Why are topics often broken into three parts for development in an essay?
There is nothing magic about the number three. However, every essay must be adequately developed. Development is the degree to which you explain your thesis and provide examples, illustrations and facts so that your reader understands your ideas and can follow your discussion or argument. Therefore, in addition to the introduction, body and conclusion, the body of an essay is often broken into three sections to insure the topic is developed adequately. Remember: if you write a thesis that forecasts the organization of your paper, you must deal with each section in the same order you set up in the thesis statement. Does every paper have a thesis? Every essay, and even every book, has a central idea that the author attempts to develop. Sometimes, however, the thesis is alluded to rather than stated in the introductory paragraph. Usually the author has avoided stating the thesis in the introductory paragraph for stylistic reasons – suspended interest, for example. A writing technique for
