Academic Writing Help Centre (AWHC)

The Body
The purpose of the body of an essay is to put forth arguments, reasoning and evidence to support the thesis in a complete, convincing way. Furthermore, it is meant to organize all this information into a logical and coherent structure. There are three elements in the body: Primary ideas are the broad main arguments that directly support the thesis in a clear, logical way. Together, primary ideas make up the body and provide convincing reinforcement for the thesis. Secondary ideas are the more focused arguments that develop and directly support the primary ideas and provide a framework for the evidence being used. Evidence is the information from sources that justifies the arguments presented in the secondary ideas by using concrete and factual elements.

2010 ACADEMIC WRITING HELP CENTRE (AWHC), University of Ottawa

Primary Ideas Constructing primary ideas

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Strong primary ideas must have the following: Direct, focused connection to thesis Primary ideas should have a clear connection to the thesis and should only contain information that is directly related to it. Completeness All the primary ideas together must cover the major issues and concepts that are raised by the thesis, so that there are no important issues left unaddressed. Each primary idea must also completely address the issues it raises. Potential for development The strongest primary ideas are those which can be most developed and refined by the strongest collection of secondary ideas.

Organizing primary ideas

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Primary ideas must be organized logically, to make the text and the argumentation easier to follow. Here are some examples of how to organize the primary ideas: Chronological order Moves from the past to more recent events, or vice versa Gives an immediately understandable structure From strongest to weakest argument, or vice versa Starts with the strongest and most convincing information to make an impact from the beginning Alternatively, ends with the strongest and most convincing information to conclude the essay on a strong note. General ideas to specific ideas, or vice versa Provides the reader with a broad idea and then narrower illustrations of that idea Alternatively, starts with an illustration and moves to the broad implications of that example Concrete arguments (examples, data) to abstract arguments (theory, interpretation), or vice versa Starts with an element that is confirmed and factual, and uses it to support a larger theory or interpretation Alternatively, starts with the theory that is then illustrated by facts and examples Cause and effect Leads along a chain of reasoning; starts with a cause and its effects, and then to what is caused by those effects, etc.

Secondary Ideas
2010 ACADEMIC WRITING HELP CENTRE (AWHC), University of Ottawa

Secondary Ideas Constructing secondary ideas

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Strong secondary ideas must have the following: Direct link to primary ideas Secondary ideas must directly and clearly support primary ideas. Development of primary ideas Secondary ideas must elaborate on the primary idea they are related to, and further explain the relevance of that primary idea, to facilitate a complete understanding of the papers major points. Basis in evidence Every secondary idea must be supported by one or more elements of evidence, drawn from primary or secondary sources. This evidence illustrates and explains the secondary ideas to help justify and give more weight to the argument. Establishment of connections Another function of the secondary idea is to build a relationship between the evidence and the primary idea. The secondary idea must explain what the evidence means, and why it is important to the primary idea.

Organizing secondary ideas

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Each paragraph of the body will be a structured group of secondary ideas. There are several things to keep in mind when organizing those groups: Unity under primary ideas Secondary ideas that support the same primary idea must always be together, usually in the same paragraph. If many secondary ideas support one primary idea, it may be more effective to logically divide those secondary ideas into separate paragraphs. Organization within each paragraph Secondary ideas within a paragraph must be logically organized. It is often possible to use the same method to organize the secondary ideas the same way as the primary ideas. Expressing relationships The connections between secondary ideas must be expressed clearly with transition words and connecting sentences. Making these relationships obvious and clear is just as important as arranging the ideas in logical order.

2010 ACADEMIC WRITING HELP CENTRE (AWHC), University of Ottawa

Evidence Evaluating Evidence

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There are several criteria for selecting evidence that effectively justifies the essays claims: Credibility Where does this information come from? Is the source reliable? What are the sources credentials? Is it peer-reviewed? Could the source be biased because of some underlying interest? (e.g.: An article on the effectiveness of a specific drug, written by an author whose research has been financed by a drug company.) Accuracy Is the information correct? Is it consistent with other sources? How much possibility for error is there? When was it written is the source up to date? Relevance How directly does the evidence support the essays claims? What is the context of the evidence? Is the evidence specific to the argument, or is it addressing a more general issue?

Presenting evidence
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There are several methods of presenting evidence, whether it comes from primary or secondary sources: Quotation Using the exact words from the source, inside quotation marks. Quotation is useful when examining the exact wording, or when the sources wording is particularly effective. Paraphrase Rephrasing the sources information in your own words. Paraphrasing is useful when demonstrating understanding or maintaining the flow of the writing. Summary Condensing the information from a source into a smaller form. Summary is useful when you want to deal with the source as a whole, rather than just a particular section. Statistics, graphs, charts and visuals When presenting numerical information or any information that comes in large volumes, it may be more effective to use a visual presentation that makes it easy to retrieve specific information.

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In addition, there are two very important things to keep in mind when using evidence. Presenting the evidence Introducing evidence Evidence must have some kind of context, usually an introductory sentence or two. A quotation in the middle of nowhere is not only confusing, but does not fulfill its role of supporting an argument either. Citing sources The sources of any evidence used in the essay must be referenced, to keep track of where ideas are coming from and to ensure academic integrity.

2010 ACADEMIC WRITING HELP CENTRE (AWHC), University of Ottawa