The word "essay" comes from a French word meaning "to try" or "to attempt." This tells us something important: essays are about trying out ideas and exploring topics that interest you. Writing an essay is a way to share your ideas about something you've learned or thought about.
💭 Why do people write essays?
Essays are one of the most popular ways of sharing ideas and arguments. They are a persuasive genre, which means that essays are about helping your reader to see something the way that you see it. Essays are used in many contexts, including:
In classrooms
On YouTube (video essays)
In magazines, newspapers, and literary journals
On websites and blogs
As podcasts (audio essays)
📋 Types of Essays
Essays can accomplish many different persuasive purposes:
Making an argument (like explaining why climate change poses an existential risk)
Telling a true story (like a journalist writing about an event)
Sharing personal thoughts (like reflecting on an experience)
Reviewing something (like analyzing a movie or book)
Commenting on important issues (like discussing political events)
🏫 High School vs. 🎓 University Essays: What's the Difference?
In high school, you may have learned only the five-paragraph essay and teachers probably gave you clear rules and formulas for writing. In university, essays are typically longer, more complex, and more flexible in their structure. You have more freedom to make informed and purposeful choices about your writing, but at the same time, are required to adhere to discipline-specific norms.
Tip: Learn how to write in a discipline by paying attention to how your readings are written as well as what they say. When you start a university course, pay attention to:
How your professor writes
How other experts in the field write (e.g. authors of your course readings, authors of research articles, etc.)
What the assignment instructions require - these are blueprints for subject-specific writing in your course
✨ Remember
Essays help you explore and share ideas
Essays are a persuasive genre: you're trying to bring your reader over to your way of thinking
Essays can take many forms (written, video, audio)
University essays have more flexible, complex structures than high school essays
Different subjects have different expectations
Annotated Example Essay
Annotated example essay (MLA 9th edition)This typical undergraduate English essay has been annotated to help point out its persuasive features, such as its thesis statement and effective use of evidence, as well as its organizational and structural features, such as transition sentences and paragraphing.
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