Some assignments have a format that is standard such as for instance lab reports or case studies, and these will normally be explained in your course materials. For other assignments, you will need certainly to come up with your structure.

Your structure might be guided by:

• the assignment question. As an example, it might list topics or use wording such as ‘compare and contrast’.
• the niche matter itself, which might suggest a structure predicated on chronology, process or location, as an example
• your interpretation associated with the subject material. For example, problem/solution, argument/counter-argument or sub-topics in an effort worth addressing
• the structure of other texts you’ve read in your discipline. Glance at how the given info is organised and sequenced. Ensure you modify the structure to fit your purpose in order to avoid plagiarism.

Essays are a very common as a type of academic writing. All essays have the same basic three-part structure: introduction, main body and conclusion like most of the texts you write at university. However, the main body can be structured in many different ways.

To write a good essay:

Reports generally have the same basic structure as essays, with an introduction, body and conclusion. However, the body that is main can differ widely, since the term ‘report’ is employed for a lot of forms of texts and purposes in numerous disciplines.

Find out as much as possible about what types of report is expected.

How exactly to plan your structure

There are lots of ways to come up with a structure for the work. If you’re not sure how to overcome it, try some of the strategies below.

After and during reading your sources, take down notes and commence thinking about how to structure the ideas and facts into groups. For example:

• search for similarities, differences, patterns, themes or other means of grouping and dividing the ideas under headings, such as for instance advantages, disadvantages, causes like this, effects, problems, solutions or kinds of theory
• use coloured highlighters or symbols to tag themes or types of information in your readings or notes
• Paste and cut notes in a document
• physically group your readings or notes into piles.

It’s a good idea to brainstorm a few different ways of structuring your assignment after you have a rough idea of the main issues. Do this in outline form before you begin writing – it’s much easier to re-structure an outline than a half-finished essay. For instance:

• draw some tree diagrams, mind-maps or flowcharts showing which ideas, facts and references will be included under each heading
• discard ideas that do not squeeze into your overall purpose, and facts or references that are not ideal for what you want to go over
• if you have lots of information, such as for example for a thesis or dissertation, create some tables to demonstrate how each theory or reading pertains to each heading (this is often called a ‘synthesis grid’)
• Plan the true number of paragraphs you may need, the topic heading for every one, and dot points for every single bit of information and reference needed
• try a few different possible structures until you find the one that is best suited.

Eventually, you’ll have a plan that is detailed enough so that you can start writing. You’ll know which ideas go into each section and, ideally, each paragraph. Additionally, you will know where to find evidence for all ideas in your notes additionally the resources of that evidence.

If you’re having difficulties with the process of planning the structure of the assignment, consider trying a different technique for grouping and organising your details.

Making the structure clear

Your writing should be clear and logical to read it fits together if it’s easy to see the structure and how. It is possible to achieve this in a number of ways.

• Make use of the final end regarding the introduction to exhibit the reader what structure to anticipate.
• Use headings and sub-headings to clearly mark the sections (if these are acceptable for your discipline and assignment type).
• Use topic sentences at the start of each paragraph, to show the reader what the idea that is main, also to link returning to the introduction and/or headings and sub-headings.
• Show the connections between sentences. The start of each sentence should link returning to the key idea of the paragraph or a previous sentence.
• Use conjunctions and linking words to show the structure of relationships between ideas. Types of conjunctions include: however, similarly, on the other hand, because of this good reason, as a result and moreover.

Introductions

A lot of the forms of texts you write for university need to have an introduction. Its purpose is always to tell the reader clearly the topic, purpose and structure for the paper.

As a rough guide, an introduction may be between 10 and 20 percent for the length of your whole paper and has now three main parts.

• It begins with probably the most information that is general such as for instance background and/or definitions.
• The middle could be the core of this introduction, where you show the overall topic, purpose, your point of view, hypotheses and/or research questions (depending on what sort of paper it really is).
• It ends with the most specific information, describing the scope and structure of one’s paper.

If the main body of your paper follows a template that is predictable including the method, results and discussion stages of a report into the sciences, you generally don’t need certainly to include helpful information to the structure in your introduction.

You ought to write your introduction when you know both your overall point of view (when it is a persuasive paper) additionally the whole structure of one’s paper. Alternatively, you should revise the introduction if you have completed the body that is main.

Paragraphs

Most writing that is academic structured into paragraphs. It is helpful to think of each paragraph as a mini essay with a three-part structure:

• topic sentence (also referred to as introductory sentence)
• body of the paragraph
• concluding sentence.

The sentence that is topic a general overview of the topic together with reason for the paragraph. With respect to the length of the paragraph, this may be one or more sentence. The topic sentence answers the question ‘What’s the paragraph about?’.

Your body associated with the paragraph elaborates directly on the topic sentence by providing definitions, classifications, explanations, contrasts, examples and evidence, as an example.

The ultimate sentence in lots of, yet not all, paragraphs may be the sentence that is concluding. It does not present information that is new but often either summarises or comments in the paragraph content. It may provide a hyperlink, by showing how the paragraph links to the topic sentence of this paragraph that is next. The concluding sentence often answers the question ‘So what?’, by explaining how this paragraph relates back into the main topic.

You don’t have to write all your paragraphs by using this structure. For instance, you can find paragraphs with no topic sentence, or the topic is mentioned close to the end associated with paragraph. However, this really is an obvious and common structure that makes it simple for your reader to check out.

Conclusions

In conclusion is closely pertaining to the introduction and is often described as its ‘mirror image’. Which means that in the event that introduction begins with general information and ends with specific information, the conclusion moves when you look at the direction that is opposite.

In conclusion usually:

• begins by briefly summarising the scope that is main structure associated with paper
• confirms the topic that was given within the introduction. This might make the form of the aims associated with the paper, a thesis statement (point of view) or a extensive research question/hypothesis and its answer/outcome.
• ends with a far more general statement about how this topic relates to its context. This could make the as a type of an assessment associated with importance of this issue, implications for future research or a recommendation about practice or theory.