body passage may discuss a novel’s similarity with another book in how they deal with the theme of marriage.

While the next section will illustrate how they differ in their discussion of country versus city life, the last portion highlights if they’re more comparable than not. It’s a very common format for a college essay or thesis.

Chronological

The chronological format follows a timeline or sequence of events from beginning to end. Perfect for a history and process essay, or a book from the prologue to the epilogue, it’s also a standard essay format for cause-and-effect pieces. It’s an easy method to follow and has a very basic essay structure. First, you outline your topic and points of the timeline you will be touching on in order of appearance.

After, each paragraph will deal with a particular place in the timeline, then move on to the next, according to what happened first. For example, you could analyze an initial historical skirmish. The following paragraph will deal with the ensuing battle, which eventually led to the declaration of all-out war. Write beginning from the first instance to the last in order of what happened first.

Problems-methods-solutions structure

The problems-methods-solutions example is valuable for essays dealing with resolving a particular problem or for a scientific research paper. It divides the body into three relevant headings: a problem, ways to resolve the problem the solution achieved by using these strategies to resolve the problem.

In the opening, you explain the problem you’re attempting to solve in the essay, provide an outline of the experiment or ask a how-to question. The following paragraphs in the paper will discuss methods of solving the problem and any solutions.

As the final section will deal with multiple solutions, you can emphasize the answer you believe is the most useful. An analysis can also be added here with a summary where you compare the various options. Though it might not be the most basic essay construction, it’s a great solution for an argumentative essay where you want to prove your thesis backed by consistent analysis.

Stages of Good Essay Organization

Understand your topic.

The first stage of a good organization is to understand your topic well. This means that you need to do some preliminary research and find the essay question or problem you want to address in your essay. You must also consider the essay plan’s purpose, audience, and tone. What are you trying to achieve with your essay? Who are you writing an essay for? How do you want to sound? What is the marking criteria for the assignment? These factors will influence and decide the type and level of information you must include in your essay.

Take Keynotes

The second stage in essay planning is to take keynotes of the relevant information you find in your research. This is like making a mind map, a mind map of your essay template. It is essential that, while writing your assignments , you familiarize yourself with the topic and take concise notes. You must select and record the essential information, facts, arguments, and evidence related to your topic and research question. You also need to use your own words and avoid plagiarism. Effective note-taking helps you synthesize information, capture key points, and remember important details. Employ a structured approach, such as a closed question, bullet points, or headings, to categorize your notes, making and not going over the word limit.

Group Similar Ideas

The third stage of a good organization is to group similar ideas and label them with keywords or phrases. To deliver a great job plan to your clients who have been paying for papers from you, you must look for patterns and connections among your notes. See how they relate to your topic and essay question. You also need to identify the main argument that you want to make in your essay. Also, group similar ideas together, like you would in a mind map, and label them with keywords or phrases that describe their content. This will help you organize your initial thoughts and build the structure of your essay.

Note Down Sources of Further Information

The fourth stage of a good organization is to note down sources of further information you decide to use in your essay. This means you may need more evidence or examples to support your points or explore some aspects of your topic more deeply. You must also list the sources you plan to consult for the work. To note down sources of further information, you should review your notes and identify any gaps or weaknesses. Ensure you list the sources you plan to use in your essay and their bibliographic details, and evaluate each source based on its credibility.

Outline What You Will Include in Each Section

The fifth stage outlines what you will include in each section when writing your essay. This means you must decide on the order and transitions between sections. Your outline should include the following parts: An introduction that introduces your topic and provides background information. It will also state your thesis statement and outline the main point of your essay A main body that develops your main points and sub-points in paragraphs, using evidence and examples to build a coherent argument. It should also help in drafting an answer to your essay question. A conclusion that will summarise your endpoint, restates your thesis statement, and shows why your main argument matters.

Write a Draft

The sixth stage is to write a draft of the essay based on your outline plan. This means that you must write in complete sentences and paragraphs and follow the conventions of academic writing. You must also use clear, precise language and avoid grammar and spelling errors. Ensure you cite your sources properly using the required citation style. To write the first draft of your essay, follow your outline as a guide and write your essay from start to finish. Clear and precise language should be a given; avoid jargon, slang, or vague words. Carry out grammar and spelling checkers to correct any errors and build your writing.

