How do I structure an essay?

Begin by asking yourself what you want the essay to tell the reader at the end. No matter how your essay meanders, it should always come to a stop at the end with an answer (or something resembling an answer) to the question that is posed by the teacher, or that you have given yourself. Mince you know this, you can think of a few facets of the that question/answer, and use roughly 5/6 paragraphs (dependant on your word count) to address those different facets. These mini answers can add to your overall answer.