An overview of an essay is a brief summary of the main points discussed in an essay that briefly presents the writer’s opinion on the topic and provides a conclusion about it after summarizing what has been said in earlier parts of the text, including usually most important pieces from each section of it.
An overview may also be called an “overview of the essay” or abstract.
Generally, this kind of introduction should be done as briefly as possible and should consist of the first parts of an essay’s body, for example its intro or thesis paragraph. The goal of such overview is to provide readers with enough information about the text so that they can decide whether or not to read it. It includes usually most important pieces from each section of an essay, including the thesis statement.
For writing an overview two things are crucial: relevance and brevity. First one is needed in order to make sure that all points mentioned are really important. This way, if someone decided to read further into article he will definitely find interesting pieces which were mentioned in the overview.
Brevity is essential because it makes sure that overview does not take up too much space and does not discourage readers.
- Read more: how to write an essay introduction.
How to write an overview of an essay
An introduction helps set the tone for your paper by previewing its key points. In a standard expository essay, you’ll usually include several important points, each accompanied by an example or two to illustrate it. Your introduction should be targeted carefully to avoid any redundancy with material that follows.
If your academic essay is long, use this general framework:
- provide a short summary of the paper;
- state your main ideas;
- preview how you will support these ideas (if possible).
You might also wish to make some surprising statement at the end of the intro paragraph—just remember not to include anything in this sentence that might appear in your body paragraphs.
The first sentence provides readers with information they need to understand the paper. It may tell them why the topic is interesting, remind them of something they already know about it, or present a thesis.
The second sentence introduces your main ideas and explains why they are significant.
The third provides a preview of how you will support your ideas in detail in the body of your paper.
In an essay where you state some problem and propose a solution – problem and solution essay, this section would describe that problem and then suggest what you think might solve it. In this type of paper, omit irrelevant evidence from previous studies to avoid distracting from your argument with too many data points. By using only relevant evidence from reliable sources, you can develop a clear focus on your proposal’s significance to both scholarly research and wider society.
It is important to avoid redundancy by using the same idea in more than one sentence. For example, if you have three main points, try to keep only two of them and combine the other two into one sentence. If your paper includes details about evidence from previous studies, include this information in a separate paragraph so the reader doesn’t get bogged down with too much data at once. Place all material that isn’t part of your argument—including external research that only provides supporting material for your ideas—in separate paragraphs or even different types of 5 paragraph essay.
This will help readers focus on what matters most: your argument against the current consensus (which might be summarizing an existing hypothesis), why it’s better than its competition, and how you will prove it.
A concluding paragraph should only summarize the paper’s main points and make a final, strong argument. Don’t forget to include a thesis statement here that clearly states what you will prove or disprove in your entire essay. You may also wish to mention some implications of your findings and connect them with larger ideas in the field.
There are many different kinds of essays, each with its own distinct structure and format, but most begin by giving readers background information about the topic so they can follow along without getting lost.
- Tip: How to plan an essay.
Tips in writing an overview of an essay
Here are some tips in writing a good overview of an essay:
- Make it concise to keep readers interested
- Write in the active voice
- Address key points in your paper with examples but don’t include any data/facts that aren’t pertinent to the argument you are making.
- Make sure your introduction doesn’t include any information that would be more relevant elsewhere in the essay, e.g., stating something for which you will provide supporting evidence later on.
- Keep your conclusion focused on summarizing what was discussed throughout the essay.
- Don’t forget to include a thesis statement here that clearly states what you will prove or disprove in your entire essay.
You may also wish to mention some implications of your findings and connect them with larger ideas in the field.