Education

What is essay? »Its definition and meaning

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Anonim

The word essay derives from the Latin "exagĭum" which means "weight", in the real academy they define it as "action and effect of rehearsing" or "writing in which an author develops his knowledge without having to show the scholarly apparatus", the Essay is a literary genre that is determined primarily by the proposal and defense of a personal point of view, because they use academic fields, called "academic texts", because it is the genre that gives the author more freedom, in addition does not have requirements for formalities that if they have other types of texts that are used in the academic field, such as studies orresearch thesis.

In the essay, the creator freely exposes the arguments that support a personal position before a certain concept. In addition, the essay may or may not include bibliographic references, which is the reference study of the texts, since academic works, newspaper articles, among others, can be cited. Phrases, saying or proverb can be placed in the essay. For example, explain proposals, insert plans or carry out a project, tell events, experiences or experiences, among others.

An essay is composed of an introduction, because the concept is presented with its convenient hypotheses and thesis, in which phrases that are generally linked to the subject matter are placed and the thesis is explained through an argumentative expository modality that is used as a synonym in the part of the conclusion that it is about deepening the thesis and explaining its parts.

How to do an essay

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In an essay, the author develops, through writing, his ideas with a very personal character and style. When conducting a test you should keep the following key points in mind:

Respect the structure: the first step is to know that the structure of an essay is formed by the introduction, the development, a conclusion and the bibliography.

Choose an interesting topic: despite the orderly structure of the essay, it is important and necessary that the chosen topic is relevant. It is advisable to address current issues and write taking into account the audience you are targeting. Internalize, make an analysis of the local media and develop the issues that are on the table.

Do not cover too many points: the essay should focus on only one part of a topic, you cannot try to cover its entirety.

Use short sentences: with this technique the text will be given dynamism and the reader's attention will be kept, thus avoiding boring the reader and making ideas more concrete.

Reflections should be included: despite the objectivity that characterizes the essay, it is advisable to include after the conclusion, a reflection paragraph that tries to change the perspective and way of thinking of the reader with respect to the topic.

Parts of an essay

  • The introduction: it is usually very short, it must present a preamble to the topic you want to discuss. Its main function is that the reader can have a clear introduction to the topic that will be discussed. In addition, a hypothesis must be presented, that is, make a statement prior to the development of the test.
  • Development: it is what could be called the body of the essay and therefore a large percentage of its content. In this part all the data, arguments, concepts and references must be exposed, in this way the hypothesis written in the introduction is supported.

    In development, the solid foundations that guide to promote a conclusion must be built.

  • Conclusion: it is where the results of the research carried out on the hypothesis are reflected, that is, the author's point of view must be given so that the question formulated in the introduction is resolved, based on the entire development.
  • Biography: It is a very important part of the essay, because it will be the support from which the information reflected in the development was obtained. It should be reflected in a footnote and is the source you have used to give the essay more credibility.

In the essay, the main function is to argue about a topic and in this way convince the reader, that is, express a well-argued opinion.

Argumentative essay

This type of essay is characterized by developing an argument in order to persuade its readers about the validity of some point of view. His central point of view is constituted by an argument and the way it is explained in the essay.

Not all essays are argumentative, they exist of an expository nature, but at some point in this a line of argument can be developed. This means that they can be mixed and then it would be an expository-argumentative essay.

It can be said that an essay can be considered argumentative when its objective is to present a well-explained and coherent reasoning on a topic and in this way obtain the approval of the reader on the argument it describes.

The main characteristics of an essay are:

  • Present the point of view supported the structure of all essays that are, introduction, development and conclusion.
  • The development must be presented in a coherent and detailed manner.
  • Analyze the pros and cons of opinions and positions related to the subject.
  • The conclusion should be made with a tendency to convince the reader of the position of the essay.

Essay examples, argumentative: "The rebellion of the masses" by José Ortega y Gasset.

Literary essay

It is a literary work expressed in prose, characterized by expressing a personal thought with a very careful style of language.

This type of essay does not necessarily refer to literary topics, it refers to the style itself, what is important is the language that is used with the aim of creating an impact on the reader's feelings.

It is a subjective genre, its priority is what the author wants to convey, the originality of his ideas and his foundations.

Characteristics of a Literary Essay:

  • Careful in his style and subjective, because he is literary, he alludes to and tries to convince the reader of the ideas he writes and also generate an artistic impact on him, through language that can be complicated.
  • Freedom, This genre is free, the author has the power to write without any formality. It is preferred by many when showing their thoughts.
  • Arguments. It is the ideal to convey an idea and convince when using the constructed arguments.

The short essays are written through which the author expresses his very personal point of view on an issue and expresses documents which contradict or supported. This essay consists of 7500 characters or more including spaces.