Typically, an essay has five paragraphs: an introduction, a conclusion, and three body paragraphs. However, there is no set rule about the number of paragraphs in an essay.
The number of paragraphs can vary depending on the type and scope of your essay. An expository or argumentative essay may require more body paragraphs to include all the necessary information, whereas a narrative essay may need fewer.
To enhance the coherence and readability of your essay, it’s important to follow certain rules regarding the structure. Take a look:
1. Arrange your information from the most simple to the most complex bits. You can start the body paragraph off with a general statement and then move on to specifics.
2. Provide the necessary background information at the beginning of your essay to give the reader the context behind your thesis statement.
3. Select topic statements that provide value, more information, or evidence for your thesis statement.
There are also various essay structures , such as the compare and contrast structure, chronological structure, problem method solution structure, and signposting structure that you can follow to create an organized and impactful essay.
An impactful, well-structured essay comes down to three important parts: the introduction, body, and conclusion.
1. The introduction sets the stage for your essay and is typically a paragraph long. It should grab the reader’s attention and give them a clear idea of what your essay will be about.
2. The body is where you dive deeper into your topic and present your arguments and evidence. It usually consists of two paragraphs, but this can vary depending on the type of essay you’re writing.
3. The conclusion brings your essay to a close and is typically one paragraph long. It should summarize the main points of the essay and leave the reader with something to think about.
The length of your paragraphs can vary depending on the type of essay you’re writing. So, make sure you take the time to plan out your essay structure so each section flows smoothly into the next.
When it comes to writing an essay, the introduction is a critical component that sets the tone for the entire piece. A well-crafted introduction not only grabs the reader’s attention but also provides them with a clear understanding of what the essay is all about. An essay editor can help you achieve this, but it’s best to know the brief yourself!
Let’s take a look at how to write an attractive and informative introductory paragraph.
1. Construct an attractive hook
To grab the reader’s attention, an opening statement or hook is crucial. This can be achieved by incorporating a surprising statistic, a shocking fact, or an interesting anecdote into the beginning of your piece.
For example, if you’re writing an essay about water conservation you can begin your essay with, “Clean drinking water, a fundamental human need, remains out of reach for more than one billion people worldwide. It deprives them of a basic human right and jeopardizes their health and wellbeing.”
2. Provide sufficient context or background information
An effective introduction should begin with a brief description or background of your topic. This will help provide context and set the stage for your discussion.
For example, if you’re writing an essay about climate change, you start by describing the current state of the planet and the impact that human activity is having on it.
3. Construct a well-rounded and comprehensive thesis statement
A good introduction should also include the main message or thesis statement of your essay. This is the central argument that you’ll be making throughout the piece. It should be clear, concise, and ideally placed toward the end of the introduction.
By including these elements in your introduction, you’ll be setting yourself up for success in the rest of your essay.
Let’s take a look at an example.
The Wright Brothers’ invention of the airplane in 1903 revolutionized the way humans travel and explore the world. Prior to this invention, transportation relied on trains, boats, and cars, which limited the distance and speed of travel. However, the airplane made air travel a reality, allowing people to reach far-off destinations in mere hours. This breakthrough paved the way for modern-day air travel, transforming the world into a smaller, more connected place. In this essay, we will explore the impact of the Wright Brothers’ invention on modern-day travel, including the growth of the aviation industry, increased accessibility of air travel to the general public, and the economic and cultural benefits of air travel.
You can persuade your readers and make your thesis statement compelling by providing evidence, examples, and logical reasoning. To write a fool-proof and authoritative essay, you need to provide multiple well-structured, substantial arguments.
Let’s take a look at how this can be done:
1. Write a topic sentence for each paragraph
The beginning of each of your body paragraphs should contain the main arguments that you’d like to address. They should provide ground for your thesis statement and make it well-rounded. You can arrange these arguments in several formats depending on the type of essay you’re writing.
2. Provide the supporting information
The next point of your body paragraph should provide supporting information to back up your main argument. Depending on the type of essay, you can elaborate on your main argument with the help of relevant statistics, key information, examples, or even personal anecdotes.
3. Analyze the supporting information
After providing relevant details and supporting information, it is important to analyze it and link it back to your main argument.
End one body paragraph with a smooth transition to the next. There are many ways in which this can be done, but the most common way is to give a gist of your main argument along with the supporting information with transitory words such as “however” “in addition to” “therefore”.
Here’s an example of a body paragraph.
The Wright Brothers’ invention of the airplane revolutionized air travel. They achieved the first-ever successful powered flight with the Wright Flyer in 1903, after years of conducting experiments and studying flight principles. Despite their first flight lasting only 12 seconds, it was a significant milestone that paved the way for modern aviation. The Wright Brothers’ success can be attributed to their systematic approach to problem-solving, which included numerous experiments with gliders, the development of a wind tunnel to test their designs, and meticulous analysis and recording of their results. Their dedication and ingenuity forever changed the way we travel, making modern aviation possible.
A powerful concluding statement separates a good essay from a brilliant one. To create a powerful conclusion, you need to start with a strong foundation.
Let’s take a look at how to construct an impactful concluding statement.
1. Restructure your thesis statement
To conclude your essay effectively, don’t just restate your thesis statement. Instead, use what you’ve learned throughout your essay and modify your thesis statement accordingly. This will help you create a conclusion that ties together all of the arguments you’ve presented.
2. Summarize the main points of your essay
The next point of your conclusion consists of a summary of the main arguments of your essay. It is crucial to effectively summarize the gist of your essay into one, well-structured paragraph.
3. Create a lasting impression with your concluding statement
Conclude your essay by including a key takeaway, or a powerful statement that creates a lasting impression on the reader. This can include the broader implications or consequences of your essay topic.
Here’s an example of a concluding paragraph.
The Wright Brothers’ invention of the airplane forever changed history by paving the way for modern aviation and countless aerospace advancements. Their persistence, innovation, and dedication to problem-solving led to the first successful powered flight in 1903, sparking a revolution in transportation that transformed the world. Today, air travel remains an integral part of our globalized society, highlighting the undeniable impact of the Wright Brothers’ contribution to human civilization.
Most essays are derived from the combination or variation of these four main types of essays . let’s take a closer look at these types.
1. Narrative essay
A narrative essay is a type of writing that involves telling a story, often based on personal experiences. It is a form of creative nonfiction that allows you to use storytelling techniques to convey a message or a theme.
