Working on an Essay Body Paragraph in a Proper Way


Body paragraphs are the meat of your essay; in that they develop, support, explain and prove your thesis. A good body is very clear and has these basic elements throughout:

  • Transition Idea: unless it follows right after the introduction a body paragraph should begin with a transition idea to help bridge the paragraphs and move your ideas forward.
  • Topic Sentence: this is the most general sentence in the paragraph. It appears at the beginning; stating the paragraphs main point or claim. It can also be referred to as the sub thesis statement.

    • Topic + assertion= topic sentence

    ie: Dwarf hamsters make great pets.

  • Support: supporting statements make up the body of a paragraph just like supporting paragraphs make up the body of your essay. Your supporting sentences should back up your claim that you made with the topic sentence.

    • ie: Dwarf hamsters make great pets. Pets should be small and easy to care for. Choosing hamsters for a child’s first pets is one of the reasons why dwarf hamsters are great pets.

  • Closing Sentence: Your last sentence should conclude the paragraph and provide insight into what lies ahead in the next paragraph.

Example Body Paragraph Structure


One of the easiest ways to flesh out your body in an essay is to get your ideas noted down and then you can form proper paragraphs from there. The example below is a way to show you proper paragraph structure in motion. The first paragraph of the body is the only one where sentence structure is shown for reference.

  • Introduction
  • Body of Essay
    • First Paragraph: Dwarf hamsters make great pets (Topic sentence). Pets should be small and easy to care for. Choosing hamsters for a child’s first pets is one of the reasons why dwarf hamsters are great pets. Dwarf hamsters are also good for apartment living as well (Support). If you want to teach your child responsibility; a hamster is a great place to start. (Closing Sentence).
    • Second Paragraph: Explain why dwarf hamsters teach a child about responsibility.
    • Third Paragraph: Explain why having a smaller pet can be beneficial to those living in apartments.
  • Conclusion

Remember using transitional sentences to move on to your next paragraph helps move your essay along in a smooth manner that makes it easier for your reader to grasp what you are writing about without having to back through and skim for your main points.