What's the simplest way to structure an essay?

Answer 1

Statement - Support - So What?

You can think of an essay as being separated into three parts - the claim, the evidence, and the reason why this topic matters. This can be applied to paragraphs as well, not just essays.

1. The statement can be a thesis or topic sentence. This is your claim about the subject. (Goldfish are not beginner pets).
2. The support is usually in the form of quotes, citations, or arguments in support of your claim. (They can grow much bigger than a small tank, they live for much longer than most people know, they have a specialized diet...)
3. The "so what" explains why this matters and what can be done. Good questions to ask are, "How does this affect me/others? What does this mean for the future?" (More people should be informed of the special care and effort that goldfish require before being allowed to purchase them.)

The introduction is like one big statement, explaining the premise and what you believe or claim. The main body paragraphs are the support for your claim. The conclusion answers the question, "so why do we care about this?"

Answer 2

Just to add on to what Grayson put very well, essay writing is very formulaic. The formula does not change THAT much from high school to college either. There are three basic components of an argumentative essay.

1. Introduction
2. Introduce your topic
3. Thesis statement
4. Opinion statement (what is your position on question raised by your topic)
5. Main ideas
6. Ideas that support your opinion, which will become body paragraph topics
7. Body
8. Main idea 1
9. Evidence (quotes and other forms of evidence that support assertion of main idea)
10. Reasoning (how evidence supports main idea and thesis)
11. Main idea 2
12. Main idea 3
13. Conclusion
14. Restate thesis
15. Summarize argument made in body
16. Call to action
17. What should be done to support your position in the future?