writing essay: mechanics and style

1. Essay
writing

2. How Essay originated and evolved?
• 10th century, Japanese already had zuihitsu. Makura no Soshi (The Pillow Book)by Sei
Shonagon, court Lady to Empress Consort Teishi, already had written a few of these essays.
• 16th century France, Philosopher Michel de Montaigne described his writing as “attempts” and
began composing his essays in 1572 and published his two- volume collection entitled Essais
in 1580.
• The French word originated from Latin verb exigere, which means “to drive out”.
• 16th century England, Philosopher Francis Bacon published Essayes.
• 1938, Modernist Filipino poet Alejandro G. Abadilla coined the term sanaysay, a
portmanteau for a written account of someone who is “sanay sa pagsasalaysay”.
• Most essays are written in prose, though there are some poems that are labeled as essays.
One of such is Alexander Pope’s “An Essay on Criticism”. During Spanish colonizations, poems
are considered as forewords for books published in the country.
• Tomas Pinpin broke this tradition. It was him who wrote the first essay by a Filipino in the
country. His introductory essay served as a preface to his book Librong Paaralan nang manga
Tagalog nang Uican Castila, published 1610.

3. • When Filipinos were educated with the Spanish language, they started writing
memorias/ apuntes (memoirs), resenas (resumes), informes (accounts),
memorials (complaint letters).
• Editorials, columns, and features were published in the first newspaper Aviso al
Publico; memorials were written on registered logbooks cuadernos de quejas.
• In the preface to the anthology Mga Piling Sanaysay (edited 1950), Abadilla
classified essay into critical, satirical, political, social, historical, philosophical,
didactic, spiritual, biographic, inspirational, reminiscent, literary, and humorous.
• Fictionist Genoveva Edroza- Matute, in her foreword to the 1984 anthology Piling
Maikling Katha ng Huling 50 Taon, grouped essays into 2 categories: maanyo
(formal), palagayan (informal)

4. Elements of Essay:
• Tone- is the manner of approaching a thesis. It determines your style in writing.
• Form and structure- give the logical arrangement of ideas and events. The
structure of the narrative has three parts: intro, body, conclusion
• Topic- is the subject matter of the essay
• Theme- narrows the topic; it is the main idea in a sentence. Theme may be
implied or explicitly stated.
• Thesis statement- is the explicit statement of the theme. Your thesis statement is
how you interpret the theme. It is your personal take or insight.
• Authorial Voice- narrator is for fiction; persona is for poem; speaker is for essay. It
sets the tone of your essay.

5. Essay defined
• a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument
• Essays are commonly used as literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments,
observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. Almost all modern essays
are written in prose, but works in verse have been dubbed essays
• The word essay derives from the French infinitive essayer, "to try" or "to attempt". In
English, essay first meant "a trial" or "an attempt", and this is still an alternative meaning. The
Frenchman Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592) was the first author to describe his work as
essays; he used the term to characterize these as "attempts" to put his thoughts into writing.
a "prose composition with a focused subject of discussion" or a "long, systematic discourse“.
• the concept of an "essay" has been extended to other media beyond writing.
A film essay is a movie that often incorporates documentary filmmaking styles and focuses more
on the evolution of a theme or idea.
A photographic essay covers a topic with a linked series of photographs that may have
accompanying text or captions.

6. Essay defined
• Based on the writing style, essays fall into formal and informal. :
a. formal essay
• is characterized by "serious purpose, dignity, logical organization, length Formal essays are
characterized by philosophical, scientific or historical treatise, impersonal and didactic.
• Uses the 3rd person pronoun, uses formal language. Word contractions are not allowed.
• Approaches topic/subject objectively.
b. informal essay
• is characterized by "the personal element (self-revelation, individual tastes and experiences,
confidential manner), humor, graceful style, rambling structure, unconventionality or novelty
of theme," etc.
• Uses 1st and 2nd pronoun. Tone is conversational. Uses slang, jargons, and colloquial
expressions.
• Approaches topic/ subject subjectively.
• Informal essays are as imaginative as fictional works. Michel Montaigne who wrote “I Confess
to the Public”, is considered “Father of Informal Essay”

7. • Aldous Huxley, a leading essayist, argues that "essays belong to a literary species
whose extreme variability can be studied most effectively within a three-poled
frame of reference“:
a. The personal and the autobiographical: The essayists that feel most comfortable
in this pole "write fragments of reflective autobiography and look at the world
through the keyhole of anecdote and description".
b. The objective, the factual, and the concrete particular: The essayists that write
from this pole "do not speak directly of themselves, but turn their attention
outward to some literary or scientific or political theme. Their art consists of
setting forth, passing judgment upon, and drawing general conclusions from the
relevant data".
c. The abstract-universal: In this pole "we find those essayists who do their work in
the world of high abstractions", who are never personal and who seldom mention
the particular facts of experience.