2. Descriptive essay
A descriptive essay aims to provide an immersive experience for the reader by using sensory descriptors. Unlike a narrative essay, which tells a story, a descriptive essay has a narrower scope and focuses on one particular aspect of a story.
3. Argumentative essays
An argumentative essay is a type of essay that aims to persuade the reader to adopt a particular stance based on factual evidence and is one of the most common forms of college essays.
4. Expository essays
An expository essay is a common format used in school and college exams to assess your understanding of a specific topic. The purpose of an expository essay is to present and explore a topic thoroughly without taking any particular stance or expressing personal opinions.
While this article demonstrates what is an essay and describes its types, you may also have other doubts. As experts who provide essay editing and proofreading services , we’re here to help.
Our team has created a list of resources to clarify any doubts about writing essays. Keep reading to write engaging and well-organized essays!
What is the difference between an argumentative and an expository essay, what is the difference between a narrative and a descriptive essay, what is an essay format, what is the meaning of essay, what is the purpose of writing an essay.
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This resource begins with a general description of essay writing and moves to a discussion of common essay genres students may encounter across the curriculum. The four genres of essays (description, narration, exposition, and argumentation) are common paper assignments you may encounter in your writing classes. Although these genres, also known as the modes of discourse, have been criticized by some composition scholars, the Purdue OWL recognizes the wide spread use of these genres and students’ need to understand and produce these types of essays. We hope these resources will help.
The essay is a commonly assigned form of writing that every student will encounter while in academia. Therefore, it is wise for the student to become capable and comfortable with this type of writing early on in her training.
Essays can be a rewarding and challenging type of writing and are often assigned either to be done in class, which requires previous planning and practice (and a bit of creativity) on the part of the student, or as homework, which likewise demands a certain amount of preparation. Many poorly crafted essays have been produced on account of a lack of preparation and confidence. However, students can avoid the discomfort often associated with essay writing by understanding some common genres.
Before delving into its various genres, let’s begin with a basic definition of the essay.
Though the word essay has come to be understood as a type of writing in Modern English, its origins provide us with some useful insights. The word comes into the English language through the French influence on Middle English; tracing it back further, we find that the French form of the word comes from the Latin verb exigere , which means "to examine, test, or (literally) to drive out." Through the excavation of this ancient word, we are able to unearth the essence of the academic essay: to encourage students to test or examine their ideas concerning a particular topic.
Essays are shorter pieces of writing that often require the student to hone a number of skills such as close reading, analysis, comparison and contrast, persuasion, conciseness, clarity, and exposition. As is evidenced by this list of attributes, there is much to be gained by the student who strives to succeed at essay writing.
The purpose of an essay is to encourage students to develop ideas and concepts in their writing with the direction of little more than their own thoughts (it may be helpful to view the essay as the converse of a research paper). Therefore, essays are (by nature) concise and require clarity in purpose and direction. This means that there is no room for the student’s thoughts to wander or stray from his or her purpose; the writing must be deliberate and interesting.
This handout should help students become familiar and comfortable with the process of essay composition through the introduction of some common essay genres.
This handout includes a brief introduction to the following genres of essay writing:
Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
essay , an analytic , interpretative, or critical literary composition usually much shorter and less systematic and formal than a dissertation or thesis and usually dealing with its subject from a limited and often personal point of view.
Some early treatises—such as those of Cicero on the pleasantness of old age or on the art of “divination,” Seneca on anger or clemency , and Plutarch on the passing of oracles—presage to a certain degree the form and tone of the essay, but not until the late 16th century was the flexible and deliberately nonchalant and versatile form of the essay perfected by the French writer Michel de Montaigne . Choosing the name essai to emphasize that his compositions were attempts or endeavours, a groping toward the expression of his personal thoughts and experiences, Montaigne used the essay as a means of self-discovery. His Essais , published in their final form in 1588, are still considered among the finest of their kind. Later writers who most nearly recall the charm of Montaigne include, in England, Robert Burton , though his whimsicality is more erudite , Sir Thomas Browne , and Laurence Sterne , and in France, with more self-consciousness and pose, André Gide and Jean Cocteau .
At the beginning of the 17th century, social manners, the cultivation of politeness, and the training of an accomplished gentleman became the theme of many essayists. This theme was first exploited by the Italian Baldassare Castiglione in his Il libro del cortegiano (1528; The Book of the Courtier ). The influence of the essay and of genres allied to it, such as maxims, portraits, and sketches, proved second to none in molding the behavior of the cultured classes, first in Italy, then in France, and, through French influence, in most of Europe in the 17th century. Among those who pursued this theme was the 17th-century Spanish Jesuit Baltasar Gracián in his essays on the art of worldly wisdom.
Keener political awareness in the 18th century, the age of Enlightenment , made the essay an all-important vehicle for the criticism of society and religion. Because of its flexibility, its brevity , and its potential both for ambiguity and for allusions to current events and conditions, it was an ideal tool for philosophical reformers. The Federalist Papers in America and the tracts of the French Revolutionaries are among the countless examples of attempts during this period to improve the human condition through the essay.
The genre also became the favoured tool of traditionalists of the 18th and 19th centuries, such as Edmund Burke and Samuel Taylor Coleridge , who looked to the short, provocative essay as the most potent means of educating the masses. Essays such as Paul Elmer More’s long series of Shelburne Essays (published between 1904 and 1935), T.S. Eliot ’s After Strange Gods (1934) and Notes Towards the Definition of Culture (1948), and others that attempted to reinterpret and redefine culture , established the genre as the most fitting to express the genteel tradition at odds with the democracy of the new world.
Whereas in several countries the essay became the chosen vehicle of literary and social criticism, in other countries the genre became semipolitical, earnestly nationalistic, and often polemical, playful, or bitter. Essayists such as Robert Louis Stevenson and Willa Cather wrote with grace on several lighter subjects, and many writers—including Virginia Woolf , Edmund Wilson , and Charles du Bos —mastered the essay as a form of literary criticism .
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This article was co-authored by Carrie Adkins, PhD and by wikiHow staff writer, Aly Rusciano . Carrie Adkins is the cofounder of NursingClio, an open access, peer-reviewed, collaborative blog that connects historical scholarship to current issues in gender and medicine. She completed her PhD in American History at the University of Oregon in 2013. While completing her PhD, she earned numerous competitive research grants, teaching fellowships, and writing awards. There are 15 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 93,456 times.
