1
Learning Objectives
- Identify elements of essay formatting.
- Identify types of paragraphs.
- Identify basic parts of paragraphs.
Let’s start by reading an example essay.
Lindsey Hageman
ESLS 025
Essay 1
7/2/25
Good Doctors
The sound of an ambulance siren at 3 AM makes everyone stop and think about the fragility of life. In moments of medical crisis, people realize how much they depend on doctors to help them. Every day, millions of people around the world visit doctors for their health problems. When people are sick or hurt, they trust doctors to take care of them and make them feel better. However, not all doctors provide the same quality of care to their patients. Some doctors are more skilled and helpful than others. What makes one doctor better than another doctor? There are many important qualities that good doctors should have to serve patients well. The most important qualities of a good doctor are medical experience and emotional intelligence.
What are the parts of the essay? We’ll look at the most basic parts first.
Lindsey Hageman
ESLS 025 <———- Heading
Essay 1
7/2/25
Good Doctors <———- Title
The sound of an ambulance siren at 3 AM makes everyone stop and think about the fragility of life. In moments of medical crisis, people realize how much they depend on doctors to help them. Every day, millions of people around the world visit doctors for their health problems. When people are sick or hurt, they trust doctors to take care of them and make them feel better. However, not all doctors provide the same quality of care to their patients. Some doctors are more skilled and helpful than others. What makes one doctor better than another doctor? There are many important qualities that good doctors should have to serve patients well. The most important qualities of a good doctor are medical experience and emotional intelligence. <———- Introduction Paragraph
First, medical experience is the foundation of being a good doctor. To start, doctors must have updated medical knowledge. For example, a great doctor makes time to read the latest medical research each week. This means that they can help with all types of medical issues, even rare ones. Additionally, it is important that doctors have strong problem-solving skills. For instance, they can make quick decisions during emergencies because they have experience in many different situations. Making fast choices ensures that patients get the quickest care when they are in potential danger. In conclusion, an excellent doctor must have adequate experience. <———- Body Paragraph 1
Another important quality for a doctor to have is emotional intelligence. To begin, it is necessary for doctors to be patient. As an example, if a patient does not understand their medical condition, the doctor does not rush or complain; instead, they take time to explain every detail. This makes patients feel comfortable and confident about taking care of their condition. Furthermore, good doctors are always empathetic. For example, a doctor who takes time to comfort a nervous child during a vaccination creates a positive experience for the patient and their family. As a result, they are not afraid to visit the doctor when they need help in the future. To conclude, it is necessary for a doctor to prioritize the emotions of their patients. <———-Body Paragraph 2
Test your knowledge!
Now we’ll get more specific. Let’s look at the essay titled “Good Doctors” again.
Lindsey Hageman
ESLS 025
Essay 1
7/2/25
Good Doctors
The sound of an ambulance siren at 3 AM makes everyone stop and think about the fragility of life. In moments of medical crisis, people realize how much they depend on doctors to help them. Every day, millions of people around the world visit doctors for their health problems. When people are sick or hurt, they trust doctors to take care of them and make them feel better. However, not all doctors provide the same quality of care to their patients. Some doctors are more skilled and helpful than others. What makes one doctor better than another doctor? There are many important qualities that good doctors should have to serve patients well. The most important qualities of a good doctor are medical experience and emotional intelligence. <–Thesis Statement
Topic Sentence –>First, medical experience is the foundation of being a good doctor. Supporting Sentence 1 –> To start, doctors must have updated medical knowledge. For example, a great doctor makes time to read the latest medical research each week. This means that they can help with all types of medical issues, even rare ones. Supporting Sentence 2—>Additionally, it is important that doctors have strong problem-solving skills. For instance, they can make quick decisions during emergencies because they have experience in many different situations. Making fast choices ensures that patients get the quickest care when they are in potential danger. Concluding Sentence –> In conclusion, an excellent doctor must have adequate experience.
Topic Sentence –> Another important quality for a doctor to have is emotional intelligence. Supporting Sentence 1 –>To begin, it is necessary for doctors to be patient. As an example, if a patient does not understand their medical condition, the doctor does not rush or complain; instead, they take time to explain every detail. This makes patients feel comfortable and confident about taking care of their condition.Supporting Sentence 2 –> Furthermore, good doctors are always empathetic. For example, a doctor who takes time to comfort a nervous child during a vaccination creates a positive experience for the patient and their family. As a result, they are not afraid to visit the doctor when they need help in the future. Concluding Sentence —>To conclude, it is necessary for a doctor to prioritize the emotions of their patients.
