Why the first sentence of a text is important: Write essays correctly


The American educational system uses essays as the main of tasks to test students' knowledge and understanding of the subject matter. While we are used to the fact that any work, be it a paper or an essay, can be written in any form, American students must clearly follow the rules regarding the structure of their texts, and here is why we should learn it.


In schools and universities in the United States, the term for essays is "topic sentence"-literally, it's "a sentence that conveys the point. Each first sentence of a paragraph should convey some sort of statement or assumption by the student, followed by an explanation of his or her opinion. The student can either cite facts to support his or her hypothesis or refute the assumption with references to authoritative sources, the original work, or his or her own research on the topic.

One paragraph - one thought. In this way, students learn to structure their thoughts, analyze information, and justify their position.


Although such a requirement may seem fairly easy to complete, many students find the clear structure of an essay difficult to write, and they look for help online. Fortunately, there are many services such as cheap essay writing service that understand students' difficulties and are willing to help with mastering the craft of writing essays and essays. What some students get off on the fly, others take quite a long time, and such services become their real salvation.

In order to understand the roots of the problem with the wording of the first sentences, it is necessary to pay attention to the very structure of the essay.


A standard essay at an American institution can consist of three, four, five, or, less often, more paragraphs. Most often, students are assigned to write a five-paragraph essay. Such texts have the same structure: an introduction with a thesis that comes with the last sentence of the introduction, the justification for the thesis in the following paragraphs, and conclusions. The introduction and conclusions are mandatory elements of the essay, and, depending on the number of paragraphs according to the assignment, the student determines the necessary number of arguments to use in the text.

For example, in a work of five paragraphs, three paragraphs should be devoted to the justification of the thesis. The student researches information and sources regarding the assigned topic, determines the arguments, and begins writing.


However, one paragraph is one thought, and this is where students begin to have problems. Those who write their pieces in a hurry often skip the argument stage and begin writing the essay immediately, and so often their opinions diverge. Others cannot distinguish clear statements and describe everything in too general a way, without a clear own position, and for some it is difficult to stop at just a few theses.

Thus, one thought may be repeated three times in a text, or one paragraph may contain three opinions. Neither of these options fits the structure of the essay, and students have to rewrite the texts over and over again until they conform to the standard pitch.


Writing thorough and well-structured essays is not a talent, but practice and perseverance. The first sentence of each paragraph should reflect a certain opinion, fact, or assumption about the topic and thesis of the essay. In this way, the reader can clearly understand what the text is about and what the author wanted to say.

We should all pay attention to our first sentences and begin to use the science of American students in our work and daily lives.


Additional Resources


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