The body of the essay
The function of the essay's body is to fully develop the argument outlined in the introduction. Each paragraph within the body of the essay elaborates on one major point in the development of the overall argument (although some points may consist of a number of sub-points, each of which will need a paragraph). The main point in each paragraph needs to be clearly stated in the form of a topic sentence, which is then supported with evidence. Let's look at how the student's essay on why Italy in 1860 was seen as an unlikely nation developed (remember the argument is that Italy was seen as an unlikely nation because of the many obstacles in the way of unification). The example below shows only the first (or topic) sentence of each paragraph, and not the remaining sentences of each paragraph. This is to highlight the way the main points in the argument can be presented at the beginning of each paragraph to show the logical steps in the argument.
Body of the essay(skeleton framework)1
In each of these paragraphs several words are written in coloured type,
eg. the final, another, a further. These
serve to establish
relations between the various parts of the essay. They are an important
element in developing an argument that is
cohesive and flows logically
through your essay.
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