Are you passionate about something and want to share it? Write the essay! Disagree with a popular opinion and want to convince others to join you? Write the essay! Do you need to write something to get into the college you dream of? Write the essay! "Essay" is a vague term for writing that expresses the writer's opinion on a subject, be it academic, editorial or even humorous. There are thousands of different approaches to essay writing and a million different topics to choose from, but what we've found is that good essay writing follows the same structure. Below, we take a look at that framework and how you can apply it to any type of essay you write. But first, let's start with the basics of a good essay. Your essay needs a thesis statement There are three things to consider before writing an essay: thesis, type, and audience. Of these, by far the most important is your thesis, or summary of what your essay is about. Your thesis, encapsulated in your thesis statement, is the central point you are trying to make. For example, the thesis of Bertrand Russell's essay "In Praise of Idleness" is that people pay too much attention to work and do not spend their precious time idly. Essays can sometimes go off and go off on related tangents, but they always come back to that central idea of the thesis. You should always identify your thesis before writing it. If you're having trouble nailing it, ask yourself, "What do I want my readers to remember when they finish reading my essay?" Best practice is to include your thesis as early as possible, including your topic sentence if appropriate. You'll want to repeat this throughout the essay, especially when you wrap everything up in the conclusion. The rest of your essay, then, supports your thesis. You can include empirical evidence, testimonials, logical deductions, or even persuasive speeches, whatever the task is. The point is that you are developing your primary thesis, not switching to a completely different topic. Types of essays As with any form of writing, essays come in many varieties. Sometimes the assignment dictates the type, such as with admissions essays, and other times the thesis will dictate it. Regardless, it helps to know what your options are, so here are a few common types of essays: Argumentative essay Argumentative essays affirm or defend a position. These are exactly the 2 most common types of school papers, so keep this in mind when writing your first college essay. Admissions essay Most colleges require an admissions essay on applications, which usually revolves around why you are interested in their school. Persuasive essay A persuasive essay is exactly what it sounds like: an essay intended to convince or convince the reader of a particular topic. It is similar to an argumentative essay: both strongly support a particular point of view, but the difference is the end goal: argumentative essays simply need to make their case, while persuasive essays need to make their case and win over the reader. Compare-and-contrast essay When you want to pay equal attention to two contrasting things, a compare and contrast essay works better than an argumentative or persuasive essay, which leans from one side to the other. Personal essay Personal essays are often anecdotes or real-life stories from authors, such as the work of David Sedaris. As they follow a narrative structure, theses can be flexible or expository. Expository essay An expository essay thoroughly explains a given topic to broaden the reader's understanding. It is similar in format to an argumentative and persuasive essay, but with one key difference: expository essays are neutral.
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