Figure out a Word Count

The final stage in the essay writing process is to decide how many words are appropriate. You may need to add or delete from the total word count to adjust the length. You also need to check the quality and clarity of your writing and make revisions to the essay plan. To determine a word count plan, you should use a word processor or an online tool to count the number of words in your essay. Get feedback on the quality and clarity of your writing, and make revisions as needed to improve your essay writing.

How to Plan an Essay

Title/Hypothesis

Begin by establishing a clear and captivating title. The title should glimpse your piece’s main focus or argument. Also, if required, formulate an essay question or thesis statement that succinctly paves the way for your main body paragraphs.

Identify the essay topic that your essay will address. Whether it is a literary analysis, a scientific inquiry, or a historical exploration, clearly define the subject to maintain a focused and cohesive approach throughout your essay.

After getting the essay topic, know the due date for your essay. This will help you establish a realistic timeline and allocate sufficient research plan, essay writing, and revising time.

Conduct thorough research on your chosen subject and take concise and relevant notes. Capture key points, essential facts, and significant elements from various sources. organize your notes structured, employing headings or categories to facilitate easy navigation during the writing process.

Ideas to Discuss

Based on your brainstorming sessions, research, and keynotes, identify the main ideas and outline how many words are enough for each. These ideas should align with your thesis statement and should develop a coherent argument.

If appropriate to your essay’s subject and style, cite relevant quotations from reputable sources to support your arguments. Select quotes that directly contribute to your analysis or provide valuable insights. Remember to attribute the quotes to their original authors properly and include accurate citations in your plan.

Note down the sources you have consulted during your research that helped to answer the question of the essay. This includes books, articles, scholarly journals, websites, and other relevant materials you can cite. Ensure you gather all necessary bibliographic information, such as author names, publication titles, publication dates, and page numbers, to create accurate citations and a comprehensive bibliography later.

Outline/Structure

Moreover, create an outline or layout for your essay. Organize and summarise the ideas you brainstorm into sections and subsections in the essay plan (like a mind map), establishing the structure and flow in drafting your essay.

Additional Information

Consider any additional information and elements relevant to your essay before you start writing. This may include specific formatting requirements, referencing styles, marking criteria, or word count provided by your instructor or institution.

An Example of Using a Template

How do you structure a long essay?

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Essay Plans: A teacher's guide

August 6, 2021

How can we support students in creating a solid essay plan? The art and science of getting your class organised.

Main, P (2021, August 06). Essay Plans: A teacher's guide. Retrieved from https://www.structural-learning.com/post/essay-plans-a-teachers-guide

What is an essay plan?

While writing on any topic, did you ever feel that you have  run out of ideas or have lost your train of thought ? This feeling can be intimidating and make your own students anxious about the academic demands being made of them. The best way for your students to avoid this  disaster  is to plan: and create an  Essay Plan. Thinking through the task with the help of some expert guidance is a skill that anyone can develop. With the right tools students can develop their academic writing skills and use this to build a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

An  Essay Plan is a process to organise what one intends to include in the essay. Essay planning  is an essential step in academic essay writing, which demands  practice ,  patience , and  time . Once a clear understanding of the argument has been conceptualised, your students will be in a much stronger position to express their ideas through the written word.

The more you write, the more you can develop your  Essay Planning   skills.

In this article, we'll discuss what is an  Essay Plan, what are its  purposes, who can help in creating an essay plan and what are the essential steps   of creating an  Essay Plan. We will also reference a new methodology that helps students organise blocks of content into logical arguments. This process that we have been researching helps students organise paragraphs into logical formations. You will also find further details of how to use this process for developing complex sentences .

Developing an essay plan

An essay plan is a written document that outlines the structure and content of your paper. Typically, it would include:

• An abstract summarizing what you will cover in your paper;

• The outline for each major body paragraph or “section” of your paper (maybe 5-6 body paragraphs);

• A list of sources to be used in support of your arguments;

• A bibliography listing all of the books, articles, websites, etc., that you have read on this topic.