You’re opening your laptop to write an essay, knowing exactly what you want to write, but then it hits you: you don’t know how to format it! Using the correct format when writing an essay can help your paper look polished and professional while earning you full credit. In this article, we'll teach you the basics of formatting an essay according to three common styles: MLA, APA, and Chicago Style.
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An essay is a paper that discusses, describes or analyzes one topic. It can discuss a subject directly or indirectly, seriously or humorously. It can describe personal opinions, or just report information. An essay can be written from any perspective, but essays are most commonly written in the first person ( I ), or third person (subjects that can be substituted with the he, she, it, or they pronouns).
There are many different kinds of essays. The following are a some of the most common ones:
Descriptive Cause/Effect Argumentative Definition Narrative Critical Compare/Contrast Process
Descriptive:
Examples: A descriptive essay could describe . . .
The descriptive essay provides details about how something looks, feels, tastes, smells, makes one feel, or sounds. It can also describe what something is, or how something happened. These essays generally use a lot of sensory details. The essay could be a list-like description that provides point by point details. Or, it could function as a story, keeping the reader interested in the plot and theme of the event described.
Definition:
Examples: A definition essay may try and define . . .
A definition essay attempts to define a specific term. It could try to pin down the meaning of a specific word, or define an abstract concept. The analysis goes deeper than a simple dictionary definition; it should attempt to explain why the term is defined as such. It could define the term directly, giving no information other than the explanation of the term. Or, it could imply the definition of the term, telling a story that requires the reader to infer the meaning.
Compare/Contrast:
Examples:A compare/contrast essay may discuss . . .
The compare/contrast essay discusses the similarities and differences between two things, people, concepts, places, etc. The essay could be an unbiased discussion, or an attempt to convince the reader of the benefits of one thing, person, or concept. It could also be written simply to entertain the reader, or to arrive at an insight into human nature. The essay could discuss both similarities and differences, or it could just focus on one or the other. A comparison essay usually discusses the similarities between two things, while the contrast essay discusses the differences.
Cause/Effect:
Examples:A cause/effect essay may explain . . .
The cause/effect essay explains why or how some event happened, and what resulted from the event.
This essay is a study of the relationship between two or more events or experiences. The essay could discuss both causes and effects, or it could simply address one or the other. A cause essay usually discusses the reasons why something happened. An effect essay discusses what happens after a specific event or circumstance.
The example below shows a cause essay, one that would explain how and why an event happened.
If this cause essay were about a volcanic eruption, it might go something like this: “Pressure and heat built up beneath the earth’s surface; the effect of this was an enormous volcanic eruption.”
The next example shows an effect essay, one that would explain all the effects that happened after a specific event, like a volcanic eruption.
If this effect essay were about a volcanic eruption again, it might go something like this:
“The eruption caused many terrible things to happen; it destroyed homes, forests, and polluted the atmosphere.”
Examples:A narrative essay could tell of . . .
The narrative essay tells a story. It can also be called a “short story.” Generally, the narrative essay is conversational in style and tells of a personal experience. It is most commonly written in the first person (uses I ). This essay could tell of a single, life-shaping event, or simply a mundane daily experience.
Examples: A process essay may explain . . .
A process essay describes how something is done. It generally explains actions that should be performed in a series. It can explain in detail how to accomplish a specific task, or it can show how an individual came to a certain personal awareness. The essay could be in the form of step-by-step instructions, or in story form, with the instructions/explanations subtly given along the way.
Argumentative:
Examples: An argumentative essay may persuade a reader that . . .
An argumentative essay is one that attempts to persuade the reader to the writer’s point of view. The writer can either be serious or funny, but always tries to convince the reader of the validity of his or her opinion. The essay may argue openly, or it may attempt to subtly persuade the reader by using irony or sarcasm.
Examples: A critical essay may analyze . . .
A critical essay analyzes the strengths, weaknesses, and methods of someone else’s work. Generally, these essays begin with a brief overview of the main points of the text, movie, or piece of art, followed by an analysis of the work’s meaning. It should then discuss how well the author/creator accomplishes his/her goals and makes his/her points. A critical essay can be written about another essay, story, book, poem, movie, or work of art.
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An essay is a form of writing in paragraph form that uses informal language, although it can be written formally. Essays may be written in first-person point of view (I, ours, mine), but third-person (people, he, she) is preferable in most academic essays. Essays do not require research as most academic reports and papers do; however, they should cite any literary works that are used within the paper.
When thinking of essays, we normally think of the five-paragraph essay: Paragraph 1 is the introduction, paragraphs 2-4 are the body covering three main ideas, and paragraph 5 is the conclusion. Sixth and seventh graders may start out with three paragraph essays in order to learn the concepts. However, essays may be longer than five paragraphs. Essays are easier and quicker to read than books, so are a preferred way to express ideas and concepts when bringing them to public attention.
Many of our most famous Americans have written essays. Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson wrote essays about being good citizens and concepts to build the new United States. In the pre-Civil War days of the 1800s, people such as:
Through each era of American history, well-known figures in areas such as politics, literature, the arts, business, etc., voiced their opinions through short and long essays.
The ultimate persuasive essay that most students learn about and read in social studies is the “Declaration of Independence” by Thomas Jefferson in 1776. Other founding fathers edited and critiqued it, but he drafted the first version. He builds a strong argument by stating his premise (claim) then proceeds to give the evidence in a straightforward manner before coming to his logical conclusion.
A. expository.
Essays written to explore and explain ideas are called expository essays (they expose truths). These will be more formal types of essays usually written in third person, to be more objective. There are many forms, each one having its own organizational pattern. Cause/Effect essays explain the reason (cause) for something that happens after (effect). Definition essays define an idea or concept. Compare/ Contrast essays will look at two items and show how they are similar (compare) and different (contrast).
An argumentative paper presents an idea or concept with the intention of attempting to change a reader’s mind or actions . These may be written in second person, using “you” in order to speak to the reader. This is called a persuasive essay. There will be a premise (claim) followed by evidence to show why you should believe the claim.
Narrative means story, so narrative essays will illustrate and describe an event of some kind to tell a story. Most times, they will be written in first person. The writer will use descriptive terms, and may have paragraphs that tell a beginning, middle, and end in place of the five paragraphs with introduction, body, and conclusion. However, if there is a lesson to be learned, a five-paragraph may be used to ensure the lesson is shown.
