Literary
Terms
Essay
An essay is a short literary composition on a
particular theme or subject, usually in prose and generally analytic,
speculative, or interpretative. It is written in paragraph form using both formal
and informal languages. Essays may be written in first-person and third-person point
of view. It presents an idea, propose an argument, express the emotion or
initiate debate. It presents writer’s ideas in a non-fictional way. The topics
of essays are boundless.
Essays
do not require research like academic reports and papers. They have paragraphs of
introduction, of main ideas, and of the conclusion. Essays may be of any length.
The length of the essay provides the writer enough space to develop an argument
and work to convince the reader of the author’s perspective regarding a
particular issue.
The word
“essay” had its origin from the French word “essayer” which means “to attempt”
and the ultimate purpose of the essay is to attempt to convince the audience of
something.
The
Essay began gaining popularity in the early 16th century, and their popularity
has continued today because in this form, the writer speaks directly to the
reader.
Types of essays:
The
Essay in Academics – This type of essays requires an
introduction, body paragraphs in support of the argumentative thesis statement,
and a conclusion
Five
paragraph essay - This is the most common type of a formal
essay. It follows the structure of an opening introduction paragraph; three
body paragraphs to expand the thesis; and conclusion to sum it up.
Argumentative
essay - This type of essays explores controversial issues.
Compare
and Contrast essay - This essay compares two or more items, to
identify similarities and differences.
Definition
essay - Definition essay defines a term or a concept in as
much detail as possible.
Descriptive
essay - This essay describes its subject using all five of the
senses; for example, a descriptive essay could aim to describe the ocean to
someone who’s never seen it or the job of a teacher. Descriptive essays rely heavily on detail and
the paragraphs can be organized by sense.
Illustration
essay - This essay describes an idea, occasion or a concept, supported
with several examples.
Informative
Essay - Informative essay describes an idea, concept or any
other abstract subject with the help of proper research and an amount of
storytelling.
Narrative
essay - Narrative essay describes a certain event or
experience, chronologically. It could be
a historic event or an ordinary day or month in a regular person’s life.It does
not always require conventional attributes, like the outline.
Persuasive
essay - The persuasive essay persuades the reader to adopt a
certain viewpoint. Strong, persuasive language is a characteristic of this
essay type.
Examples of essays:
David
Sedaris – Laugh, Kookaburra.
Charles
D'Ambrosio – Documents.
E.B.
White – Once more to the lake.
Zadie
Smith – Fail Better.
Virginia
Woolf – Death of the Moth.
Meghan
Daum – My Misspent Youth.
Roger
Ebert – Go Gentle In To That Good Night.
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