The purpose of writing an essay plan is twofold: first, it helps you organize your thoughts about the subject matter before beginning to write; second, it provides a framework within which you can develop your ideas as you research and draft your paper. It also serves as a guide when editing your final product. In this article we will provide you (and your students) with several ideas of how to promote better essay planning. Deconstructing a core textbook is a difficult task. We are putting a tremendous amount of stress on our working memory , developing new ideas and attempting to articulate our understanding through the written word. The skill of writing essays doesn't just involve sitting down with a pen or pushing out some ideas into Microsoft Word. The purpose of any long-form written work should help the student develop a clearer understanding of the subject matter , it's value as an assessment should be seen as secondary.

The Purpose of an Essay Plan

The ability to write a good essay starts from efficient and careful planning . It is mostly believed that the research, formatting and other aspects of an essay are as important as the actual essay itself. Following are the main purposes of creating an Essay Plan:

·      Ensures that the writer has all the logical and clear ideas in order . In this way, an essay plan helps the marker or the reader, to follow the details provided in the essay.

·      Makes the process of essay writing more organised , which eventually reduces the time one takes to write an essay.

·      Provides the desired precision and direction to an essay. While preparing an essay plan, you can edit or add any details into your essay, so that your plan and the essay are created side by side.

·      Allows one to write strategically , and to come up with some of the key points before finalizing the order . Fixing issues with the overall structure will resolve more than 80% of the issues in an essay.

Who can help with essay planning?

Organizing your thoughts and ideas into a plan provides help with creating a coherent argument and keeps the writer's main focus on the process of essay writing . However, it is always a good idea to share your ideas or seek others' help to increase the effectiveness of your essay planning process. To create an effective essay plan, it is better to seek help from your course tutor (lecturer or teacher), peers (your fellow students) and the marker of your work. Their constructive responses will make your work much easier and you will be able to develop your essay plan more effectively and more quickly .

Different types of essays

It is commonly believed that writing an essay becomes easier as we progress through our education and as our confidence increases. A students academic writing style will develop over time. Different subject areas require different approaches. These basic styles of essays include:

1. Comparative: An essay with a comparison of at least two ( or more)items.

2. Narrative: An essay that's written like a story .

3. Persuasive: An essay that contains reasons and logic to indicate that one idea is more acceptable than another

4. Expository: An essay that includes investigation, evaluation presentation, and an argument in favour of or against an idea in a concise manner .

5. Argumentative: An essay in which the writer investigates a topic, collects ideas, creates and evaluates evidence, and then establishes a position in a concise manner.

Writing an Essay Plan will make it a lot easier to write any of the above-mentioned essays. The topic for the essay to write mostly depends upon the details that teachers give to their students. At times, students may have the choice to select an essay topic for themselves.

How do you create an essay plan?

There are many ways to approach creating an effective essay plan. You may want to start by brainstorming topics related to your coursework. Then, think about how these topics might relate to one another. For example, if you were studying American history, you could consider whether there was any connection between the Civil War and World War II. Or perhaps you could look at the relationship between slavery and racism today. Once you've identified potential connections among your topics , begin thinking about possible subtopics.

These should not only help you identify key points but also provide some direction for organizing your material into sections. Essay questions usually start with a command word such as 'analyse' or 'examine'. Whether you are writing a 1000-word essay or a 2000-word essay, this command word will help you identify how you should organise your ideas. If your essay question starts with 'What happened...' then the student is being asked to sequence the points into a chronological order. If academic essays start with the question 'why did...' The student is being asked to develop a causal explanation of why something happened in the way that it did.

Steps of Writing an essay plan

An effective essay plan provides a logical arrangement and an endpoint before you even start to write your essay. It prevents the writers from engaging in complex thinking while trying to choose the right words to present their ideas. In other words, it helps you to stay to the point! Following are the ten steps to write an essay plan .

1. Read the essay question carefully.

2. Write the complete essay question on a separate page.

3. Spend at least half an hour thinking about the subject area .

4. Note down your ideas on the topic, its scope and other aspects.

5. List phrases or words that you think must be included.

6. Write down the main points you must include in your essay.

It is mostly useful to perform the above-mentioned steps soon after you receive your essay topic. If, at this stage, you are not sure what to include, ask your tutor or seek help from a peer to make sure that you are doing the right thing.