8. Forms and styles of essay writing
• Cause and effect
The defining features of a "cause and effect" essay are causal chains that connect
from a cause to an effect, careful language, and chronological or emphatic order.
Classification and division
Classification is the categorization of objects into a larger whole while division is
the breaking of a larger whole into smaller parts.
• Compare and contrast
Compare and contrast essays are characterized by a basis for comparison, points
of comparison, and analogies. It is grouped by the object (chunking) or by point
(sequential).
• Expository
An expository essay is used to inform, describe or explain a topic, using important
facts to teach the reader about a topic. Mostly written in third-person, using "it",
"he", "she", "they," the expository essay uses formal language to discuss someone
or something.

9. • Descriptive
Descriptive writing is characterized by sensory details, which appeal to the physical
senses, and details that appeal to a reader's emotional, physical, or intellectual
sensibilities. A description is usually arranged spatially but can also
be chronological or emphatic. The focus of a description is the scene. Description
uses tools such as denotative language, connotative language, figurative
language, metaphor, and simile to arrive at a dominant impression.
• Dialectic
In the dialectic form of the essay, which is commonly used in philosophy, the writer
makes a thesis and argument, then objects to their own argument (with a
counterargument), but then counters the counterargument with a final and novel
argument.
• Exemplification
An exemplification essay is characterized by a generalization and relevant,
representative, and believable examples including anecdotes.

10. • Familiar
An essayist writes a familiar essay if speaking to a single reader, writing about both
themselves, and about particular subjects.
• History (thesis)
A history essay sometimes referred to as a thesis essay describes an argument or claim
about one or more historical events and supports that claim with evidence, arguments,
and references.
• Narrative
A narrative uses tools such as flashbacks, flash-forwards, and transitions that often build
to a climax. The focus of a narrative is the plot.
• Argumentative
An argumentative essay is a critical piece of writing, aimed at presenting
objective analysis of the subject matter, narrowed down to a single topic. The main idea
of all the criticism is to provide an opinion either of positive or negative implication. As
such, a critical essay requires research and analysis, strong internal logic and sharp
structure. Its structure normally builds around introduction with a topic's relevance and
a thesis statement, body paragraphs with arguments linking back to the main thesis, and
conclusion. In addition, an argumentative essay may include a refutation section where
conflicting ideas are acknowledged, described, and criticized. Each argument of an
argumentative essay should be supported with sufficient evidence, relevant to the point.

11. • Process
A process essay is used for an explanation of making or breaking something. Often,
it is written in chronological order or numerical order to show step-by-step
processes. It has all the qualities of a technical document with the only difference
is that it is often written in descriptive mood, while a technical document is mostly
in imperative mood.
• Economic
An economic essay can start with a thesis, or it can start with a theme. It can take a
narrative course and a descriptive course. It can even become
an argumentative essay if the author feels the need. After the introduction, the
author has to do his/her best to expose the economic matter at hand, to analyze it,
evaluate it, and draw a conclusion. If the essay takes more of a narrative form then
the author has to expose each aspect of the economic puzzle in a way that makes
it clear and understandable for the reader

12. • Reflective
A reflective essay is an analytical piece of writing in which the writer describes a
real or imaginary scene, event, interaction, passing thought, memory, or form—
adding a personal reflection on the meaning of the topic in the author's life. Thus,
the focus is not merely descriptive. The writer doesn't just describe the situation,
but revisits the scene with more detail and emotion to examine what went well, or
reveal a need for additional learning—and may relate what transpired to the rest
of the author's life.
• Academic
academic essays, also called papers, are usually more formal than literary ones.
They may still allow the presentation of the writer's own views, but this is done in a
logical and factual manner, with the use of the first person often discouraged.
Longer academic essays (often with a word limit of between 2,000 and 5,000
words) are often more discursive. They sometimes begin with a short summary
analysis of what has previously been written on a topic, which is often called
a literature review.

13. • Magazine and newspaper essays use many of the essay types described in the
section on forms and styles (e.g., descriptive essays, narrative essays, etc.).
• Employment essays detailing experience in a certain occupational field are
required when applying for some jobs
• Film essay (or "cinematic essay") consists of the evolution of a theme or an idea
rather than a plot per se, or the film literally being a cinematic accompaniment to
a narrator reading an essay. Essay film could be defined as a documentary
film visual basis combined with a form of commentary that contains elements of
self-portrait (rather than autobiography), where the signature (rather than the
life story) of the filmmaker is apparent. The cinematic essay often
blends documentary, fiction, and experimental film making using tones and
editing styles.
• In the realm of music, composer Samuel Barber wrote a set of "Essays for
Orchestra", relying on the form and content of the music to guide the listener's
ear, rather than any extra-musical plot or story.

14. • Photographic essay strives to cover a topic with a linked series of photographs.
Photo essays range from purely photographic works to photographs with
captions or small notes to full-text essays with a few or many accompanying
photographs. Photo essays can be sequential in nature, intended to be viewed in
a particular order—or they may consist of non-ordered photographs viewed all at
once or in an order that the viewer chooses. All photo essays are collections of
photographs, but not all collections of photographs are photo essays. Photo
essays often address a certain issue or attempt to capture the character of places
and events.
• In the visual arts, an essay is a preliminary drawing or sketch that forms a basis
for a final painting or sculpture, made as a test of the work's composition (this
meaning of the term, like several of those following, comes from the word essay's
meaning of "attempt" or "trial").

