Essay Breakdown Guide

A guide to breaking down an essay, before you even start to think about writing it. Find your free printout at the bottom of the page.

This guide is to give you an overall idea of how to break down an essay, before you even start to think about writing it. The percentages are a guide, and could change depending on the task you want to achieve. A reader starts from the introduction and finishes at the end of the conclusion, just as the arrow illustrates.

Think about why the introduction and conclusion could be one of the last things you write in your essay.

Introduction – 10%

• Tells the reader what the writer is intending on looking at.

• Tells the reader what the writer is intending on finding out.

Main Body – 80%

The main body is where you explain why; you use the citation to back up your original point and/or relate the citation to the point. The comment could also contain a sentence that leads to the next paragraph.

Conclusion- 10%

• Tells the reader what the writer has looked at.

• Tells the reader what the writer has found out.

• Tells the reader what the writer’s opinions are and any suggestions they may have.