After finishing the first six steps, when you feel confident that you can proceed, create a more rigorous essay outline.

7. Skim through handouts or course material and start to create a more in-depth outline. Review your lecture notes, and write down if you find something relevant to the task.

8. Note down from where you can get the necessary information about each point of your in-depth outline (peer-reviewed journals, course handouts, lecture notes etc.). Highlight , where you feel that you need to carry out more research.

9. Write down sources for more research, journals , books, media sources and webpages as appropriate.

·      Be vigilant; your outline must not become too complex , keep it relevant to the essay topic.

·      If your teacher has provided you with a core textbook or reading list then check the relevant parts of it.

10. Once your plan is ready, check other details such as how many words you need to write in each section and in total how many words you need in your essay.

·      In most cases, academic essays have a word limit and it is important to write within the word limit.

·      Think about the essential components of your essay. Remember to allocate the highest number of words to the 'main body' of your essay.

·      Plan how much space you must devote to each part of your essay. Of course, you may not strictly follow any specific space scheme. But, it may help in keeping things under control and in deciding how much information to include. It will also allow you to hold the balance of your essay as you plan.

Regardless of the essay topic, essay writing has some universal ways of approaching the task. Giving students an opportunity to practice and think about how they would approach an essay question gives them a key advantage. Within our graphic organiser repository you will find templates that enables students to organise their ideas in these key ways. Becoming familiar with these organisational structures enables students to stand back and take a look at academic essay writing from a slightly different perspective. Having all of the points ordered and reinforced with evidence are the building blocks for a coherent and well structured essay.

The key takeaways from this section are:

1) Unpick the essay title by identifying the command word first .

2) Writing essays is a complicated task and we shouldn't dive in before we have plotted out our main points.

3) The essay writing process should be led by organising information into the appropriate structure. Grammar and spelling come later. The student needs a framework to hang their ideas on.

4) Essay structure is very important. There are plenty of templates available online but there's no point in trying to put a square peg into a round hole. Encourage your students to use the universal thinking framework for developing strategic approaches for writing essays. There's no one size fits all.

4) Students often don't read the essay question properly. If this is the case, they may miss the crucial command word.

5) Essay plan preparation is like building a house, start with the foundations first, then build on it.

6) Writing 2000 words is a hard task, but there is no getting away from it if a student is to do well in academia. Show them how to organise their ideas using our planning tool, Writer's Block.

7) Don't worry about the details initially; structure the main points first. A focused response to question is what the examiner is looking for.

Start your essay plan with a list

Lists are important but they are not knowledge. To develop conceptual understanding our mind needs an opportunity to organise information into schemas. Our partner schools have been using Writer's Block to quickly write a list of ideas. The miniature whiteboards that come with the blocks are perfect for holding small amounts of information. The blocks can then be used to organise the list of stages, for example, the introduction, body of essay and then conclusion. Because the notes are written on a manipulative tool, the words can quickly be formed into a structure.

The blocks can also hold a list of statistics or evidence that can be used to reinforce the main points in the essay. Starting with a preliminary list of ideas is a key way of stopping you're working memory from being overloaded .The blocks can then be used to create draft paragraphs. Each block can be used to hold a paragraph topic or subtopic. The colours can be used as a code to help students identify the themes.Using a visual tool like the blocks enables students to see the flow of an argument. A coherent argument has to have structure and needs to be balanced. The block colours can be used to identify relevant argument points and the structure of the blocks will help students build (literally) the flow of argument into a compelling narrative.

The purpose of an essay plan

Instead of saying essay writing as a mandatory (and laborious) part of school, we see it as a key tool for developing a depth of knowledge . Vygotsky argued that complex writing is a result of complex thinking. As we explain what we think through the spoken and written word our depth of knowledge is developed. The essay then becomes a mechanism for memorialising and facilitating critical thinking. The challenge is then putting our ideas down onto a piece of paper into a coherent format. The point is, and this was argued in the wonderful book ' Writing Revolution ', writing should be used to promote thinking (and vice-versa).

