Learning English

Structure your writing in a logical way

The main body of your essay needs to be logically organised. Take a look at this assignment title from an education management course: 'Compare the structure of undergraduate degrees in the UK and British and US universities'.

Two ways to organise a comparison essay

There are two main ways to organise a 'comparison' essay. For this assignment, in a 'horizontal' organisational pattern, each section would compare an aspect of the UK education system with the same aspect of the US system. A 'vertical' pattern would deal with all the features of the UK system in one section, and all the same features of the US system, in the same order, in another section.

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To do

Read Plans 1 and 2 for the university comparison essay and decide if they are logical or not. You can check your answers – in an activity – later on this page.

Plan 1

• US – undergrads take 4 years (more flexibility; more expensive); UK – undergrads take 3 years (except courses that include work experience etc.)
• US – undergrads can apply as 'undecided', and choose 'major' later; UK – undergrads must choose subject when they apply
• US – no undergrad degrees in Law or Medicine (postgraduate only); UK – Law and Medicine available as undergraduate degrees

Plan 2

• US – undergrads can apply as 'undecided', and choose 'major' later; UK – Law and Medicine available as undergraduate degrees
• US – undergrads take 4 years (more flexibility; more expensive); US – no undergrad degrees in Law or Medicine (postgraduate only)
• UK – undergrads must choose subject when they apply; UK – undergrads take 3 years (except courses that include work experience etc)

Next

We've looked at introductions and essay structure, so it's time to end with the ending: go to the next activity to find out how to write a convincing conclusion.