Hey, it took me ages to learn how to write an essay, and I've pretty much got the idea down pat now
In your intro you need to state your Thesis point - which is basically re-wording the essay question - don't forget to agree / disagree if the question is an opinion.
Then you need to state your text eg The Shoe Horn Sonata by John Misto.
After that state your topic sentences that you will use for your body paragraphs.
Intro done.
Body, I learnt TEER (Topic Sentence, Example, Explain, Relate), though my friend learnt TEAR (Technique, Example, Analysis, Relate) which I'm about to try doing to see if that is easier.
Basically T = Topic sentence (Technique) is where you state your reason why you agreed/disagreed with the essay question, or why the statement used for the essay question relates to your text or whatever.
E = Example, give an example from the play / related text.
E/A = Explain/Analysis, explain your example. So list your techniques here (sometimes I put them before the example, I don't it really matter too much though. I guess it depends on your paragraph... and how you're wanting to word it / can word it). You need to explain your example, how does it work?
R = Relate, relate your example & explanation back to your topic sentence which also relates back to your question. and that's paragraph 1 done. You just repeat this at least 4 times for an essay.
Conclusion.
Sum up your ideas. State your essay question again, and list your main points and why or how they work. DO NOT INTRODUCE ANYTHING NEW HERE! (big mistake I've done countless times
) Your conclusion shouldn't be very long maybe about 3-4 sentences, just depends on the structure of your writing.
I hope this helps. It's a basic understanding, but that's how I understand it.
Maybe you can find another English teacher to explain it to you? It took about 5-6 English teachers to explain it and help me before I really understood the structure! And I'm still refining it.
Good Luck