Advice for your students on creating an essay plan

1) Start early - don't wait until the last minute. You need time to prepare so make sure you've got enough time before hand.

2) Write out all your thoughts - even if you only get halfway through your outline. It helps to know where you want to go when you begin writing.

3) Use a notebook/ journal - keep track of everything you read, watch, hear etc. This will give you lots of material to work with.

4) Don't worry too much about grammar - just use spell checker and proofread later. If you do find yourself struggling with spelling or grammar try looking up some online resources such as grammarly.

5) Writing isn't always easy but once you start enjoying it more you'll soon realise how rewarding it really is.

6) Remember: "A good writer writes."

An effective essay starts with a clear thesis statement. An effective essay uses specific examples to support its claims. An effective essay makes logical connections between its supporting arguments . An effective essay includes appropriate transitions within each section. Finally, an effective essay ends with a strong closing sentence.

I'm hopeful that after reading this article your students will find it a lot easier to compose an essay plan. Having an effective essay plan will make your task of preparing an essay much easier .

Nothing will help you as much as an effective essay plan in organizing your thoughts and in modifying your task while you read, understand and discuss your ideas. It will serve as a basic outline for your essay and would be useful if you wish to discuss your essay with your instructor, lecturer or with an Academic Support person.

Of course, when you'll write your final essay you might have to make minor changes to your essay plan. But, keep your changes within limits unless you are 100% sure about the effectiveness of any alternative and how well it fits into the original scheme.

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94 Urban Planning Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best urban planning topic ideas & essay examples, 📌 most interesting urban planning topics to write about, 👍 good research topics about urban planning, ❓ urban planning research questions.