The goal of a descriptive essay is to vividly describe an event, item, place, memory, etc. This essay may be written in any point of view, depending on what’s being described. There is a lot of freedom of language in descriptive essays, which can include figurative language, as well.
Essays are an important piece of literature that can be used in a variety of situations. They’re a flexible type of writing, which makes them useful in many settings . History can be traced and understood through essays from theorists, leaders, artists of various arts, and regular citizens of countries throughout the world and time. For students, learning to write essays is also important because as they leave school and enter college and/or the work force, it is vital for them to be able to express themselves well.
Sir Francis Bacon was a leading philosopher who influenced the colonies in the 1600s. Many of America’s founding fathers also favored his philosophies toward government. Bacon wrote an essay titled “Of Nobility” in 1601 , in which he defines the concept of nobility in relation to people and government. The following is the introduction of his definition essay. Note the use of “we” for his point of view, which includes his readers while still sounding rather formal.
“We will speak of nobility, first as a portion of an estate, then as a condition of particular persons. A monarchy, where there is no nobility at all, is ever a pure and absolute tyranny; as that of the Turks. For nobility attempers sovereignty, and draws the eyes of the people, somewhat aside from the line royal. But for democracies, they need it not; and they are commonly more quiet, and less subject to sedition, than where there are stirps of nobles. For men’s eyes are upon the business, and not upon the persons; or if upon the persons, it is for the business’ sake, as fittest, and not for flags and pedigree. We see the Switzers last well, notwithstanding their diversity of religion, and of cantons. For utility is their bond, and not respects. The united provinces of the Low Countries, in their government, excel; for where there is an equality, the consultations are more indifferent, and the payments and tributes, more cheerful. A great and potent nobility, addeth majesty to a monarch, but diminisheth power; and putteth life and spirit into the people, but presseth their fortune. It is well, when nobles are not too great for sovereignty nor for justice; and yet maintained in that height, as the insolency of inferiors may be broken upon them, before it come on too fast upon the majesty of kings. A numerous nobility causeth poverty, and inconvenience in a state; for it is a surcharge of expense; and besides, it being of necessity, that many of the nobility fall, in time, to be weak in fortune, it maketh a kind of disproportion, between honor and means.”
A popular modern day essayist is Barbara Kingsolver. Her book, “Small Wonders,” is full of essays describing her thoughts and experiences both at home and around the world. Her intention with her essays is to make her readers think about various social issues, mainly concerning the environment and how people treat each other. The link below is to an essay in which a child in an Iranian village she visited had disappeared. The boy was found three days later in a bear’s cave, alive and well, protected by a mother bear. She uses a narrative essay to tell her story.
Many rap songs are basically mini essays, expressing outrage and sorrow over social issues today, just as the 1960s had a lot of anti-war and peace songs that told stories and described social problems of that time. Any good song writer will pay attention to current events and express ideas in a creative way.
A well-known essay written in 1997 by Mary Schmich, a columnist with the Chicago Tribune, was made into a popular video on MTV by Baz Luhrmann. Schmich’s thesis is to wear sunscreen, but she adds strong advice with supporting details throughout the body of her essay, reverting to her thesis in the conclusion.
Research paper.
Research papers follow the same basic format of an essay. They have an introductory paragraph, the body, and a conclusion. However, research papers have strict guidelines regarding a title page, header, sub-headers within the paper, citations throughout and in a bibliography page, the size and type of font, and margins. The purpose of a research paper is to explore an area by looking at previous research. Some research papers may include additional studies by the author, which would then be compared to previous research. The point of view is an objective third-person. No opinion is allowed. Any claims must be backed up with research.
Students dread hearing that they are going to write an essay, but essays are one of the easiest and most relaxed types of writing they will learn. Mastering the essay will make research papers much easier, since they have the same basic structure. Many historical events can be better understood through essays written by people involved in those times. The continuation of essays in today’s times will allow future historians to understand how our new world of technology and information impacted us.
Attempts at Defining Slippery Literary Form
"One damned thing after another" is how Aldous Huxley described the essay: "a literary device for saying almost everything about almost anything."
As definitions go, Huxley's is no more or less exact than Francis Bacon's "dispersed meditations," Samuel Johnson's "loose sally of the mind" or Edward Hoagland's "greased pig."
Since Montaigne adopted the term "essay" in the 16th century to describe his "attempts" at self-portrayal in prose , this slippery form has resisted any sort of precise, universal definition. But that won't an attempt to define the term in this brief article.
In the broadest sense, the term "essay" can refer to just about any short piece of nonfiction -- an editorial, feature story, critical study, even an excerpt from a book. However, literary definitions of a genre are usually a bit fussier.
One way to start is to draw a distinction between articles , which are read primarily for the information they contain, and essays, in which the pleasure of reading takes precedence over the information in the text . Although handy, this loose division points chiefly to kinds of reading rather than to kinds of texts. So here are some other ways that the essay might be defined.
Standard definitions often stress the loose structure or apparent shapelessness of the essay. Johnson, for example, called the essay "an irregular, indigested piece, not a regular and orderly performance."
True, the writings of several well-known essayists ( William Hazlitt and Ralph Waldo Emerson , for instance, after the fashion of Montaigne) can be recognized by the casual nature of their explorations -- or "ramblings." But that's not to say that anything goes. Each of these essayists follows certain organizing principles of his own.
Oddly enough, critics haven't paid much attention to the principles of design actually employed by successful essayists. These principles are rarely formal patterns of organization , that is, the "modes of exposition" found in many composition textbooks. Instead, they might be described as patterns of thought -- progressions of a mind working out an idea.
Unfortunately, the customary divisions of the essay into opposing types -- formal and informal, impersonal and familiar -- are also troublesome. Consider this suspiciously neat dividing line drawn by Michele Richman:
Post-Montaigne, the essay split into two distinct modalities: One remained informal, personal, intimate, relaxed, conversational and often humorous; the other, dogmatic, impersonal, systematic and expository .
The terms used here to qualify the term "essay" are convenient as a kind of critical shorthand, but they're imprecise at best and potentially contradictory. Informal can describe either the shape or the tone of the work -- or both. Personal refers to the stance of the essayist, conversational to the language of the piece, and expository to its content and aim. When the writings of particular essayists are studied carefully, Richman's "distinct modalities" grow increasingly vague.
But as fuzzy as these terms might be, the qualities of shape and personality, form and voice, are clearly integral to an understanding of the essay as an artful literary kind.
