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Using the "Hamburger Method" to Write an Essay: Planning the Essay

Instructional Guide for using the Hamburger Method to structure essays and paragraphs

Use the video and downloadable documents on the left to help you follow the instruction in the right-hand column.

The Top Bun: The Introduction Paragraph

  • The introduction paragraph sets up up your essay by providing introductory information and essay's primary argument or THESIS STATEMENT.
    • Begin with a "hook" to catch your reader's attention and then broad general information to introduce your topic.
    • Narrow down your information and end your introduction with your thesis statement. See video How to Write a Thesis for Beginners for more help.
    • The premises of your thesis statement provide the road map for your body paragraph.

The Good Stuff: The Body Paragraphs

  • Body paragraphs are the "meat" of your essay.
    • Each body paragraph supports a premise from your thesis.
    • See the next tab "Planning the Paragraph" for tips on writing your body paragraphs.
    • Begin with your weakest point and build to your strongest.
    • Your ideas should have a logical flow
  • Cavaet
    • Some premises will take more than one paragraph to fully develop or defend a single premise.
    • As your writing skills advance, your university-level papers should have more than three body paragraphs.
    • Ultimately the instructor's assignment guidelines and you, as the author of the paper, decide how many paragraphs are needed to provide the proper evidence to support your premises.
    • When moving beyond the three paragraph model, pay close attention to the logical arrangement of your paragraphs to ensure your reader can follow your thought processes.

The Bottom Bun: The Conclusion Paragraph

  • Just as the bottom half of hamburger bun is part of the "whole bun," your conclusion paragraph is the inverse of your introduction paragraph.
    • Restate your thesis statement using different words.
    • Summarize each paragraph or premise of your essay.
    • Consider including one of the following points
      • Impact: a compelling fact, quote, or statistic that hightlights the impact of your topic or argument
      • Synthesis: how the paper's most important arguments connect and why the connections are significant
      • Applications: how your findings can be used in other contexts
      • Implications: broad efffects or consequences of your thesis
      • Proposal: a course of action or resolution to a problem presented in the paper

Adapted from Dunn, Emma, "How to Turn the High School "Hamburger" Essay into a University-level Paper." Writing and Communication Centre: September 14, 2020. University of Waterloo. Accessed November 24, 2023. https://uwaterloo.ca/writing-and-communication-centre/blog/how-turn-high-school-hamburger-essay-university-level-paper.