Art of Essay Writing

 by:

Susan Kassel

I love essays! I enjoy reading them, checking them, teaching my

students how to generate them, but most of all I enjoy writing them! You

want to ask why. I hope after reading my article you will understand. And

I so much believe that you will also fall in love with the incredible

world of essays. Let's start our trip from a short background. The word

"essay" originated from French word "essai" which means "attempt, effort,

sketch". And this translation reflects the essence of the task you are

assigned at your college. Really, it is your personal attempt to give a

challenging sketch on some engrossing issue. Unlike other academic

assignments, essay suggests freedom of your creative work. Its main

advantage is that you can write it on any topic, in any style. Essay is

your own point of view on something you have heard, read, seen etc. The

forefront of the essay is your personality, your thoughts, feelings and

your life position. You have a unique chance to enter a reasonable

controversy with other authors, as the teacher expects you to show your

erudition in the subject. However, you should remember that regardless

freedom of the writing process, it is not that easy at all. Because you

are expected to find an original and capturing idea (even in the

traditional context) and exceptional opinion on some problem.

The title of essay does not strictly depend on the essay topic: the

title can also serve as a starting point in your reflection; it can

express the relation of the whole and the parts. A free composition of

essay is subject to its inner logic, it is an emphasized position of the

author.

The style of the essay is marked by its aphoristic, paradoxical and

figurative character. To convey your personal perception of the world you

should: employ a lot of capturing examples, draw parallels, choose

analogies, use various associations. One of the characteristic features of

essay is the wide usage of numerous expressive means, such as metaphors,

parable and allegoric figures, symbols and comparisons. Your can enrich

and make your essay more interesting if you include in it: unpredictable

conclusions, unexpected turning points, interesting clutches of

events.Essay presents a dynamic interchange of author's arguments,

supporting evidence and questions.

Be brief, but at the same time avoid absolute simplicity. No one will

like reading a monotonous narration. Completing the draft of your essay,

read it aloud, yes, aloud. You will be struck by the number of rough

details in your essay. You should get rid of them with no regret. If you

have to say something new, original and exclusive, then the genre of essay

is your genre. Be creative, free your mind and may be you will reveal a

great essayist in yourself.