Many of the terms used to characterize the essay -- personal, familiar, intimate, subjective, friendly, conversational -- represent efforts to identify the genre's most powerful organizing force: the rhetorical voice or projected character (or persona ) of the essayist.
In his study of Charles Lamb , Fred Randel observes that the "principal declared allegiance" of the essay is to "the experience of the essayistic voice." Similarly, British author Virginia Woolf has described this textual quality of personality or voice as "the essayist's most proper but most dangerous and delicate tool."
Similarly, at the beginning of "Walden, " Henry David Thoreau reminds the reader that "it is ... always the first person that is speaking." Whether expressed directly or not, there's always an "I" in the essay -- a voice shaping the text and fashioning a role for the reader.
The terms "voice" and "persona" are often used interchangeably to suggest the rhetorical nature of the essayist himself on the page. At times an author may consciously strike a pose or play a role. He can, as E.B. White confirms in his preface to "The Essays," "be any sort of person, according to his mood or his subject matter."
In "What I Think, What I Am," essayist Edward Hoagland points out that "the artful 'I' of an essay can be as chameleon as any narrator in fiction." Similar considerations of voice and persona lead Carl H. Klaus to conclude that the essay is "profoundly fictive":
It seems to convey the sense of human presence that is indisputably related to its author's deepest sense of self, but that is also a complex illusion of that self -- an enactment of it as if it were both in the process of thought and in the process of sharing the outcome of that thought with others.
But to acknowledge the fictional qualities of the essay isn't to deny its special status as nonfiction.
A basic aspect of the relationship between a writer (or a writer's persona) and a reader (the implied audience ) is the presumption that what the essayist says is literally true. The difference between a short story, say, and an autobiographical essay lies less in the narrative structure or the nature of the material than in the narrator's implied contract with the reader about the kind of truth being offered.
Under the terms of this contract, the essayist presents experience as it actually occurred -- as it occurred, that is, in the version by the essayist. The narrator of an essay, the editor George Dillon says, "attempts to convince the reader that its model of experience of the world is valid."
In other words, the reader of an essay is called on to join in the making of meaning. And it's up to the reader to decide whether to play along. Viewed in this way, the drama of an essay might lie in the conflict between the conceptions of self and world that the reader brings to a text and the conceptions that the essayist tries to arouse.
With these thoughts in mind, the essay might be defined as a short work of nonfiction, often artfully disordered and highly polished, in which an authorial voice invites an implied reader to accept as authentic a certain textual mode of experience.
Sure. But it's still a greased pig.
Sometimes the best way to learn exactly what an essay is -- is to read some great ones. You'll find more than 300 of them in this collection of Classic British and American Essays and Speeches .
Types of essay, examples of essay in literature, example #1: the sacred grove of oshogbo (by jeffrey tayler).
“As I passed through the gates I heard a squeaky voice . A diminutive middle-aged man came out from behind the trees — the caretaker. He worked a toothbrush-sized stick around in his mouth, digging into the crevices between algae’d stubs of teeth. He was barefoot; he wore a blue batik shirt known as a buba, baggy purple trousers, and an embroidered skullcap. I asked him if he would show me around the shrine. Motioning me to follow, he spat out the results of his stick work and set off down the trail.”
“It is impossible to love, and be wise … Love is a child of folly. … Love is ever rewarded either with the reciprocal, or with an inward and secret contempt. You may observe that amongst all the great and worthy persons…there is not one that hath been transported to the mad degree of love: which shows that great spirits and great business do keep out this weak passion…That he had preferred Helena, quitted the gifts of Juno and Pallas. For whosoever esteemeth too much of amorous affection quitted both riches and wisdom.”
“ I am afraid I do not attract attention, and yet there is not a single home in which I could done without. I am only a small, black kettle but I have much to interest me, for something new happens to me every day. The kitchen is not always a cheerful place in which to live, but still I find plenty of excitement there, and I am quite happy and contented with my lot …”
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Published on August 14, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.
An essay outline is a way of planning the structure of your essay before you start writing. It involves writing quick summary sentences or phrases for every point you will cover in each paragraph , giving you a picture of how your argument will unfold.
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Organizing your material, presentation of the outline, examples of essay outlines, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about essay outlines.
At the stage where you’re writing an essay outline, your ideas are probably still not fully formed. You should know your topic and have already done some preliminary research to find relevant sources , but now you need to shape your ideas into a structured argument.
Look over any information, quotes and ideas you’ve noted down from your research and consider the central point you want to make in the essay—this will be the basis of your thesis statement . Once you have an idea of your overall argument, you can begin to organize your material in a way that serves that argument.
Try to arrange your material into categories related to different aspects of your argument. If you’re writing about a literary text, you might group your ideas into themes; in a history essay, it might be several key trends or turning points from the period you’re discussing.
Three main themes or subjects is a common structure for essays. Depending on the length of the essay, you could split the themes into three body paragraphs, or three longer sections with several paragraphs covering each theme.
As you create the outline, look critically at your categories and points: Are any of them irrelevant or redundant? Make sure every topic you cover is clearly related to your thesis statement.
When you have your material organized into several categories, consider what order they should appear in.
Your essay will always begin and end with an introduction and conclusion , but the organization of the body is up to you.
Consider these questions to order your material:
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See an example
Within each paragraph, you’ll discuss a single idea related to your overall topic or argument, using several points of evidence or analysis to do so.
In your outline, you present these points as a few short numbered sentences or phrases.They can be split into sub-points when more detail is needed.
The template below shows how you might structure an outline for a five-paragraph essay.
You can choose whether to write your outline in full sentences or short phrases. Be consistent in your choice; don’t randomly write some points as full sentences and others as short phrases.
Examples of outlines for different types of essays are presented below: an argumentative, expository, and literary analysis essay.
This outline is for a short argumentative essay evaluating the internet’s impact on education. It uses short phrases to summarize each point.
Its body is split into three paragraphs, each presenting arguments about a different aspect of the internet’s effects on education.
This is the outline for an expository essay describing how the invention of the printing press affected life and politics in Europe.
The paragraphs are still summarized in short phrases here, but individual points are described with full sentences.
The literary analysis essay outlined below discusses the role of theater in Jane Austen’s novel Mansfield Park .
The body of the essay is divided into three different themes, each of which is explored through examples from the book.
If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!
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You will sometimes be asked to hand in an essay outline before you start writing your essay . Your supervisor wants to see that you have a clear idea of your structure so that writing will go smoothly.
