Mostly Traditional Wisdom Regarding Essay Writing
1. The word “essay” originally is a verb meaning “to try” as in “She tried to tell me.” The original essayist,
Michel de Montaigne, wrote wandering, sometimes poorly structured and strangely concluded attempts.
2. Various modes of writing bring essays to life: (listed in no particular order)
Description—using words to transmit sensory details (“the five senses”)
Definition—explaining what certain words or phrases mean
Classification—ordering items into groups
Comparison—showing similarities and differences
Chronology—explaining a sequence of events, and often cause-and-effect relationships
Process—similar to chronology, process writing explains step-by-step how to do something
Narration—telling a story—in true essays (non-fiction) this means telling what happened
Argument—a thesis and supporting ideas that explain, define, or prove the thesis idea
(Reading note: Describing what we read is a deepening stage of reading. Which of the above types of ideas
does the author/writer/essayist/poet employ? What’s going on in this story/article/essay/poem?)
3. A thesis is a clear statement of the author’s main idea, and it often gives the essay its structure.
A thesis can be an idea about a controversy, something that is knowingly seen in different ways by different
people; or it can be an observation or judgment made by an individual who chooses to express it publicly.
4. A thesis may attempt to describe the world or to persuade readers to act. Some say that all writing is either
an attempt to report (describe) or to convince (persuade).
Descriptive examples: All of us may experience loneliness, but some people truly suffer it.
The United States’ war in Iraq has been fueled by misinformation.
Persuasive examples: If we want fair elections, we should work to eliminate the
Electoral College.
The city should not hire more police; it should implement better
policing strategies.
5. Rhetoric is the use of various methods of appealing to an audience’s intellect and emotions. Like a good
speechmaker, a good writer finds the sweet spot and makes the event work. (Reading note: Describing the
rhetorical strategies in what we read is an important part of deepening our understanding of it.)
6. Organizing ideas in clear sentences and paragraphs helps readers to better understand ideas and to see the
relationships between them more easily. Sentences build paragraphs; paragraphs build essays.
7. Some form of introduction usually begins a good essay, catching readers’ attention and framing the subject
of the essay. ‘Intros’ should be written last, when the writer knows fully what to introduce.
8. Often essays end with a formal conclusion, which reinforces the main idea. The word “conclusion” may
also refer to the logical end of an argument, or the writer’s decision, and thus the writer’s thesis. This common
form of ending an essay did not develop by accident; many people crave a sense of wholeness when we think,
discuss, write and read. Often, when a conclusion “loops back” to the thesis idea that began the essay, then the
essay seems to “come full-circle” and create a sense of completion. (If you try this hook-back and it feels
artificial, then cross out all the important words that are repeated from the earlier thesis paragraph, and revise
from there. And if that doesn’t work, then try something else!) (Readers: How does it end? Does it ‘work’?)