Attending an English-speaking university? These words will help you in the process of writing a persuasive essay.

Academic Vocabulary: Writing an Essay

An introduction is the first paragraph or section of an essay. This section introduces or presents the topic you will be discussing and the opinion you will argue throughout the rest of the essay. [noun]

A thesis is the main argument of an essay. This is usually one or two sentences in your introduction where you clearly state what you will try to prove in your essay. [noun]
Ex: "I will argue that red is the best color."

The body of the essay is the section in the middle, between your introduction and conclusion, where you give specific examples to support your argument. Paragraphs in the body section are called body paragraphs. [noun]

A topic sentence is the first sentence in a body paragraph. These sentences state how the examples you present in the paragraph will help prove your overall argument. [noun]

Supporting evidence is used in body paragraphs to help you prove your overall argument (thesis). This is usually a quote from other trustworthy sources. To find supporting evidence, you have to do some research. [noun]

Quotes are the use of someone else's words using quotation marks: "..." Quotes indicate that these are not your original words. In an essay, you will probably use quotes as part of your supporting evidence. [noun / verb]

A counter argument presents the opposite opinion from your own. The purpose of presenting a counter argument is to recognize that there are other opinions, but to prove that yours is still better. [noun]

A conclusion is the paragraph or section at the end of an essay, where you restate your argument and give a general summary of how you have proven your thesis with examples and evidence. [noun]

To cite a source is to clearly say, within the essay and/or at the end in a list, that you are referencing someone else's work or words. This is to avoid taking credit for other people's work. [verb] Noun form: citation.