What is a thesis statement?
A thesis statement is a sentence that states the main idea(s) or arguments of your essay. Thesis statements are usually the last sentence of an introduction paragraph.
You will see many types of thesis statements throughout your college courses. One common structure of a thesis statement is as follows:
Main Topic + Subtopics (smaller topics)
OR
Subtopics + Main Topic
Let’s look at how this structure applies to the thesis in the example essay:
| [The most important qualities of a good doctor] | are | [medical experience] | and | [emotional intelligence]. |
| Main Topic | Sub-topic 1 | Sub-topic 2 |
Why do we have 2 subtopics? Because we have 2 body paragraphs! You will see essays with 3, 5, even 10 body paragraphs in the future! But in this class, we’ll start small and stick to 2.
This thesis structure (main topic + subtopics) is what we will be using in this class. Why are we using this type? This type of thesis helps you keep organized and helps your readers understand your meaning. When reading an essay, readers don’t want to feel surprised. They want a map of exactly what you will write about. When they read your thesis, they will know your main topic is and what subtopics to expect.
What is a topic sentence?
Good news! If you have a thesis statement, you have topic sentences. Let’s look at the topic sentences in the example essay again:
- First, medical experience is the foundation of being a good doctor.
2. Another important quality for a doctor to have is emotional intelligence.
Do these ideas look familiar? They are just the subtopics from the thesis statement!
| Thesis Statement: | The most important qualities of a good doctor are | [medical experience] | and emotional intelligence. |
| ↓ | |||
| Topic Sentence 1: | First, | [medical experience] | is the foundation of being a good doctor. |
| Thesis Statement: | The most important qualities of a good doctor are medical experience and | [emotional intelligence] |
| ↓ | ||
| Topic Sentence 2: | Another important quality for a doctor to have is | [emotional intelligence]. |
Do you see how we have just repeated the ideas from the thesis statement in the topic sentences? In American English, writers tend to be repetitive. They want to make sure that the reader can easily understand their thinking. Remember, one of the best compliments your essays can get is that they are easy to understand.
Look again at the position of the thesis statement and topic sentences in the example essay:
Lindsey Hageman
ESLS 025
Essay 1
7/2/25
Good Doctors
The sound of an ambulance siren at 3 AM makes everyone stop and think about the fragility of life. In moments of medical crisis, people realize how much they depend on doctors to help them. Every day, millions of people around the world visit doctors for their health problems. When people are sick or hurt, they trust doctors to take care of them and make them feel better. However, not all doctors provide the same quality of care to their patients. Some doctors are more skilled and helpful than others. What makes one doctor better than another doctor? There are many important qualities that good doctors should have to serve patients well. The most important qualities of a good doctor are [medical experience] and [emotional intelligence]. <—–Thesis Statement
First, [medical experience] is the foundation of being a good doctor. <—–Topic Sentence To start, doctors must have updated medical knowledge. For example, a great doctor makes time to read the latest medical research each week. This means that they can help with all types of medical issues, even rare ones. Additionally, it is important that doctors have strong problem-solving skills. For instance, they can make quick decisions during emergencies because they have experience in many different situations. Making fast choices ensures that patients get the quickest care when they are in potential danger. In conclusion, an excellent doctor must have adequate experience.
Another important quality for a doctor to have is [emotional intelligence]. <—–Topic SentenceTo begin, it is necessary for doctors to be patient. As an example, if a patient does not understand their medical condition, the doctor does not rush or complain; instead, they take time to explain every detail. This makes patients feel comfortable and confident about taking care of their condition. Furthermore, good doctors are always empathetic. For example, a doctor who takes time to comfort a nervous child during a vaccination creates a positive experience for the patient and their family. As a result, they are not afraid to visit the doctor when they need help in the future. To conclude, it is necessary for a doctor to prioritize the emotions of their patients.
What is a supporting sentence?
A supporting sentence is a sentence that helps organize a body paragraph. It is related to the topic sentence of a paragraph, but it is more specific. For example, if our topic sentence is “First, medical experience is the foundation of being a good doctor,” then our supporting sentences should be more specific ideas about medical experience. In this case, we have two supporting sentences about medical experience:
- To start, doctors must have updated medical knowledge.
- Additionally, it is important that doctors have strong problem-solving skills.
Both of these supporting sentences are about the topic of the paragraph, which is medical experience.
