Essay - Academic Mode

The definition of Essay
Essay is derived from the French word essayer, which means "try" or "try". An essay is a short form of literary composition that is based on a single topic and often reflects the author's personal opinion. Aldous Huxley, a famous English essayist, defines essays as "a literary means of saying almost anything about almost anything". The Oxford Dictionary describes it as "a short text on a specific subject". In simple terms, we can define it as an academic written work that provides the author's personal argument.

Types of essays
There are two types of essay: literary and non-literary. There are four types of literary essay:

Expository Essay - In an Expository Essay The author gives the audience an explanation of an idea, subject, or topic by giving their personal opinions. This essay is presented using examples, definitions, comparisons, and contrasts.
Descriptive Essay - As it sounds, this type of essay gives a description of a particular topic or description of the characteristics and properties of something or a person in detail. It allows artistic freedom and creates images in the minds of readers through the use of the five senses.
Narrative Essay - Narrative Essay is non-fiction but describes a story with sensory descriptions. In addition to telling a story, the author makes a point by giving reasons.
Persuasive Essay - In this type of essay, the author tries to convince his readers to take their position or point of view on a subject after reading them has given a solid justification for this connection. It takes a lot of research to assert and defend an idea. They could be of the same type, but they could be written in any format.

Example of an essay in literature
Example 1: The Sacred Grove of Oshogbo (by Jeffrey Tayler)
“ As I walked through the gates, I heard a squeaky voice. An old man came out from behind the trees - the caretaker. He worked a toothbrush-sized stick in his mouth and dug into the crevices between the algae stumps of his teeth. He was barefoot; He wore a blue tie-dye shirt known as a buba, baggy purple trousers, and an embroidered skullcap. I asked him if he would show me around the shrine. Motioning for me to follow him, he spat out the results of his stick work and set off down the path. ”

This is an example of a descriptive essay, as the author has used descriptive language. paint a dramatic picture for your readers of an encounter with a stranger

Example # 2: Of love (By Francis Bacon)
“It is impossible to love and be wise ... Love is the child of madness ... Love is always rewarded either with the reciprocal, or with an intimate and secret contempt. You can observe that among all the great and worthy people ... there is none who has been transported to the mad degree of love: which shows that the great spirits and the great businesses keep From this weak passion ... That he had preferred Helena , who had renounced the gifts of Juno and Pallas. Because whoever esteems too much loving affection has abandoned both wealth and wisdom.

In this excerpt, Bacon tries to persuade readers that people who want to be successful in this world will never fall in love. By giving an example of famous people like Paris, who chose Helena as his beloved but lost her wealth and wisdom, the author tries to convince the audience that they can lose their mental balance by falling in love.

Example # 3: The autobiography of a kettle (by John Russell)
“I'm afraid I don't stand out, and yet there's not a single house I can do without. I am just a little black kettle but I have a lot to be interested in, because every day something new happens to me, the kitchen is not always a happy place to live, but I still find a lot of excitement there, and I am quite happy and content with my luck. .. ”

In this example, the author is retelling an autobiography of a kettle, describing the entire story in chronological order. The author has described the kettle as a human being and allows readers to feel like

Essay Role
The role of an essay depends on the topic, whether the writer wants to inform, persuade, explain or entertain. In fact, the essay increases the analytical and intellectual capacities of the writer and the readers. Assesses and tests a writer's writing skills and organizes their thinking to respond personally or critically to a topic. Through an essay, a writer presents their argument in a more sophisticated way. Additionally, encourages students to develop concepts and skills, such as analysis, comparison and contrast, clarity, exposition, conciseness, and persuasion.