What's very important is that you understand what type of essay you're being asked to write. Some students can compose an essay on the spur of the moment, moving smoothly and logically from one paragraph to the next. Most students, though, benefit from writing down a short plan of organization before they begin to write their essay-kind of like directions to follow as they write. This short plan of organization is called an outline . Working from an outline, even a rough one, helps writers keep on track, and reminds them of how to begin and where to end.
Outlines help to organize essays, and well-organized essays can earn better grades.
While sometimes you will be asked to summarize the major points of an article or book, or compare and contrast certain theories or issues just to demonstrate your understanding of them, usually you will be expected to write a paper that supports a thesis, which will be either argumentative or explanatory. A thesis should be limited in scope, and will help you organize your paper. T Topic Sentence - The first sentence introduces the subject of a paragraph, essentially serving as a miniature thesis statement. The second sentence can restate or restrict what wa written in the first sentence, making the subject more specific. This section can contain several sentences.