Even when you do not have to hand it in, writing an essay outline is an important part of the writing process . It’s a good idea to write one (as informally as you like) to clarify your structure for yourself whenever you are working on an essay.
If you have to hand in your essay outline , you may be given specific guidelines stating whether you have to use full sentences. If you’re not sure, ask your supervisor.
When writing an essay outline for yourself, the choice is yours. Some students find it helpful to write out their ideas in full sentences, while others prefer to summarize them in short phrases.
You should try to follow your outline as you write your essay . However, if your ideas change or it becomes clear that your structure could be better, it’s okay to depart from your essay outline . Just make sure you know why you’re doing so.
If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.
Caulfield, J. (2023, July 23). How to Write an Essay Outline | Guidelines & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved September 9, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/essay-outline/
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By Kirsten Tambling
Labelled a “cretin” and “imbecile” in his lifetime, the Swiss artist Gottfried Mind had profound talents when it came to drafting the feline form. Kirsten Tambling reconstructs the biography of this elusive figure, whose savant-like qualities inspired later French Realists, early psychiatric theorists, and Romantic visions of the artist as outsider.
September 11, 2024
Lithograph by Johann Heinrich Lips after a self-portrait by Gottfried Mind, 1816 — Source .
It was August 1801, and Mrs Freudenberger was newly widowed. In his youth, her husband, the artist Sigmund Freudenberger, had worked in Paris, producing drawings and book illustrations in the rococo style fashionable in the mid- to late eighteenth century. Since returning to his hometown of Berne, Switzerland, in 1773, Mr Freudenberger’s primary output had been scenes of Swiss peasant life and national costume. In works such as “The Rustic Toilette” and its pendant, “Village Cleanliness”, red-cheeked peasant girls wash and dress among distinctively Alpine milk churns, baskets, and farm equipment. These prints were often hand-coloured and delivered to booksellers by an enigmatic local peasant who lived in the Freudenbergers’ attic.
Fortunately for Mrs Freudenberger — nervous about a possible loss of income should this talented assistant leave the studio she had now inherited — the man’s artistic skill was matched only by his biddability. Indeed, his unquestioning nature reflected an unworldliness that in other circumstances might have been alarming. His garret bedroom was described by one “gentleman who had . . . the curiosity to visit” as a scene of abject “misery & filth”. 1 An ungainly figure with a “deformed” appearance, the assistant reportedly wandered round the town in rags, to the jeering of local children, and burst into tears on being asked to add up the price of a few penny drawings. 2 It was only “with difficulty [that he could] be made to write his name”: Gottfried Mind. 3
Over the next thirteen years, Mind duly remained with the widow. He may have felt a sense of gratitude toward the family that had provided him with a home, practical artistic education, and meagre employment, but he may also have felt the sharp end of Mrs Freudenberger’s tongue. She was said to “sit beside him herself, with her knitting implements, spurring him on to work”, which he did, until his own death of a “dropsy in the chest” in 1814, aged just forty-six. 4
However, Mr Freudenberger’s death did make one significant difference to his erstwhile apprentice. Whereas previously Mind had been confined to colouring his master’s prints, he was now free to focus on his own projects, which “gradually began to attract attention, & to be considered objects of profit” (for his new boss). 5 In addition to Freudenberger-adjacent images of peasant children playing, these included watercolour depictions of animals and wooden figurines, but, above all, pictures of cats. A series later published by the lithographer Joseph Brodtmann plays with variations on a mother cat and three kittens — hunting, tumbling around, and grooming against sparse backgrounds. The English collector George Fairholme, who gathered recollections of Mind while living in Berne between 1828–29, described the artist habitually working with “a favourite cat [sitting] in the hollow formed by his neck & shoulders, while others formed a warm berth on his knee”. 6 In his own self-portrait, a version of which is now in the British Museum, Mind depicts himself drawing with a cat on the desk before him, next to a dead frog preserved in a jar. By the first decades of the nineteenth century, these drawings, prints, and watercolours had brought Mind a limited pan-European celebrity, his distinct talents later encapsulated in the moniker mentioned in every obituary and retrospective account that appeared in the English-speaking press, from the Gentleman’s Magazine to the children’s periodical Chatterbox : “Der Katzenraphael”, or, “The Raphael of Cats”.
Watercolour by Gottfried Mind of a cat and her kittens, ca. 1800 — Source .
Lithograph by Joseph Brodtmann after a watercolour by Gottfried Mind of a cat and her kittens, ca. 1820–60 — Source .
Though Gottfried Mind is seldom discussed today, his story unites several concerns that preoccupied Europe in the early nineteenth century: the swiftly evolving nature of art and of artists; the increasingly examined relationship between humans and animals; and, more distinctively, a popular and intellectual fascination with the Swiss Alps and the supposed Alpine phenomenon of “cretin imbecility”. All of these themes appear more or less explicitly across the core primary material available on Mind: a plethora of obituaries; an article appended to Mindiana , a collection of inlaid drawings which Fairholme assembled from Mind’s designs and published in 1831; various medical lectures; and a collection of later, often anonymous, profiles in the periodical press. A modern reassessment of his life and work therefore offers a fresh perspective on Mind’s turn-of-the-century context, as well as his art.
The facts of Gottfried Mind’s biography appear reasonably straightforward. He was born in Berne to a Hungarian father (most accounts make no mention of his mother), who subsequently settled in nearby Worblaufen (Ittigen) in order to work in the paper manufactory of Samuel Emanuel Gruner. The young Mind’s “weak constitution” meant he received little formal education, although his interest in drawing and woodcarving was clear from a young age. 7 Between the ages of eight and ten, he attended an industrial “working” school for poor children that had been established by the Swiss educational reformer Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi. An advocate for the pedagogical importance of physical exercise and activity, Pestalozzi himself would go onto greatness, but the school itself, where basic elementary education vied with manual labour (primarily spinning, weaving, and dyeing), was an early failure. Pestalozzi kept detailed notes on all his students — Gottfried, then known as “Friedl”, is described as “a strange creature, full of artist-caprices, along with a certain roguishness”. 8 After he left the school, and probably around the age of fourteen, Mind’s father placed him with Freudenberger, then at work on a print series recording Swiss national costumes. 9 Mind went to live with him in Berne, where he was taught to colour etchings. From this moment “until the time of his death”, in the words of an anonymous journalist writing in The Mirror , “there is nothing to tell of him except that he spent his whole life on the selfsame stool”. 10
Drawing by Gottfried Mind of cats hunting in a mice-infested bedroom, ca. 1783–1814 — Source .