• Ethics of Data Misuse in Urban Planning Every member of the AICP is responsible to the people who give their data and are the actual consumers of the projects that the planners initiate.
• Gentrification: Urban Planning in Canada It is important to find a way of addressing the concerns that stakeholders have to eliminate the current controversies in the new approach to urban planning. We will write a custom essay specifically for you by our professional experts 808 writers online Learn More
• Urban Planning Problems in New Delhi The growth of urban centers is usually a sign of economic stability and the political maturity of a country. The size of the population in Delhi is the driver behind its environmental problems.
• Urban Planning and Redevelopment Urban planning is a discipline that explores aspects of the built and environment of communities and municipalities. The Harrapan civilizations, the Mesopotamia, Ur, and cities of the Indus valley in India are among the earliest […]
• Urban Planning and Zoning Categories The goal of zoning is to ensure that the different types of land use are separated and that the uses are compatible with one another. Zoning categories are very important because they regulate the use […]
• Issues Affecting Urban Planning in “City of God” Film The author of the movie draws the reader’s attention to some of the factors that affect urban planning. Therefore, this call for a combined effort to see that each issues is addressed fully in order […]
• Professional Urban Planning and Practices Reviewing the knowledge, skills, and components of the curriculum to ensure that they address the planning needs of the evolving world is a great example of an approach that focuses on the future of professional […]
• Development and Theories in Urban Planning Mainly, conceptual planning and the rational-comprehensive planning theories are frameworks builders should adopt to cater to diverse issues and fulfil their responsibility to the earth as stipulated in the bible.
• Urban Planning Code of Ethics Ethics can help planners foster an integral, moral, and trustworthy environment in the planning process and make socially acceptable approaches/ For instance, explaining to stakeholders existing and anticipated social problems that may occur in the […]
• Governmental Relations in Urban Planning This verse highlights the importance of having a clear and meaningful vision for the future, which is reflected in the city’s approach to planning.
• Urban Planning Development and Theories For example, during the period of city creation in the 17th century in Europe, urban planning, the creation of architectural ensembles and public spaces, and the design of local facilities have long been actively used.
• The Impact of the Urban Planning Housing, neighborhoods, and real estate markets are primarily determined by urban planning, policies, and practices, the failures of which are the causes for the existing housing problems, but a healthy neighborhoods approach can be a […]
• Internet, Architecture, and Urban Planning: William J. Mitchell’s “City of Bits” Professor William Mitchell, a professor of ‘Architecture and Media Arts and Science in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’, has written the book called “City of Bits”, which deals with the relationship among internet, architecture and […]
• The City Beautiful Movement and Urban Planning This quickly led to conflict with public interest and led to the formation of city planning commissions, intended to account for public input in city planning.
• Michael Apted’s “Thunderheart”: Urban Planning His role was to investigate the circumstances that led to the murder of a Native American who was a follower of the American Indian Movement.
• Urban Planning Optimization and Homelessness Therefore, the urban planning should be revised regarding those private providers’ interests: the risk of failure for future city development would strongly increase in the areas of possible economic concern.
• Optimizing Urban Planning to Address Homelessness Researchers use sensitivity analysis to assess the contribution of single preference parameters to the uncertainty of the ranking of alternatives. In the same manner, authorities can create a database consisting of all the shelters for […]
• Internet of Things in a Work of an Urban Planning Specialist Due to the fact that urban planning ultimately targets the experiences of urban dwellers, the internet of things and is vital to consider for a city designer.
• Urban Planning: City Summary Grayslake, IL It is located to the north of Chicago’s downtown approximately 64km away, and the west of Lake Michigan approximately 23km away, and to the south of Wisconsin border approximately 24km away.
• Urban Planning: Transit-Oriented Development Lynch defines efficiency in terms of cost: the less costly the creation and the maintenance of a system is, the more efficient it can be considered.
• Urban Planning: “The Great Good Place” by Ray Oldenburg The author wrote the book in 1999 in an attempt to show the significance of casual and open gathering places, which he referred to as “third places”.
• Sustainable Urban Planning in West Loop Area Due to the global and ubiquitous nature of environmental challenges and the adverse effects of the pollution of the atmosphere and oceans, deforestation, and the destruction of sea beds and ecosystems, the need for sustainable […]
• Urban Planning and Growing Population Through the use of urban planning, it is possible to design, control, and manage the layout of the urban and suburban areas.
• Urban Planning Issues in the “Boyz n the Hood” Film Boyz n the Hood reveals the problem of the suburbanization of the society and non-functional urban environment, which is typical of the areas similar to the one shown in the movie.
• Green Communities in Urban Planning Under such circumstances, much attention is paid to green communities as the most appropriate form of living in balance with nature one of the examples of such a green community in Copenhagen.
• Urban Planning Issues About the Movie “City of God” This is where he also discovers corruption and collaboration in between the Kenyan government, the pharmaceutical corporation, and his fellow British colleagues. The main cause for lack of social mobility is limited of education.
• Urban Planning Issues About the Movie “Julie and Julia” Paris is portrayed as superior to the New York City and Julia’s recipes seem to influence the way the residents of Paris as well as the New Yorkers eat.
• “Gone Baby Gone” Movie: Urban Planning Issues The residents of the area are also suspicious that the police are not honest in their dealings and this makes it difficult for the two detectives to resolve Amanda’s abduction.
• Urban Planning Aspects: “Before Sunset” Urban planning is defined as the process of controlling the utilization of design and land of an urban development, with the aim of ensuring that communities and settlements in the urban areas are orderly developed.
• Canadian Urban Planning, Housing, and Women
• When Urban Planning Doctrine Meets Low Density Countryside
• Urban Planning, Modern and Postmodern Design
• Project and Urban Planning at the University of California
• European Urban Planning Systems: Diversity and Convergence
• Smart Methods for Environmental Externalities: Urban Planning, Environmental Health and Hygiene in the Netherlands
• Geographic Information System and Its Application in Urban Planning and Environment
• Environmental Management and Urban Planning Practices
• Urban Planning and Information and Communication Technology: Ideas and Facts
• Ecological Urban Planning and Design: A Systematic Literature Review
• The City Beautiful Movement: The Urban Planning Practices
• Urban Planning Management System in Los Angeles: An Overview
• Urban Planning and the Geographic Information System
• Kevin Lynch and His Contribution to the Urban Planning Theory
• Urban Planning: The History of Cycling Infrastructure
• Handbook for Gender-Inclusive Urban Planning and Design
• Biodiversity and Green Infrastructure in Urban Planning
• Women, Housing and Urban Planning in Canada
• Urban Planning Community and Economic Development
• Multitype Green-Space Modeling for Urban Planning Using GA and GIS
• Social Mix and the City: Challenging the Mixed Communities Consensus in Housing and Urban Planning Policies
• Urban Planning and Its Role of the Public
• Urban Planning Critical Issues on Urban Development
• Environmental Holism and the Biophilic Hypothesis in Urban Planning
• The Similarities and Differences in Urban Planning in Italy and The Netherlands
• Classifying and Valuing Ecosystem Services for Urban Planning
• Urban Planning and Development Theories of Paul Peterson
• How The Urban Planning and Development of Jane Jacobs
• Urban Planning and Railway Corridors: Resolving Regulatory Dysfunction in Australia
• Urban Heat Island Adaptation Through Urban Planning and Design: The Struggle of the City of Los Angeles
• Urban Planning and the Location of Environmental Amenities
• Urban Planning with the Aid of Factor Analysis Approach: The Case of Isfahan Municipality
• Urban Planning, Architecture, and the Contributions of Rome
• Washington, D.C.: The First Example of Urban Planning
• Urban Planning Policy for Realizing Public Objectives Through Private Development in Seoul
• Urban Planning for the New Buildings
• Scientific Reasoning and Methods in Urban Planning
• Risk, Uncertainty, and Spatial Distinction: A Study of Urban Planning in Stockholm
• Paris and London: Late 19th Century Urban Planning
• Overcrowding and Urban Planning in Victorian London
• What Does an Urban Planning Do?
• Why Urban Planning Is Important?
• What Does Urban Planning Focus On?
• What Are the Goals of Urban Planning?
• What Is Urban Planning in Simple Words?
• What Are the Types of Urban Planning?
• How Does Urban Planning Affect the Environment?
• Which City Has the Best Urban Planning?
• Is Urban Planning Similar to Civil Engineering?
• What Is the Difference Between Urban Design and Urban Planning?
• What Is an Example of Urban Planning?
• What Are the Factors of Urban Planning?
• How Can Urban Planning Be Improved?
• Which Software Is Used for Urban Planning?
• Is Urban Planning and Architecture Same?
• What Are the Challenges of Urban Planning?
• How Urban Planning Affects Economy?
• What Is the Most Important Issue in Urban Planning?
• How Does Urban Planning Affect Quality of Life?
• How Is Urban Planning Sustainable?
• What Influences Urban Planning?
• How Does Urban Planning Relate to Architecture?
• What Are the Reasons for Urban Planning Failure?
• What Is Level of Urban Planning?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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About 1 in 5 U.S. teens who’ve heard of ChatGPT have used it for schoolwork

