An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have traditionally been sub-classified as formal and informal. Formal essays are characterized by "serious purpose, dignity, logical organization, length," whereas the informal essay is characterized by "the personal element (self-revelation, individual tastes and experiences, confidential manner), humor, graceful style, rambling structure, unconventionality or novelty of theme," etc.Essays are commonly used as literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. Almost all modern essays are written in prose, but works in verse have been dubbed essays (e.g., Alexander Pope's An Essay on Criticism and An Essay on Man). While brevity usually defines an essay, voluminous works like John Locke's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and Thomas Malthus's An Essay on the Principle of Population are counterexamples.
In some countries (e.g., the United States and Canada), essays have become a major part of formal education. Secondary students are taught structured essay formats to improve their writing skills; admission essays are often used by universities in selecting applicants, and in the humanities and social sciences essays are often used as a way of assessing the performance of students during final exams.
The concept of an "essay" has been extended to other media beyond writing. A film essay is a movie that often incorporates documentary filmmaking styles and focuses more on the evolution of a theme or idea. A photographic essay covers a topic with a linked series of photographs that may have accompanying text or captions.
Hey everybody,
I'm doing my International Baccalaureate extended essay (2500 to 4000 words) in physics, which means basically i need to come up with a research question and hypothesis, then design and procede with a lab to answer this question. For example a guy at my school last year did...
I'm applying to 3-4 summer programs (Summer Science Program, NASA SHARP, UW Summer Academy, and maybe another). I'm thinking of attaching some of my own work - but I'm wondering if this work is impressive for a sophomore applying to a highly competitive summer science program - Should I submit...
Hello everyone!
I am in grade 12 this year and am applying for university :). I am applying for a program called health sciences. One of the determining factors for admission is a 500 word essay. The topic this year is quite interesting. It is "Choose the area of health research that should no...
Discuss the differences between digital and non-digital communication. the conventions of both must be demonstrated using examples. Terminology must be employed correctly throughout...
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I have gathered research about the difference between analogue and digital, however I cannot think of...
Hi,
I am Tsering and am studying in the Mahindra UWC of India. I am doing a physics extended essay on How the cross section area of an object(cylinder) will affect the rate of slowing down of the object when dropped from a certain height into a fluid (water in my case). I will try to find the...
Has anyone here participated in this prestigious competition? I'd like to enter it but they haven't updated the site for next round's competition! Anyways, what are good topics for the essay? I'd like to do Astronomy (seeing that I don't know any specialized knowledge in any field but...
Baseball and the moon essay...
I really need info about baseball and the moon put together. I'm new and I also want to know a little about how many mods and admins there are and the general stuff. I have to do an essay for this summer math and recent technology's camp in Maryland and I really...
As an individual, I can define my self as determined, courageous, and full of energy. Not only to exercise but to accommodate learning. I can sometimes get raucous if a certain yoke is placed upon me. But normally, I’m very well civilized and eager to learn. I enjoy anything that has to do with...
hi everyone, I'm really having trouble with this
My teacher gave us an assignmentin chemistry on one of the following topics:
1)bullut-proof fabric
2)superconductors
3)superglue
i'm supposed to write an essay on one of this topics and describe some specialized new materials that have...
i'm starting [again] a physics topic for extended essay for IB...my last few topics haven't worked due to technical difficulties [ie: can't complete experiments, lack of avaliable resources, etc] so my new idea for a topic is firearms. the lab can easily be done by going to a shooting range...
I have to do a short (500-700 word)essay on the J. Robert Oppenheimer. I did a google on him and it came back with about a qazillion.
Does anyone know any good links?
I'm looking specificaly for info about what he felt after the dropped the bombs, and the possible moral and ethical issues...
I'm going to apply to Princeton and other American Universites. I would like you guys to help me with my essay (the most overwhelming taks in my opinion). Help me by giving critics to my essay, OK? Here's one of them:
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Since we are interested in who you are as well as...
I am writting an essay on "The Philosophy of the Mind, Body and Soul". There is no particular reason I am writting this, other than for pure enjoyment.
Anyway, I am overwhelmed at the myriad amounts of books, essays etc. that have come up while I was researching. So where do I start?? What...