Presumably with an eye to a good story, Mind’s obituarists tend to emphasise his isolation from the world. Nonetheless, his comparatively lowly origins and evident disadvantages were, fortuitously, offset by a remarkable number of opportunities to access art, artists, and source material. His father’s employer, Gruner, was a collector and patron of the arts (and incidentally sold a blank sketchbook to the young J. M. W. Turner while the latter was on holiday in Berne in August 1802). 11 A German artist named Legel is said to have taken an interest in Mind, and given him the rudiments of sketching, while staying in the paper manufacturer’s house. 12 Both Legel and his young protégé had access to Gruner’s collection of prints and drawings, including work by the celebrated animal painter Johann Elias Ridinger. Mind later supplemented this experience with further study of works by Rubens and Rembrandt in the collection of the Berne-based artist, printmaker, and collector Sigmund Wagner, who recounted to Mind’s self-appointed biographer, Fairholme, that the young man had made “remarks” on what he saw “in his own unintelligible language”, seeming to believe “without any vanity . . . that he could draw animals himself, as well as any of them”. 13
Watercolour of a cat cleaning by Gottfried Mind, ca. 1800 — Source .
An illustration after a watercolour by Gottfried Mind (above) from Champfleury’s Les chats: histoire, moeurs, observations, anecdotes (1869) — Source .
In turn, Mind himself would become of interest to artists. In 1868, his drawing of a cat cleaning itself was used by Champfleury (pseudonym of the French art critic and novelist Jules Fleury-Husson) as the frontispiece to his anecdotal history of cats in culture. Reprinted in several editions, Les chats, histories, mœurs, observations, anecdotes (1868) was advertised with a poster by the painter Édouard Manet (entitled “The Cats’ Rendezvous”) and included several of Mind’s drawings, reflecting what has been dubbed “a cult of the cat” among nineteenth-century French artists and intellectuals. 14 Notable cat acolytes included Manet himself (who put a black cat in his nude Olympia , which famously horrified the Salon of 1865), but also the poet Charles Baudelaire, for whom the cat was, among other things, a symbolic fusion of the mystical and the erotic. 15 Champfleury’s work helped keep Mind in the public consciousness; he also repeated and popularised the story that the moniker “the Raphael of Cats” had originated with France’s most successful woman painter of the previous generation, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1755–1842). 16 Le Brun travelled through Berne in 1807, some years after Turner, and may well have met Mind there. Though there is no primary record of her making the comparison between Raphael and Mind, it does seem like something she might have feasibly said: in her memoirs, she regretted the early death of the French painter Jean Germain Drouais in 1788, “just as he seemed to give promise of becoming a second Raphael”. 17
For Le Brun, Raphael “st[ood] above all other painters” for his attention “even to the smallest flowers in the grass.” 18 Some critics saw a similar quality in Mind’s representation of domestic animals, which are notable for their naturalism and precision. Unlike other “cat artists”, such as the nineteenth-century commercial painter Louis Wain (whose experience of schizophrenia has seen him frequently grouped alongside Mind as an “outsider artist”), Mind does not imagine his feline subjects engaging in human activities. Only rarely does he place them in any kind of narrative context — as with a pen and ink drawing later published under the title La querri aux Rats , which shows a group of cats pursuing rodents throughout a characteristically Swiss wood-panelled room, complete with cuckoo clock. Instead, and almost without exception, Mind’s cats are depicted with close attention to musculature, and to its interaction with bone and fur, as well as to behaviour apparently as characteristic of the cats of the 1800s as of today: loafing, pouncing, arching their backs, and cleaning their hindparts with one leg raised. A similar care can be seen in his drawings of bears, likely modelled after the residents of Berne’s famous bear pit — a pitiful concrete structure extant, in various forms, since the sixteenth century to acknowledge the city’s heraldic association with these animals. 19 The fact that Mind depicted bears as well as cats suggests that he focused on studying those animals that were readily accessible to him, which he seems to have done with remarkable fidelity. “It is true, he had not studied the anatomy of animals”, Fairholme noted, “but we seldom see an error . . . and the occasional pentimenti or corrections, show that his correct eye instantly detected any thing that was wrong in this respect.” 20
Watercolour of a European brown bear by Gottfried Mind, ca. 1800 — Source .
Watercolour of a young cat and its prey by Gottfried Mind, ca. 1800 — Source .
Lithograph of a cat and dog by Joseph Brodtmann after Gottfried Mind , ca. 1820–60 — Source .
Mind’s close attention to animal behaviour gave his work a natural appeal for Champfleury and his circle. However, Fairholme’s suggestion that Mind’s drawings sprung almost organically from his communion with the natural world was also in line with eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century ideas about Switzerland more generally. A rare European republic, characterised by the sublime Alpine landscapes with which Turner filled his Berne sketchbook, Switzerland was generally felt to combine an enlightened approach to government with the kind of innocent and idyllic rural life on which Freudenberger (for example) had built his later career. This was certainly the view taken by Le Brun, whose delight with the country’s snowcapped mountains and picturesque peasant customs is conveyed in her oil painting titled Festival of the Shepherds at Unspunnen, August 17, 1808 (now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art).
