Ruby I. Restoles What is Essay An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view.

Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition of an essay is vague, overlapping with those of an article and a short story. Almost all modern essays are written in prose, but works in verse have been dubbed essays (e.g. Alexander Pope's An Essay on Criticism and An Essay on Man). While brevity usually defines an essay, voluminous works like John Locke's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and Thomas Malthus's An Essay on the Principle of Population are counterexamples. In some countries (e.g., in the United States), essays have become a major part of formal education. Secondary students are taught structured essay formats to improve their writing skills, and admission essays are often used by universities in selecting applicants and, in the humanities and social sciences, as a way of assessing the performance of students during final exams. The concept of an "essay" has been extended to other mediums beyond writing. A film essay is a movie that often incorporates documentary film making styles and which focuses more on the evolution of a theme or an idea. A photographic essay is an attempt to cover a topic with a linked series of photographs; it may or may not have an accompanying text or captions. Kinds of Essays

In a classification essay, you separate things or ideas into specific categories and discuss each of them. You organize the essay by defining each classification and by giving examples of each type. Description Essay In a description essay, you write about what a person, place, or thing is like. You organize the essay by describing different parts or aspects of the main subject. Compare and Contrast In a compare and contrast essay, you write about the similarities and differences between two or more people, places, or things. You can organize the essay by writing about one subject first and then comparing it with the second subject. A more effective way is to organize the essay by comparing each subject by category. Sequence Essay In a sequence essay, you are writing to describe a series of events or a process in some sort of order. Usually, this order is based on time. You organize the essay by writing about each step of the process in the order it occurred. Choice Essay In a choice essay, you need to choose which object, idea, or action that you prefer. You organize the essay by describing each option and then giving your opinion. Explanation Essay In an explanation essay, you explain how or why something happens or has happened. You need to explain different causes and effects. You should organize the essay by explaining each individual cause or effect. Evaluation Essay In an evaluation essay, you make judgments about people, ideas, and possible actions. You make your evaluation based on certain criteria that you develop. Organize the essay by discussing the criteria you used to make your judgment.

Definition Essay When you are writing a definition essay, you take a term or an idea and write about what it is. Often, definitions are combined with classification or other forms of organization in the essay. You need to give a careful definition of the key term before going on to discuss different types or examples. Classification Essay

Forms & style of essay

Overview

she were experiencing the actions firsthand. In narrative essays, writers re-create happenings, including emotions and moods to make the story come alive. Persuasive

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Academic essays can be written in a wide variety of styles. Essays can be descriptive, persuasive or narrative. They can show the cause and effect of an event or focus on comparing and contrasting multiple subjects. Writers use process analysis essays to instruct readers on completing certain tasks. The different styles of writing are individually helpful to writers looking to write informative, useful essays. Cause/Effect

The purpose of a persuasive essay is to sway readers toward one side of an argument or decision. In persuasive essays, writers clearly state their opinions and support them with facts and statistics. Persuasive essays consider opposing viewpoints and explain their shortfalls. A successful persuasive essay will be enthusiastic and energetic, showing the writer's strong belief in his argument. Process Analysis

The cause and effect style of essay writing is one of the most common forms. In cause and effect essays, writers discuss the relationship between the factors that started an event and that event's results. Essays that focus on the cause and effect of an event are usually written in chronological order, starting with the actions that led to an event, then focusing on the changes brought about by the event. Compare/Contrast

A process analysis essay functions like a how-to guide. In process analysis essays, writers discuss the steps needed to perform a certain action. Readers should be able to clearly follow the steps in a process analysis essay to complete the essay's task. Writers should present the steps in a process analysis essay clearly in chronological order, giving needed detail to each step.

In a compare and contrast essay, the writer focuses on two or more items, persons or events and discusses many of their differences and similarities. To write a good compare and contrast essay, a writer should choose topics that have some similarities and some differences. A well-written essay that compares and contrasts subjects can have one of two purposes: The essay can inform readers about the paper's topics or it can function to help readers make a decision between the topics discussed in the essay. Definition

Parts of an Essay Every essay has three parts: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. The introductory paragraph explains the general topic and introduces a thesis statement, which explains the angle or position you will be taking in the essay. The body is the meat of the essay. It should contain all the points you want to make and flow naturally from one point to the next. The concluding paragraph concisely sums up what you have said. When writing an essay, you should outline and write the body of the essay first, then the thesis, and finally the introduction and conclusion. Step #1: Brainstorming

A definition essay presents a clear, straightforward definition of a subject. Definition essays are worded simply, making them easy to understand. Writers use descriptions and multiple examples in definition essays to clearly define the paper's subject. Descriptive

Writers use descriptive essays to paint a picture of their subjects. Successful descriptive essays leave readers with an overall feeling or mental image about the paper's topic. In a descriptive essay, a writer discusses details of his topic that appeal to all five senses--sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste--when applicable. Narrative

A narrative essay is an essay that tells a story. Narrative essays contain vivid details that paint a picture of an event, allowing the reader to feel as if

Begin thinking about your essay topic well before your essay is due. Consider your topic generally. Decide what you could say about it and what points you have to make on the subject. Write down all your ideas, even the ones that dont seem so great. Once you have all your thinking on paper, you can begin to focus on the best ideas.

Step #2: Outlining the Body The next step is to outline the body of your paper. Look at the collection of ideas youve brainstormed. Are there a few ideas that naturally seem to flow together? Are there related concepts? Those should be the core ideas in your essay. For each of those main ideas, jot down a few things you will say to support or discuss it. Once you have a list of points and sub-points to use in your essay, you can begin organizing them into an outline. Though you can be as formal about it as you like, the general format for an outline is: Concept #1

Step #4: Writing Your First Draft Now the hard workdetermining all the ideas youll put in your essayis done. All you need to do is form the ideas into sentences. Write the body paragraphs of your essay first, using your outline as a guide. Once youve finished, summarize your essay in a concluding paragraph at the end and write an introductory paragraph that introduces your topic and thesis statement. While writing your first draft, dont worry too much about spelling, punctuation, grammar, or sentence structure. Just try to get your ideas all down and worry about proofreading later. Step #5: Revision and Editing After your first draft is finished, take a break and get some distance from your essay. When you come back to it with fresh eyes, youll be better equipped to revision and edit. While editing the first draft, just think about getting the paper to communicate your ideas clearly. Dont worry about details like spelling and grammar until the final draft. Printing out the essay and reading it aloud might help. Asking someone else to read the draft and give you feedback is also valuable. This drafting and revising process can be repeated as necessary until you are satisfied with the finished product. Any writing exercise, no matter how small, should begin with brainstorming and outlining. Then, even if it seems strange to be writing your essay out of order, create the body of the essay first and the introduction and conclusion last. The drafting and revising process is the last step to good essay writing.

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Step #3: Choosing a Thesis Every paper must have a thesis, which is a statement in the first paragraph that sums up your point. The rest of the essay will be devoted to developing and explaining that thesis. Even though the thesis of your essay comes first, its much easier to write after you have outlined the body of the essay. Trying to sum up your whole outline in a sentence or two will result in a good thesis. Write your thesis at the top of your outline and refer to it often while writing so you dont veer off topic.