Roughly one-in-five teenagers who have heard of ChatGPT say they have used it to help them do their schoolwork, according to a new Pew Research Center survey of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17. With a majority of teens having heard of ChatGPT, that amounts to 13% of all U.S. teens who have used the generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot in their schoolwork.

Teens in higher grade levels are particularly likely to have used the chatbot to help them with schoolwork. About one-quarter of 11th and 12th graders who have heard of ChatGPT say they have done this. This share drops to 17% among 9th and 10th graders and 12% among 7th and 8th graders.

There is no significant difference between teen boys and girls who have used ChatGPT in this way.

The introduction of ChatGPT last year has led to much discussion about its role in schools , especially whether schools should integrate the new technology into the classroom or ban it .

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to understand American teens’ use and understanding of ChatGPT in the school setting.

The Center conducted an online survey of 1,453 U.S. teens from Sept. 26 to Oct. 23, 2023, via Ipsos. Ipsos recruited the teens via their parents, who were part of its KnowledgePanel . The KnowledgePanel is a probability-based web panel recruited primarily through national, random sampling of residential addresses. The survey was weighted to be representative of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 who live with their parents by age, gender, race and ethnicity, household income, and other categories.

This research was reviewed and approved by an external institutional review board (IRB), Advarra, an independent committee of experts specializing in helping to protect the rights of research participants.

Here are the  questions used for this analysis , along with responses, and its  methodology .

