An academic essay, also called a five-paragraph essay, is the common way most academic institutions expect students to write their essays. There are 3 basic parts to an academic essay, the introduction, the body and the conclusion.The introduction introduces the essay. It contains three sentences, the general statement, the thesis statement and finally the lead-in statement.Next is the body,
. which makes up the bulk of the essay. There are three paragraphs in the body, and each paragraph is structurally the same. Each paragraph starts out with a topic sentence; this states the main idea of each individual paragraph. Next comes one supporting point for the topic sentence. The following two sentences are both supporting details for the supporting point sentence. Then there is one more supporting point sentence, with two supporting detail sentences that follow it. This pattern repeats for three times, making up the body of the academic essay. The number of supporting point sentences and number of supporting detail sentences may vary depending on the number of points and details that needs sharing in the essay.Completing the essay is the conclusion paragraph. The summary of the main idea is the first sentence in this paragraph. After this is the summary of the main point, or main points. Ending the essay is the final comments or suggestions.The outline of an academic essay is as follows:
1. Introduction
a. General Statement
b. Thesis Statement
c. Lead-In Statement
2. Body
a. Topic Sentence
i. Supporting Point
1. Supporting Detail
2. Supporting Detail
ii. Supporting Point
1. Supporting Detail
2. Supporting Detail
3. Body
a. Topic Sentence
i. Supporting Point
1. Supporting Detail
2. Supporting Detail
ii. Supporting Point
1. Supporting Detail
2. Supporting Detail
4. Body
a. Topic Sentence
i. Supporting Point
1. Supporting Detail
2. Supporting Detail
ii. Supporting Point
1. Supporting Detail
b. Supporting Detail
5. Conclusion
a. Summary of the main ideab. Summary of the main point or pointsc. Suggestion or final commentsMore reference links: http://www.essaytown.com/writing/how-write-research-paper-outline http://academicenglishcafe.com/AcademicEssayoutline.aspx
