How do you structure an essay?

YES! Finally a writing question!

Paragraph 1: Grab the reader's attention and ask the main question of your essay, as well as outline your three main reasons and hint at your final point

Paragraph 2: Discuss, in depth, your first reason.

Paragraph 3: Discuss, in depth, your second reason.

Paragraph 4: Discuss, in depth, your third reason.

Paragraph 5: Conclusion, wrap up your essay with some wisdom. "For these reasons I believe...." or something to that effect.

I hope this helps! It's a hamburger style essay. Paragraph 1 and 5 are your bun, with all the fillers in the middle.

This is how my History teacher told me to do them in College & it worked for me right through University....
1. Write your essay plan 1st
2. Introduction, a brief summary of what you are about to argue.
3. A paragraph in favour of your argument (reason 1 for)
4. A second paragraph in favour of your argument (reason 2 for)
5. A third paragraph in favour of your argument (reason 3 for)
6. A paragraph against your argument (this demonstrates you have a rounded understanding of the subject)
7. Your conclusion, tie the threads outlined in your for & against paragraphs together to show why you're right.
Using this system I got 2x A's for 2 essays both written on the same night, with no background reading, relying entirely upon notes taken in class.

There must be an introduction, a body (several paragraphs), and a conclusion. Pretty straight forward. Good luck. Is it due tomorrow -- yikes.

That totally depends what essay you're writing.
But for a rough sketch, every essay has an intro, body paragraphs, and conclusion.
The intro contains your thesis and perhaps the points you will be discussing.
Body: you main meat, here. Discuss each point. Examples clarify what you're trying to say.
Conclusion: wraps it all up and restate main idea.
:D

What type? Analytical, compare and contrast or what?

Introduction

Introduction of any essay should be no longer than 1/10 of its length. If the essay itself must be of a significant size the introduction may have several paragraphs; in the rest of the cases it consists of one solid paragraph.

Body paragraphs

The body of a basic essay may have as many body paragraphs as it is necessary to prove the author’s argument of the thesis statement.
It is vital to keep in mind that each paragraph is supposed to have one main argument to analyze and has to reveal it in one solid thought in a sentence called the topic sentence. Therefore the amount of the body paragraphs equals the amount of topic sentences.

Conclusion

It is usually written in one solid paragraph.The conclusion always deals with summing up the essays arguments revealed in the topic sentences and the therefore present substantial evidence to prove the thesis statement.
essay writing becomes more effective when the students follow these basics strictly.