Resources

Elements of Structure

The structure of an essay refers to its form or organization. There is no one structure that is expected in an academic essay; however, the following are some structural elements common to almost all essays:

  • Sentences
  • Paragraphs
  • Topic sentences within paragraphs
  • Transition sentences between paragraphs
  • Thesis statement
  • Title
  • Quotations & Citations

A writer must consider their purpose, subject matter and anticipated audience in order to form an appropriate structure from these elements. However, knowing the structure that you would like to achieve is not sufficient to tell you the process by which to get there.

For suggestions regarding the writing process, see the Writing Strategies module.

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SPARK York University

Module Objectives

This module on understanding assignments provides strategies for:

  • understanding the general requirements of an academic assignment
  • determining the purpose of an assignment in order to guide the writing process
  • discovering types of assignments and their corresponding signal words
  • noting various disciplinary approaches
  • defining the audience and considering its role in the assignment