Looking for an essay structure to teach your students? A great on the I use for all of my students when I am teaching essays is the TBEAR format. TBEAR stands for Topic Sentence-the first sentence of a paragraph that says what the paragraph will be about. Background information- giving a little more information on the topic and setting up your evidence Evidence- quotes or paraphrases from text. Analysis- why the evidence matters and backs up your claim. Return to Thesis- transition into the next