{"id":64,"date":"2017-01-23T14:10:24","date_gmt":"2017-01-23T14:10:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/umes-englishcomp1\/?post_type=chapter&p=64"},"modified":"2017-08-07T20:11:31","modified_gmt":"2017-08-07T20:11:31","slug":"what-is-an-essay","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/umes-englishcomp1\/chapter\/what-is-an-essay\/","title":{"raw":"What is an Essay?","rendered":"What is an Essay?"},"content":{"raw":"If you were asked to describe an essay in one word, what would that one word be?\r\n\r\nOkay, well, in one word, an essay is an idea.<\/span><\/strong>\r\n\r\nNo idea; no essay.\r\n\r\nBut more than that, the best essays have original and insightful<\/em> ideas.\r\n\r\nOkay, so the first thing we need to begin an essay is an insightful idea<\/em> that we wish to share with the\u00a0reader.\r\n\r\nBut original and insightful ideas do not just pop up every day. \u00a0Where does one find original and insightful ideas?\r\n\r\nLet\u2019s start here: an idea is an insight <\/em>gained from either a) our personal experiences, or b) in scholarship, from synthesizing the ideas of others to create a new idea.\r\n\r\nLife teaches us lessons. We learn from our life experiences. This is how we grow as human beings. \u00a0So before you start on your essays, reflect on your life experiences by employing one or more of the brainstorming strategies described in this course. Your brainstorming and pre-writing assignments are important assignments because remember: no idea; no essay<\/em>. Brainstorming can help you discover an idea<\/em> for your essay. So, ask yourself: What lessons have I learned? What insights have I gained that I can write about and share with my reader? Your reader can learn from you.\r\n\r\nWhy do we write?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nWe write to improve our world; it\u2019s that simple.\u00a0 We write personal essays to address the most problematic and fundamental question of all: What does it mean to be a human being? By sharing the insights and lessons we have learned from our life experiences we can add to our community\u2019s collective wisdom.\r\n\r\nWe respect the writings of experts. And, guess what; you are an expert! You are the best expert of all on one subject---your own life experiences<\/em>. So when we write personal essays, we research our own life experiences and describe those experiences with rich and compelling language to convince our reader that our idea is valid.\r\n\r\nFor example:\r\n\r\nFor your Narrative<\/em> essay: do more than simply relate a series of events. Let the events make a point about the central idea<\/em> you are trying to teach us.\r\n\r\nFor your Illustration <\/em>essay: do more than tell us about your experience. Show<\/em> us your experience.\u00a0Describe<\/em> your examples in descriptive details so that your reader actually experiences for themselves the central idea<\/em> you wish to teach them.\r\n\r\nFor the Cause-and-Effect essay<\/em>: do more than simply tell us about how one thing cause another thing. Evaluate<\/em> that causality and form an idea<\/em> about them, so that you can offer your reader some basic insight into the relationship.\r\n\r\nOne final thought. Often students say, \u201cI'm young; I don't have any meaningful insights about life.\u201d It's true that you may not be able to solve the pressing issues of the day, but think of it another way. What if a younger brother or sister came to you and in an anxious voice said, \u201cI\u2019ve got to do X.\u00a0 I\u2019ve never had to do X. You\u2019ve had some experience with X.\u00a0 Can you give me some advice?\u201d You may have some wisdom and insights from your own life experience to share. Don\u2019t worry about solving the BIG issues in this class. You can serve the world as well by simply addressing, and bringing to life in words, the problems and life situations that you know best, no matter how mundane. So think of your audience as someone who can learn from your life experiences and write to them and for them.\r\n
<\/div>","rendered":"

If you were asked to describe an essay in one word, what would that one word be?<\/p>\n

Okay, well, in one word, an essay is an idea.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

No idea; no essay.<\/p>\n

But more than that, the best essays have original and insightful<\/em> ideas.<\/p>\n

Okay, so the first thing we need to begin an essay is an insightful idea<\/em> that we wish to share with the\u00a0reader.<\/p>\n

But original and insightful ideas do not just pop up every day. \u00a0Where does one find original and insightful ideas?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start here: an idea is an insight <\/em>gained from either a) our personal experiences, or b) in scholarship, from synthesizing the ideas of others to create a new idea.<\/p>\n

Life teaches us lessons. We learn from our life experiences. This is how we grow as human beings. \u00a0So before you start on your essays, reflect on your life experiences by employing one or more of the brainstorming strategies described in this course. Your brainstorming and pre-writing assignments are important assignments because remember: no idea; no essay<\/em>. Brainstorming can help you discover an idea<\/em> for your essay. So, ask yourself: What lessons have I learned? What insights have I gained that I can write about and share with my reader? Your reader can learn from you.<\/p>\n

Why do we write?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We write to improve our world; it\u2019s that simple.\u00a0 We write personal essays to address the most problematic and fundamental question of all: What does it mean to be a human being? By sharing the insights and lessons we have learned from our life experiences we can add to our community\u2019s collective wisdom.<\/p>\n

We respect the writings of experts. And, guess what; you are an expert! You are the best expert of all on one subject—your own life experiences<\/em>. So when we write personal essays, we research our own life experiences and describe those experiences with rich and compelling language to convince our reader that our idea is valid.<\/p>\n

For example:<\/p>\n

For your Narrative<\/em> essay: do more than simply relate a series of events. Let the events make a point about the central idea<\/em> you are trying to teach us.<\/p>\n

For your Illustration <\/em>essay: do more than tell us about your experience. Show<\/em> us your experience.\u00a0Describe<\/em> your examples in descriptive details so that your reader actually experiences for themselves the central idea<\/em> you wish to teach them.<\/p>\n

For the Cause-and-Effect essay<\/em>: do more than simply tell us about how one thing cause another thing. Evaluate<\/em> that causality and form an idea<\/em> about them, so that you can offer your reader some basic insight into the relationship.<\/p>\n

One final thought. Often students say, \u201cI’m young; I don’t have any meaningful insights about life.\u201d It’s true that you may not be able to solve the pressing issues of the day, but think of it another way. What if a younger brother or sister came to you and in an anxious voice said, \u201cI\u2019ve got to do X.\u00a0 I\u2019ve never had to do X. You\u2019ve had some experience with X.\u00a0 Can you give me some advice?\u201d You may have some wisdom and insights from your own life experience to share. Don\u2019t worry about solving the BIG issues in this class. You can serve the world as well by simply addressing, and bringing to life in words, the problems and life situations that you know best, no matter how mundane. So think of your audience as someone who can learn from your life experiences and write to them and for them.<\/p>\n

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Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t
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CC licensed content, Original<\/div>