Essays

Essays are a type of literary composition that presents the author's argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have traditionally been sub-classified as formal and informal. Formal essays are characterized by "serious purpose, dignity, logical organization, length," whereas the informal essay is characterized by "the personal element (self-revelation, individual tastes and experiences, confidential manner), humor, graceful style, rambling structure, unconventionality or novelty of theme," etc.

History

The word essay derives from the French infinitive essayer, "to try" or "to attempt". In English, essay first meant "a trial" or "an attempt", and this is still an alternative meaning. The Frenchman Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592) was the first author to describe his work as essays; he used the term to characterize these as "attempts" to put his thoughts into writing.

Subsequently, essay has been defined in a variety of ways. One definition is a "prose composition with a focused subject of discussion" or a "long, systematic discourse". It is difficult to define the genre into which essays fall.

Types of Essays

Essays can be divided into several major types including:

• Descriptive essay: Focuses on details about characteristics, events, or situations. It aims to provide a deep, vivid image.
• Narrative essay: Tells a story or recounts an event or series of events in the form of a narrative.
• Expository essay: Used to explain, describe or inform the reader about a topic by presenting facts with no opinions.
• Persuasive essay: Aims to convince the reader of the writer's point of view.
• Compare and contrast essay: Analyzes two subjects by comparing them, contrasting them, or both.
• Argumentative essay: Presents arguments about both sides of an issue, generally with the intent of persuading the reader to agree with one side.

Structure

A typical essay contains many different kinds of information, often located in specialized parts or sections. Even short essays perform several different operations: introducing the argument, analyzing data, raising counterarguments, concluding. Introductions and conclusions have fixed places, but other parts don't. Counterargument, for example, may appear within a paragraph, as a free-standing section, as part of the beginning, or before the ending.

Importance in Academia

Essays are an integral part of a student's education. They are used as a tool by institutions to assess the students' ability to express thoughts on paper and to test their intellectual capabilities. Some essays are also used to determine a student's research skills.

Cultural Impact

Essays have become a major part of a formal education in the form of free response questions. Secondary students in these countries are taught structured essay formats to improve their writing skills, and essays are often used by universities in these countries in selecting applicants.

See Also

• Literature
• Writing
• Academic writing
• Thesis statement

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