Teens’ awareness of ChatGPT

Overall, two-thirds of U.S. teens say they have heard of ChatGPT, including 23% who have heard a lot about it. But awareness varies by race and ethnicity, as well as by household income:

• 72% of White teens say they’ve heard at least a little about ChatGPT, compared with 63% of Hispanic teens and 56% of Black teens.
• 75% of teens living in households that make $75,000 or more annually have heard of ChatGPT. Much smaller shares in households with incomes between $30,000 and $74,999 (58%) and less than $30,000 (41%) say the same.

Teens who are more aware of ChatGPT are more likely to use it for schoolwork. Roughly a third of teens who have heard a lot about ChatGPT (36%) have used it for schoolwork, far higher than the 10% among those who have heard a little about it.

When do teens think it’s OK for students to use ChatGPT?

For teens, whether it is – or is not – acceptable for students to use ChatGPT depends on what it is being used for.

There is a fair amount of support for using the chatbot to explore a topic. Roughly seven-in-ten teens who have heard of ChatGPT say it’s acceptable to use when they are researching something new, while 13% say it is not acceptable.

However, there is much less support for using ChatGPT to do the work itself. Just one-in-five teens who have heard of ChatGPT say it’s acceptable to use it to write essays, while 57% say it is not acceptable. And 39% say it’s acceptable to use ChatGPT to solve math problems, while a similar share of teens (36%) say it’s not acceptable.

Some teens are uncertain about whether it’s acceptable to use ChatGPT for these tasks. Between 18% and 24% say they aren’t sure whether these are acceptable use cases for ChatGPT.

Those who have heard a lot about ChatGPT are more likely than those who have only heard a little about it to say it’s acceptable to use the chatbot to research topics, solve math problems and write essays. For instance, 54% of teens who have heard a lot about ChatGPT say it’s acceptable to use it to solve math problems, compared with 32% among those who have heard a little about it.

Note: Here are the  questions used for this analysis , along with responses, and its  methodology .

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Olivia Sidoti is a research assistant focusing on internet and technology research at Pew Research Center

Jeffrey Gottfried is an associate director focusing on internet and technology research at Pew Research Center

Many Americans think generative AI programs should credit the sources they rely on

Americans’ use of chatgpt is ticking up, but few trust its election information, q&a: how we used large language models to identify guests on popular podcasts, striking findings from 2023, what the data says about americans’ views of artificial intelligence, most popular.

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What caused Dubai floods? Experts cite climate change, not cloud seeding

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USC cancels main commencement, citing safety measures

The University of Southern California (USC) said on Thursday it has called off its main-stage graduation ceremony this year, one week after canceling the valedictorian speech by a Muslim student who said she was silenced by anti-Palestinian hatred.

A Ukrainian court ordered Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky to be taken into custody on Friday to face allegations of his alleged involvement in an illegal acquisition of state-owned land worth about $7 million.

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Working Parents, Plan for the Week with This Simple Exercise

• Avni Patel Thompson

To avoid surprises and decision fatigue, take 20 minutes to preview your family’s commitments.

As work travel and hours in the office mount, work parents are feeling the logistical challenges of making every week happen — from kid pickup and dropoff and sports practice to meal planning and doctor’s appointments. The main difficulties lie in managing the firehose of information, coping with decision fatigue, and dealing with surprises like an illness or a forgotten event. The best approach for avoiding — or mitigating — these obstacles is the weekly preview: A planning session between the core adults in the family each week to go over what’s coming. The week’s plan is documented and discussed, highlighting variances from typical weeks and indicating back-up plans for particularly tricky spots.

It’s been nearly four years since we first met Amir and Ria as they were navigating the early months of Covid with two jobs and two young children at home.

• AT Avni Patel Thompson  is the founder and CEO of  Milo, the world’s first app to tackle the invisible load of running and raising a family. She is a third-time founder building technology solutions that make everyday parenting lighter and more connected. Previously she was the founder of YC-backed Poppy. Prior to taking the entrepreneurial plunge, she spent over a decade building consumer businesses at P&G, adidas, and Starbucks. She has an MBA (HBS ’08) and a BSc Chemistry from the University of British Columbia. She lives in Vancouver with her husband and two daughters.

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