Structuring Your Points
- Once you’ve written a strong thesis (subject statement): a clear sentence that explains how the writer achieves their purpose, you must decide how to structure your essay to support that argument effectively.
- Your goal is to prove your thesis using clear, well-organised body paragraphs. Each paragraph should support one smaller component of your argument.
- Usually, this means writing three main points, though two or four can also work.
How Do You Choose the Right Points?
- Here’s the mindset shift: There is no single “correct” way to structure your essay. Instead, there are many effective combinations of points you could choose. Your job is to pick one that:
- Supports your thesis
- Flows logically
- Matches the nature of the text
- Once you’ve deconstructed the text and identified the key techniques, ideas, and sections, you’re ready to choose a structure.
The Three Main Essay Structures
1. Organizing by Ideas or Themes
- This structure works when the text explores multiple central ideas or emotional perspectives.
- Each body paragraph focuses on one of those ideas or themes.
Example
- Say you’re analysing a short story about a woman revisiting her childhood home after her mother’s passing. Your points might be:
- Her sense of nostalgia and loss
- Her conflicted relationship with her mother
- Her eventual acceptance and healing
- A suitable thesis could be:
- "The writer explores the emotional journey of the narrator’s return to her childhood home through themes of nostalgia, unresolved tension, and eventual reconciliation, in order to illustrate the enduring complexity of familial bonds."
Note
Why this works:
- Focuses on writer's purpose: "to illustrate the enduring complexity of familial bonds"
- Uses thematic language: nostalgia, tension, reconciliation
- Links to the three paragraph points clearly:
- Point 1: Nostalgia and loss → "emotional journey" + "nostalgia"
- Point 2: Conflict with mother → "unresolved tension"
- Point 3: Acceptance and healing → "eventual reconciliation"
2. Organising by Sections of the Text
- This structure follows the chronological development of the text.
- Each paragraph focuses on a different section, usually marked by a shift in tone, perspective, or narrative focus.
Example
- Imagine a poem that moves through a character’s stages of anxiety before a performance.
- Stanza 1: Nervous anticipation and self-doubt
- Stanza 2: Rising panic and internal chaos
- Stanza 3: Calm focus and emotional release on stage
- A possible thesis:
- "The poet traces the speaker’s emotional evolution from self-doubt to release through a structured escalation of anxiety, using shifts in tone, imagery, and rhythm to convey the psychological intensity and eventual catharsis of performance."
Note
Why this works:
- Focuses on writer’s purpose:
- “to capture the psychological intensity and catharsis of performance”
- This clearly states the poem’s deeper aim, not just showing feelings, but conveying the internal emotional journey of performing.
- Uses thematic language:
- “emotional progression,” “anxiety,” “release”
- This frames the poem as a journey, guiding the structure of the essay and emphasizing change over time.
- Connects to body paragraph points:
- Stanza 1: Nervous anticipation → “anxiety” and “shifting tone”
- Stanza 2: Rising panic → “vivid imagery” and “psychological intensity”
- Stanza 3: Emotional release → “structural pacing” and “catharsis”
Exam technique
- Reminder:
- Don’t go line-by-line.
- Instead, analyse the overall purpose of the section and choose relevant quotes from within it.
3. Organising by Technique (Use with Caution)
- This structure assigns each body paragraph to a different literary or visual technique, such as metaphor, imagery, or structure.
- However, this approach is generally discouraged. Why?
- It often disconnects techniques from meaning
- It treats techniques as isolated, rather than working together
- It tends to result in shallow or fragmented analysis
Example
- You’re analysing an advertisement for an eco-friendly brand. Your points might be:
- Use of green colour symbolism
- Personification of nature
- Persuasive sentence structure and repetition
- And a thesis like:
- “The advertisement uses symbolic colour, personification, and rhythmic repetition to position sustainability as both desirable and urgent.”
- However, this approach is generally discouraged. Why?
- It often disconnects techniques from meaning
- It treats techniques as isolated, rather than working together
- It tends to result in shallow or fragmented analysis
Exam technique
When It’s Acceptable:
- Only use this structure if:
- The text is very short or visually based
- The message or idea is simple and singular
- There are only a few core techniques driving the entire piece
- Otherwise, structure by idea or section for a stronger, more coherent essay.
Which Structure Should You Use?
| Structure Type | Best For |
|---|---|
| Idea / Theme | Repeated or symbolic ideas across the text |
| Section | Texts with clear shifts or linear progression |
| Technique | Only when the text is short and centres on one main idea |
Final Advice
- Choose the structure that allows you to show how the text works
- Ensure each paragraph contributes to proving your thesis
- Plan your structure before you start writing to stay on track
Exam technique
A good structure helps your essay flow naturally and demonstrates that you understand the construction of meaning: the essence of IB English Paper 1.
