The word essay means ‘to lay out an argument’. All writing revolving around the laying out of argument in the form of an essay has a disarmingly simple structure: (a) An introduction laying out the brief details of the argument, describing succinctly the issues the essay will discuss (and why) and hinting at the conclusion. It is important to ‘begin with the end in mind’. The introduction can be thought of as the road map to the essay, detailing to the reader where they will be taken. Do, however, make sure that in your conclusion you have taken the reader to the place you said you were taking them to! The introduction should be refined and finalised when the main body of the essay is finished and your conclusions are clearer. (b) The main part of the essay, which is often referred to as the body of the text. Here, you will set out the propositions of your argument in a carefully preplanned manner with each proposition supported by the evidence from the texts, cases, etc that you have consulted. (You should be clearer about argument structure having worked through Chapter 7.) It is absolutely essential to refer to case law, legislation, and textbooks and articles as appropriate in this main part of the essay or you will have nothing but unsupported claims that do not constitute an argument. (c) Your conclusion. This is • either—in answer to the specific question asked; • or—finalises your own decisions concerning the critique and review of information you have been given ‘to discuss’; • or—your final views on the issues you have been invited to extract for discussion. Your conclusion should align with your introduction and contain a brief survey of your argument and evidence as laid out in the body of the text, detailing strengths and weaknesses and then moving to your specific concluding response to the essay task. To obtain an idea of how essay tasks can differ in what they ask and the way they are presented read the following four sample essay tasks.