Mind’s easy identification with the innocent pleasures of Swiss rural life may in turn have contributed to the mythology that grew up around his mental capacity. Today, he is often casually described as autistic, probably partly because of his inclusion in Darold Treffert’s Extraordinary People (1989), which discusses savant syndrome (sometimes also called autistic savant syndrome). 21 However, the early nineteenth-century accounts agree only that he had a “weak constitution of body” and was inarticulate and illiterate. 22 He does not seem to have been coherently identified with any specific diagnostic term until Fairholme began assembling his Mindiana in the late 1820s, where Mind was usually referred to as a “cretin imbecile”. 23 The certainty may be deceptive. The early to mid-nineteenth century was a period of developing medical interest in intellectual disability, often technically termed “idiocy”. In 1845, England’s Lunacy Act distinguished for the first time between “lunatics, idiots, and persons of unsound mind”; “idiot asylums” soon began to be established in England and elsewhere following precedents in Germany and France. By the end of the century, Mind was regularly appearing in discussions by psychiatrists, including William W. Ireland, Medical Superintendent of the Scottish National Institution for the Education of Imbecile Children, and Alfred Tredgold, a neurologist and incipient eugenicist. 24 For these men, Mind’s story primarily provided evidence of the idea that (as Ireland put it) “a constructive or mechanical turn is more frequently preserved amongst idiots than any other gift”. 25
“Cretinous imbecility”, the diagnosis applied to Mind, is now regarded as a term of abuse. However, in the nineteenth century, it referred to a specific diagnostic category, with “cretinism” in particular linked to the Alps. On a visit to Switzerland in 1602, the physician and psychiatrist Felix Platter had reported encountering an abundance of children suffering from “innate folly”, accompanied by “goitrous” throats. “Sitting in the streets and looking into the sun . . . twisting their bodies in various ways, with their mouths agape”, he wrote, “they provoke passersby to laughter and astonishment.” 26 Platter is thought to be referring to something analogous to what is now termed CIDS (congenital iodine deficiency syndrome), a condition marked by impaired physical and mental development, and often a swelling (or “goitre”) around the thyroid gland. 27 The syndrome can be caused in utero by insufficient dietary iodine, a common risk in regions with nutrient-poor Alpine soil. It may have been Mind’s Swiss origins that gave Fairholme the confidence to assert that the artist had been “at an early age affected with the goitre, (so common in Switzerland)”. Certainly, Mind is specifically named as “the Swiss cretin” in the titles to several engravings made from his works after his death.
Title page for a posthumous collection of Gottfried Mind’s drawings, ca. 1814–1818, featuring a hand-coloured aquatint after a self-portrait by Mind — Source .
At the same time, “cretinism” also had traditional connections with the idea of the holy fool — in 1800, while Mind was still alive, the physician François-Emanuel Fodéré had suggested that the term derived from “chrétien, good Christian . . . a title one gives to . . . idiots, because, one says, they are incapable of committing any sin.” 28 This constellation of associations around the term “Swiss cretin” gave a particular turn to much interpretation of Mind’s art. His weakness of constitution — and (apparently) of intellect — was regularly contrasted with his mastery of the delicate medium of watercolour, and his ability to capture cats’ distinctive qualities of movement. This achievement could only be the result of a “precocious genius”, Ireland noted, flowering as part of an “innate pre-disposition”, comparable to the child musical prodigies Mozart and Handel. The reverse was also true: “men of special genius”, he continued, “are sometimes much behind other men in very commonplace qualities” (he again cites Mozart — presumably a nod toward the composer’s famously puerile sense of humour). 29
While raising questions for psychiatrists about the nature of “imbecility”, Mind’s talents also spoke more generally to new ideas, deriving from Romanticism, about the nature of artistic creativity and inspiration. Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), whose lions Mind was said to have admired, had combined several careers as an artist, dealer, and diplomat, and responded adroitly to the demands of his royal and aristocratic patrons. By contrast, the early nineteenth century saw the emergence of the idea that the artist was a lonely, unworldly, and often tragic outsider, working in the teeth of popular misunderstanding and establishment diktats. This was encapsulated in artists like the visionary William Blake (1757–1827) and the embattled and ultimately suicidal history painter Benjamin Robert Haydon (1786–1846). Mind, whose work was described as the result of “an instinct, [rather] than a reasoning power”, fitted well into this mould, with which much of the nineteenth-century discussions are in sympathy. 30 As a result, the very distinctiveness of Mind’s story allowed it to slot, somewhat paradoxically, into pre-existing notions of artistic exceptionalism. “He would look now and then, as it were, into himself,” noted an obituarist, and “when at these moments, he lifted his head, his eyes had something dreamy in them.” 31 Perhaps he was dreaming of cats. Perhaps not. Much like the famously elusive character of his favourite subject, Mind’s art and life ultimately defies easy categorisation.
Notes Show Notes
Public Domain Works
Further Reading
Of all the domesticated species, cats have enjoyed the most complex relationship with people—one that still leads to arguments about whether you can truly call the cat asleep by your fire “tame.” The Cat is a comprehensive, richly illustrated exploration of the natural and cultural history of this much-loved pet. Filled with surprising facts, The Cat will enchant anyone with an interest in, or a love for, these animals.
In 1900, Britain and America were in the grip of a cat craze. An animal that had for centuries been seen as a household servant or urban nuisance had now become an object of pride and deep affection. In Catland , Kathryn Hughes chronicles the cat craze of the early twentieth century through the life and career of Louis Wain. Beautifully illustrated and based on new archival findings about Wain's life, the wider cat fancy, and the media frenzy it created, Catland chronicles the fascinating history of how the modern cat emerged.
The Public Domain Review receives a small percentage commission from sales made via the links to Bookshop.org (10%) and Amazon (4.5%). Thanks for supporting the project! For more recommended books, see all our “ Further Reading ” books, and browse our dedicated Bookshop.org stores for US and UK readers.
Kirsten Tambling completed her PhD at Birkbeck, University of London, on the art of Jean-Antoine Watteau and William Hogarth and now writes and lectures on eighteenth-century art, the history of collections, and the intersection of art and psychiatry. In 2018, she was co-curator of the exhibition “James Henry Pullen: Inmate, Inventor, Genius at Watts Gallery”. She lives in London.
The text of this essay is published under a CC BY-SA license, see here for details.
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the essay as form; it must pay for its affinity with open intellectual. experience by the lack of security, a lack which the norm of established thought fears like death. It is not so much that the essay ignores indis- putable certainty, as that it abrogates the ideal. The essay becomes true.
Make a claim. Provide the grounds (evidence) for the claim. Explain the warrant (how the grounds support the claim) Discuss possible rebuttals to the claim, identifying the limits of the argument and showing that you have considered alternative perspectives. The Toulmin model is a common approach in academic essays.
She would go on to become the FDNY Chief of Staff before retiring in 2023. Now aged 61, Cascio is still monitored by the US government's World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program, which provides ...
Revised on July 23, 2023. An essay outline is a way of planning the structure of your essay before you start writing. It involves writing quick summary sentences or phrases for every point you will cover in each paragraph, giving you a picture of how your argument will unfold. You'll sometimes be asked to submit an essay outline as a separate ...
Labelled a "cretin" and "imbecile" in his lifetime, the Swiss artist Gottfried Mind had profound talents when it came to drafting the feline form. Kirsten Tambling reconstructs the biography of this elusive figure, whose savant-like qualities inspired later French Realists, early psychiatric theorists, and Romantic visions of the artist as outsider.