The following exercises will introduce you to what a body paragraph is and its purpose in an essay.

A body paragraph in a literary essay is five to seven sentences that support and relate to the essay’s thesis statement by proving one main point.

A thesis statement is the main idea of an essay. The thesis statement makes a general statement about the essay’s topic. An example of a thesis statement for an essay about “Opposites Attract” is:

“In the short story “Opposites Attract” by Kim Muncey, the two main characters love each other despite having very different dispositions. The action of the story is propelled by the conflict that arises from the characters’ behaviours and opposite personalities.”

The thesis statement would appear in the Introduction and Conclusion of the essay, but all body paragraphs should also connect to it.

This is shown in the following typical structure of a short literary essay:

1/1