15. Steps to Writing an Essay
• Follow these 7 steps for the best results:
• Read and understand the prompt: Know exactly what is being asked of you. It’s a good
idea to dissect the prompt into parts.
• Plan: Brainstorming and organizing your ideas will make your life much easier when you
go to write your essay. It’s a good idea to make a web of your ideas and supporting
details.
• Use and cite sources: Do your research. Use quotes and paraphrase from your sources,
but NEVER plagiarize.
• Write a Draft: Ernest Hemingway once said, “The first draft of anything is always crap.”
While the truth behind this statement is debatable, drafts are always a good place to
get any of your “crappy” ideas out of the way and are often required by professors and
instructors.
• Make a strong thesis: The thesis (main argument) of the essay is the most important
thing you’ll write. Make it a strong point.
• Respond to the prompt: Once you have worked out any kinks in your draft, you can
start writing the final draft of your essay.
• Proofread: Read your response carefully to make sure that there are no mistakes and
that you didn’t miss anything.

16. The Five Paragraph Essay
• Though more advanced academic papers are a category all their own,
the basic high school or college essay has the following standardized,
five paragraph structure:
Paragraph 1: Introduction
Paragraph 2: Body 1
Paragraph 3: Body 2
Paragraph 4: Body 3
Paragraph 5: Conclusion

17. • Introduction
present your position (this is also known as the "thesis" or "argument") on the
issue at hand.
begin with a "hook" that grabs the reader’s attention and makes them want to
read on. Only then, with the reader’s attention "hooked," should you move on to
the thesis. The thesis should be a clear, one-sentence explanation of your
position that leaves no doubt in the reader’s mind
• provide a mini-outline which previews the examples you will use to support your
thesis in the rest of the essay.
• design the last sentence in this way has the added benefit of seamlessly moving
the reader to the first paragraph of the body of the paper

18. • The Body Paragraphs
spell out in detail the examples that support your thesis.
use your strongest argument or most significant example unless some other
more obvious beginning point (as in the case of chronological explanations) is
required.
the first sentence of this paragraph should be the topic sentence of the
paragraph that directly relates to the examples listed in the mini-outline of
introductory paragraph
 cite examples and explain why that example is relevant.
provide the reader with five or six relevant facts about the life (in general) or
event (in particular) you believe most clearly illustrates your point

19. • The Conclusion
represents your last chance to make your case
conclusion is, paradoxically, as a second introduction because you need to
restate your thesis
Effective conclusions open with a concluding transition ("in conclusion," "in the
end," etc.) and an allusion to the "hook" used in the introductory paragraph.
After that you should immediately provide a restatement of your thesis
statement.
should be a "global statement" or "call to action" that gives the reader signals
that the discussion has come to an end

20. Formal versus informal essay
Characteristics Informal Essay Formal Essay
Author’s viewpoint Usually uses first person pronoun;
directly addresses the reader
Usually uses third- person
Subject/ content: sources of evidence Frequently drawn from life of the
students and everyday events.
More commonly drawn from shared
historical events or literature or other
forms of knowledge
Tone Frequently more personal and subjective;
may be ironic, amusing, thoughtful, angry
or serious, conversational and casual.
Tends to be removed from the subject
and appears to be objective; tends to
hold emotions in check and express
concerns through strong arguments and
powerful rhetorical devices.
Structure Appears to be more loosely structured Follows a structure that focuses on the
development of one clear argument at a
time to support a clearly stated thesis
Location of the research purpose/
question
May appear anywhere in the essay; may
not be explicitly stated
Stated explicitly , generally located in the
first or second paragraph of the essay
Vocabulary Everyday words, slang and colloquialisms;
contractions; uses you and I
Technical words according to subject; no
slang or contractions; avoids you and I;
the use of I in the introduction and

21. Formal versus informal essay
Characteristics Informal Essay Formal Essay
Location of the research purpose/
question
May appear anywhere in the essay; may
not be explicitly stated
Stated explicitly , generally located in the
first or second paragraph of the essay
Vocabulary Everyday words, slang and colloquialisms;
contractions; uses you and I
Technical words according to subject; no
slang or contractions; avoids you and I;
the use of I in the introduction and
conclusion of an essay is permitted but in
the body of the essay is best avoided in
order to maintain an academic tone
Tone Frequently more personal and subjective;
may be ironic, amusing, thoughtful, angry
or serious, conversational and casual.
Tends to be removed from the subject
and appears to be objective; tends to
hold emotions in check and express
concerns through strong arguments and
powerful rhetorical devices.
Purpose Entertainment; gentle reflection Presentation of facts and ideas with
critical evaluation, arguing a point and
analyzing in detail