Let’s look at another example from body paragraph 2. Our topic sentence is ” Another important quality for a doctor to have is emotional intelligence.” So our two supporting sentences are both more specific ideas about emotional intelligence:
- To begin, it is necessary for doctors to be patient.
- Furthermore, good doctors are always empathetic.
Why do we use supporting sentences?
Throughout your time in college, you will see body paragraphs that do not have clear supporting sentences. However, we are using supporting sentences in this class because they will help you grow as a writer; they add organization and require you to think of more ideas for your body paragraphs.
Let’s look at the supporting sentences again.
Look at the supporting sentences in the essay again. Do you see how the first supporting sentence is right after the topic sentence? Also, notice that each supporting sentence is followed by an example and explanation. We will talk about these parts later.
Lindsey Hageman
ESLS 025
Essay 1
7/2/25
Good Doctors
The sound of an ambulance siren at 3 AM makes everyone stop and think about the fragility of life. In moments of medical crisis, people realize how much they depend on doctors to help them. Every day, millions of people around the world visit doctors for their health problems. When people are sick or hurt, they trust doctors to take care of them and make them feel better. However, not all doctors provide the same quality of care to their patients. Some doctors are more skilled and helpful than others. What makes one doctor better than another doctor? There are many important qualities that good doctors should have to serve patients well. The most important qualities of a good doctor are medical experience and emotional intelligence.
Topic Sentence —>First, medical experience is the foundation of being a good doctor.Supporting Sentence 1 —>To start, doctors must have updated medical knowledge. For example, a great doctor makes time to read the latest medical research each week. This means that they can help with all types of medical issues, even rare ones. Supporting Sentence 2 —>Additionally, it is important that doctors have strong problem-solving skills. For instance, they can make quick decisions during emergencies because they have experience in many different situations. Making fast choices ensures that patients get the quickest care when they are in potential danger. In conclusion, an excellent doctor must have adequate experience.
Topic Sentence —>Another important quality for a doctor to have is emotional intelligence. Supporting Sentence 1 —>To begin, it is necessary for doctors to be patient. As an example, if a patient does not understand their medical condition, the doctor does not rush or complain; instead, they take time to explain every detail. This makes patients feel comfortable and confident about taking care of their condition. Supporting Sentence 2 —> Furthermore, good doctors are always empathetic. For example, a doctor who takes time to comfort a nervous child during a vaccination creates a positive experience for the patient and their family. As a result, they are not afraid to visit the doctor when they need help in the future. To conclude, it is necessary for a doctor to prioritize the emotions of their patients.
Tip!
Sometimes, it is difficult to find the supporting sentences in a body paragraph. Here is a tip: Usually, supporting sentences start with a transition word. Transition words include words like “first,” “second,” “also,” “in addition,” etc. This is because supporting sentences start a new idea.
We’ll talk about more transition words in a later chapter.
Test your Knowledge!
What are concluding sentences?
Concluding sentences are easy once you know your topic sentences. They are about the same ideas as your topic sentences but with different words. Let’s look at examples. You will see that the concluding sentences are similar to the topic sentences.
In conclusion, an excellent doctor must have adequate experience.
| Topic Sentence: | First, medical experience | is the foundation of being a good doctor. |
| Concluding Sentence: | In conclusion, an excellent doctor must have | adequate experience. |
Do you see how the topic sentence and concluding sentence are similar but not exactly the same? They are both about “experience,” but we explain it in different ways and in different parts of the sentences. We write them differently so that your essay is more interesting to read. We want to be clear but not boring!
Let’s look at another example:
| Topic Sentence: | Another important quality for a doctor to have is | emotional intelligence. |
| Concluding Sentence: | To conclude, it is necessary for a doctor | to prioritize the emotions of their patients |
You can see again in this example that we write about the same ideas in the topic sentence and concluding sentence, but we use different words.
Test your knowledge!
Where is the conclusion paragraph?
Usually, essays have a conclusion paragraph in addition to concluding sentences in the body paragraphs. While a conclusion paragraph is an important part of an essay, we will not be using them in this course so that we can focus on the basics. You will learn about conclusion paragraphs in future courses.
Conclusion
You have now learned about all of the basic organizational parts of an essay! Once you master these, organizing your writing will be a lot easier. Many people say that a paragraph is like a burger; the topic sentence and concluding sentence are like buns that hold a paragraph together. They are made of the same ingredients while looking just a little different. The supporting sentences (and all other details) are the meat and toppings of the burger. They are the tastiest (most interesting) part of the burger and must stay on-topic (inside the buns).