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. |
