There are two basic types of essays: personal and academic. They are different kinds of pleasure. The aesthetic pleasures or daydreaming and the pleasures of learning. But in some way, the reader realizes that the pleasures are undifferentiated. The reason is simple: each essay is a small story. The personal essay is imaginative writing: it tells a story and is written in the memoir style. In relation to the academic essay, it is mainly objective and impersonal. The reader looks for a mentor in whose authority he believes. Both types of essay, of course, answer questions. Both types can present ideas to the world. The same basic structural design underlies both types of writing, to know: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion.
The opening of the essay should be unexpected and refreshing. You should immediately introduce the tone of language that permeates the entire essay. The essay should contain a consistent tone. If you start writing in a formal tone, continue in this way from beginning to end. That is to say, do not use street slang, if you are writing a logical argument.
You can structure your essay into two or three separate parts. Each part serves a distinct function in the essay. The basic building block of essay structure is the sentence. Vary your sentence structure by alternating short and long sentences and dependent and independent clauses. Vary also the transition sentences between paragraphs.
Your essay will be convincing only when you provide the reader with new insight about the theme. The essay should exhibit a consistent theme. The piece’s unity is more important than anything else about it. It is important to have an innovative viewpoint, an original perspective in its own right. A good essay reassures the vision of life the writer believes.
The best writers use clear language (but never redundant) and vivid language that allows the reader to see, taste, and hear the evidence. Remember the old rule: telling instead of showing. Use specific, vivid physical details instead of vague generality. The choice of details will set you apart. Brevity is paramount. You must to know what to leave out. Leave something to the reader’s imagination.
The conclusion should clearly tie together the entire essay. One simple way to do this is reviving images from the introduction. You can bring the essay together by wrapping it up with references to earlier parts of the piece. We use to say that the piece comes full circle when it responds to her initial question.
