Academic Writing: Structure

A piece of academic work tells a story. Good stories have a beginning, a middle and an end - they are structured. A structure helps makes the writing easier to follow. Good academic writing is structured like a good story, it has:

An introduction (beginning)
A main body (middle)
A conclusion (end)
A reference list

Academic writing structure

The introduction tells the reader about the work and:

provides background to the topic
indicates the purpose of the writing
provides a roadmap as to what will be covered and where
should be around 10% of the word count

The main body:

Expands upon the topic mentioned in the introduction
brings together everything you have found out
states the points you want to make and the evidence that supports them.
fulfil the requirements of any instruction words (see the image on the Understand Your Assignment page) in the assignment question - analyse/evaluate/compare etc
should be around 80% of the word count

The conclusion:

sums up what you have said
shows how you have answered the question
may - if required - offer some recommendations, relating to your points
should be around 10% of the word count

Note that 10-80-10 is a rough guide to the length of each section, for instance if you include recommendations, your conclusion will be longer than 10% of the word count.

Academic writing structure

Paragraphs

A paragraph is a collection of sentences on a related topic. They give structure to your writing and provide a framework for you to present your ideas in a logical order. Just like you pause at the end of a sentence, you pause at the end of a paragraph. This pause signposts a change in aspect or that something new is being introduced. Paragraphs follow the same structure as academic writing:

A topic sentence (introduction), introducing the idea discussed in the paragraph
Supporting sentences (main body), providing evidence and examples supporting the idea
A concluding sentence (conclusion), which either sums up what has been said in the supporting sentences or links to the next paragraph

Paragraph structure

There are no rules about paragraph length, but they should be at least 2–3 sentences long and shouldn't really be more than 5–6 sentences long. Shorter paragraphs are more readable than longer paragraphs.

You need a new paragraph if:

you are introducing a new main point or idea
you are introducing a new aspect to an idea - comparing, contrasting etc.
the paragraph becomes too long

A few other things to note:

Your paragraphs will read better if you group similar ideas together rather than jumping around
Individual paragraphs should be distinguished by indenting or by having additional line spaces between them (check if this is covered in the house style).
Each paragraph should make only one main point.
Paragraphs should be organised in a logical and consistent order that help tell the story. Play around with them until you get the best flow.

Example paragraph

Irish weather is very changeable. Yesterday morning was sunny, but it rained quite heavily in the evening. This morning was sunny too, but it's raining again at the moment. The forecast is for drier weather this evening, but there's more rain due tomorrow. It just goes to show that no matter the weather, take an umbrella with you when you're going out because it's bound to rain eventually.

Topic sentence	Support Sentences	Concluding sentence
"Irish weather is very changeable"	Yesterday morning was sunny, but it rained quite heavily in the evening.	It just goes to show that no matter the weather, take an umbrella with you when you're going out because it's bound to rain eventually
	This morning was sunny too, but it's raining again at the moment.
	The forecast is for drier weather this evening, but there's more rain due tomorrow.

The first sentence makes an assertion about Irish weather. The next three sentences support that assertion and the concluding sentence makes a recommendation based on the presented evidence.

Paragraph Flow

Here's the first paragraph again, with two following paragraphs.

Instead of taking an umbrella, you might think about bringing a lightweight raincoat when you go out. If it's winter, you'll already be wearing enough clothing to keep you warm. But in summer, you need a lightweight raincoat so you're not too warm. For Irish rain, you'll need a raincoat that's waterproof rather than water-resistant. A waterproof raincoat will keep you dry in driving rain, but if the raincoat is only water-resistant, you might end up being soaked through.

However, if you do need to buy a raincoat, do some research first - don't just buy the first raincoat you see. Look online, either for reviews on a site like Amazon, or for sites that offer some advice on what to look for in a raincoat. Perhaps it's a better idea to visit an outdoor shop and talk to a sales assistant. Also, in a clothes shop, you can try things on first and see how they look on you. If you buy online, you might be sent something that doesn't fit.

Note the flow. The first paragraph talks about the changeable Irish weather and recommends taking an umbrella with you when you go out. "Umbrella" links the two paragraphs, as the 2nd paragraph suggests taking a raincoat with you instead of an umbrella. "Raincoat" is the link between the second and third paragraph, which discussed where to actually buy a raincoat. Aiding the flow are the words starting the 2nd and 3rd paragraphs: "Instead" and "However". These are examples of transition words, which are used to help move smoothly from one idea to the next.