The more essays one writes, the more one is able to bend the rules. In its purest form, however, a body paragraph follows a fairly straightforward format. Welcome to this classic version: Introductory sentence(s), Evidence, Thesis tie-in, Analysis. IETA, if you will. Rolls right off the tongue.

Before we cover body paragraphs in more detail, a few reminders from our five paragraph essay overview. Each body paragraph is of course about a different topic and uses different evidence. A paragraph is at least five sentences. Finally, avoid using “I” and “you”; rather, state your idea as fact.

Body paragraphs can be overwhelming, so let’s go through these basic parts a bit more slowly. I’ve used a paragraph about Sophocles’s Oedipus Cycle as an example. Imagine the thesis claims that, In chaotic Thebes, a hero is one who finds control where there is none.

1. Start with a topic sentence or two. Get your reader acclimated to the general idea.

By making choices where there seem to be none, Oedipus and Antigone find control over their enemies. Eventually even evil itself is brought under the power of their redefinitions.  

2. Choose the best quote for the job.

In Oedipus Tyrannos, Oedipus is defined as evil: “If there is evil beyond evil,/ that is the lot of Oedipus” (Sophocles 128).  His world at this point is one in which acting evil is thrust upon a person rather than chosen.  He feels guilt.  However, by Oedipus at Colonus, the very idea of evil is re-appropriated by Oedipus.  “I endured evil, strangers.  I did not cause it” (Sophocles 166).  His guilt by this point has dissipated.  That shift in thinking is met with approval by the chorus; power over self is respected.  They and Antigone accept his new definition of himself as not evil.  

3. Make sure the way the evidence proves the thesis is clear.

In other words, Oedipus has changed, has in fact controlled, his identity and what it means to be evil.

4. Don’t stop there! So what?

What is most important about this shift in thinking is that it is the characters, not the world, that create this redefinition.  The story, ostensibly, punishes the characters.  Both Antigone and Oedipus suffer and die.  But only the characters decide within the world of the plot to feel pride, or to let go of guilt, or to know they act rightly. It would not go amiss here to explain that this is not the claim that character can overcome plot, but rather that the character of nobility will always triumph over its circumstances.

As you might guess, there is a lot of room for fluidity within this structure as you become more comfortable with it. Maybe you find IETETA works for you rather than just IETA. Maybe ITETA. Maybe even IETAE. As long as all the parts are in there somewhere it should work. Let form follow function and all that.

Need some more essay support? For basic five paragraph essay structure, again, try this page. For help writing an arguable thesis statement, this one. For help incorporating literary criticism, this page.
Finally, here is a handout to support writing an Outline.

Teachers, perhaps you might enjoy my favorite Essay Rubric or my celebration of the essay as the perfect assessment.