Essentials of a Good Essay
Far from inducing a series of yawns, a good essay grabs the reader'sattention and leaves him or her satisfied, even changed. Through an essay,a writer can impart his or her ideas in an organized, structured,straightforward format. Although some opinions may be imparted through anessay, generally they are strongly supported by facts and evidence. Thebest essays inform readers about a specific topic while focusing on astrong central idea, or thesis. Because so many academic essays can toooften be boring, writing an essay that is genuinely enjoyable to readrequires a good deal of patience, planning, and practice. Moreover, essayscan be about any topic and can be written in a variety of formats andstyles; therefore, it would be impossible to provide guidelines for auniversally good essay. For example, an essay about biology will look andfeel totally different from an essay on political philosophy. Some essays
An opinion is not asimple judgment, such as "Romeo and Juliet is a bad play. A good essay may contain the writer's opinion, but that opinion willalways be supported by facts or supporting evidence. " Rather, throughan essay the writer may set out to prove that Shakespeare failed to portrayromantic love in a satisfying manner because the playwright focusedexclusively on wealthy heterosexual youth. If the essay is about literature, quotesfrom the primary source as well as citations from literary critics may beincluded. Mostgood essays are also as concise and clear as possible; they do not includeextraneous information or irrelevant data. Essays don't have to be boring to read or troublesometo write. In fact, essays can be interesting and fun; they offer the writerthe opportunity to formulate cohesive thoughts about a subject and allowthe reader to learn something new. An effective essay doesn't have to be written perfectly but it doeshave to be written with concern for the audience, for proper grammar, andappropriate diction. Many essays follow a specific format and include an introduction,body, and conclusion. The introduction should begin with a dynamic openingsentence so that the reader becomes instantly engaged. In less structured or formal essays, the introduction can belooser but will still retain the essential elements of a strongintroduction. Especially if the essay is short, remaining focused is essential. Focus and brevity are essentials of a good essay because readerslose patience with extraneous ideas or words. In this case, a reference sheet, or works cited page, must beincluded and formatted according to an established system such as theModern Language Association (MLA). However short or long an essay is it must be concise and remain on-topic.
Common topics in this essay:
,
Association MLA,
Romeo Juliet,
proper grammar,
essay writer,
organized structured,
thesis statement,
|
Acceptance Essays
