Although college essays can offer ideas in many ways, one standard structure for expository essays is to offer the main assertion or thesis statement at the end of the introductory paragraph and then to offer categories of support. These categories of support come in the form of body paragraphs.
One way to think about how to structure your argument in essay form is to liken writing an essay to the way a lawyer would make a case in a courtroom. Perhaps you have seen a courtroom drama depicted on TV or in a movie. The defense lawyer might assert, “My client is not guilty.” Then, the lawyer will go on to provide different reasons for lack of guilt, different pieces of evidence. That evidence could be: no physical evidence placing the client at the crime scene, the client has an alibi, the client had no motive for the crime, etc.
In writing terms, the assertion of innocence is the thesis sentence, and the different reasons are the topic sentences that begin each of the body paragraphs. In the last section, you got to look at how topic sentences introduce main ideas that support your thesis statement. Let’s review how they build the case for your thesis.
Thesis Sentence (assertion):
Because of rapidly changing technology and a shift to remote work, the post-COVID workplace poses new and unique challenges to workers.
Topic Sentence (reason) for body paragraph #1:
Workers in a post-COVID world need to develop good change management skills.
Topic Sentence (reason) for body paragraph #2:
Because of the rate at which technology can advance, modern workers need to learn systems independently.
Topic Sentence (reason) for body paragraph #3:
Most of all, in order to negotiate rapid change and learning, modern workers need good communication skills.
As you can see, the supporting ideas in an essay more fully develop and provide specific aspects of the main assertion or argument in the thesis sentence.