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ESSAY
ESSAY-WRITING
“Wisdom
in a smiling mood is the author of most of the good English essays.”-Robert
Lynd.
Introduction. Essay Writing in literature has been variously defined. Dr. Johnson called
it 'a lose sally of the mind." A. C. Benson says: "An essay is a
thing which someone does himself, and point of the essay is not the subject,
for any subject will suffice, but the charm of personality." These
definitions and many more mean practically the same thing. Literally Essay'
means "an attempt".
Essay writing as a
form of literary expression enjoys certain a pair of privileges. It has a vast
field. It may deal with anything under the sun. "Anything from the Day of
Judgment to scissors, as Lynd puts it, "can be used as a subject for an
essay. It is, perhaps, for this reason, that we find such a diversity of
subjects included under the title."
Dr. Johnson's
definition about essay writing may not be very helpful to beginners. The
student who allows his mind to wander in the examination may soon come to
grief. The essay which a student is called upon to write is quite a different
thing. It is a test of his ability to think on a certain subject and to express
those thoughts in a clear and intelligible way. It should, therefore, be a
harmonious blending of thought and expression.
Requirements of an
Average Student. Let us begin with the assumption
that an average student is not an accomplished essayist. His interest in the
writing of an essay is only a selfish one. He wants to get through the
examination by satisfying the whims of an examiner who has taken a fancy to a
few subjects. Therefore, to him, the writing of an essay is only an
uninteresting occupation. This introduction attempts to tell you how this
painful task can be made an enjoyable one.
Most of the essays
written by students suffer from:
(1) Lack of material.
(2) Lack of observation.
(3) Poverty of thought.
(4) Lack of arrangement.
Lack of Material.
'What should I write' is the first question asked by every beginner. The answer
is not far to seek. No one is born into the world a ready-made essayist,
furnished with all the material. One must gather facts scattered in books and periodicals, and must endeavour to store
one’s mind with ideas either by reading or by observation. “Reading,” said
Bacon, "maketh a full man.” Reading may appear quite irksome in the
beginning, but gradually it becomes an
inspiring experience. Even the dullest book assumes a charm. Newspapers and
periodicals also yield ready information on a number of subjects. A careful
reader of newspapers may find it easy to write on anything.
Reading does not mean
just a cursory glance at a book. One must eat a book. Again, one may use a
notebook for storing references, brief summaries of important passages, exact
quotations of striking lines of prose and poetry. These references will come in handy to the student when he intends to write an essay.
Lack of Observation.
Reading of books is an exciting experience. It may enable one to know many
useful things in the world. But reading is not everything. Most books
are only a "bloodless substitute" for life. One must learn to
observe things. Those people who go through the world with their eyes shut make
very poor writers. Similarly, the student who depends entirely upon books never
imparts a colour of originality to his writings. It may be quite possible to
write an argumentative essay without the help of observation, but descriptive
essays make a poor reading if they lack observation. It is not necessary that
one should go out in the world to observe things. Even the day-to-day
occurrences and the things around us are enough to train our power of observation. If one is observant, to him
“The
meanest flower that blows can give Thoughts that do often lie too deep for
tears.”
Most of the essays set
in the Intermediate examination are descriptive; for instance, look at the following
list:
(a) Life in a Punjab Village.
(b) The Charm of a City.
(c) Packing a Trunk.
(d) My Visitors.
(e) My Neighbours.
(f) A Railway Journey.
Now, these essays cannot
be properly handled unless one has learnt to observe things in their “naked
loveliness.”
Poverty of Thought.
Even some of our best students cannot think for themselves. Someone has put it
very aptly: “The only unexplored territory in the world is under your hat.”
This is true for many of us. Our system of education is iron-bound. It offers
fewer opportunities for original thinking. But with all these difficulties
something is done to the interest and curiosity of the student. Boys should learn
to look askance at views that taken for granted; gradually they will have their
opinions about things. This is the surest way to think for oneself.
Lack of Arrangement.
The essay grows like a well-planned building in which every part contributes to
the whole. It has a unity of design. This unity is secured by limiting the essay
to one subject only. All such matter has to bear upon the main theme is
excluded from the essay. There are no digressions. Even if there is any, it should
be apt and interesting, short and clearly marked as a digression. Most of our
young essayists devote too much space to unimportant details which should
otherwise be kept out of the essay. This gives one an impression of incoherence.
Some students put all kinds of ideas together without any arrangement. A good
essayist would always see that his ideas succeed one another in a logical order
“revealing his powers of clear thinking and proper arrangement.”
After ideas have been
arranged logically, we should think of the proportion in various parts of the
essay. The essay should be divided in such a manner that each point receives
its due share of emphasis. The space devoted to the development of any
idea should be in exact proportion to the importance of that idea in relation
to the other ideas in the essay. Descriptive essays suffer most in the
matter of proportion. Boys generally devote two pages to the introduction and just
a page or so, to the places or things actually described. The whole essay gives
one impression of a monster whose head is bigger than his body.
Now, when we have
discussed all the important features of the essay, we can have a workable
definition of this peculiar form of literary expression.
An essay is a prose composition that
has all the qualities of unity, proportion and coherence.
How to write an essay.
We have told you something about the structure of the essay. Now, let us give
you some practical hints on the writing of the essay. When a subject is
proposed, be sure, first of all, that you understand exactly what you are to
write about, write about that, not about something else. Arrange
all the ideas in your mind or on paper. Now think of a suitable beginning.
How to begin.
Each essay has a beginning peculiar to its theme. Whatever be the nature of the
beginning, it should be striking and relevant. A good introduction arrests the
attention of the reader and induces him to read on. It strikes the keynote of
the essay and suggests to him the general aim of the essay. It is, however,
unwise to put all the best things in the introduction.
One should make only
suggestion the beginning and prepare the reader for what to come in the main
body of the essay.
There are different
ways of beginning an Essay. No hard and fast rules can be laid down in this matter.
The following are some common types:
(1) A general statement.
(2) A quotation regarding the subject.
(3) An anecdote or fable.
(4) A direct beginning.
Now take up the book of
essays, preferably a book of essays selected from many different writers, and
turn over the pages, noting carefully the first sentence of each essay. You
will find an interesting variety of introductions, each striking in its own
way.
Swift begins his essay
on “Good Manners” with a direct statement:
“Good manners is the
art of making those people easy with whom we converse.”
E. V. Lucas, one of the
most charming essayists in English begins their essay on “The Conjurer” with
seeming irrelevance:
“Ambition takes men
differently. This would enter Parliament, and that would have a play accepted
at the court. This would reach the North Pole, and that would live at
Chislehurst, while a fifth would
be happy if only he had a motor car.
Speaking for myself, my ambition has always been to have a conjurer perform
under my own roof, and it has just happened. I obtained him from the stores.”
Dickens begins some of
his essays with a relevant quotation. Such a beginning has a striking effect
upon the mind of the reader. In many essays, there is no formal introduction.
Some of the greatest essayists of today plunge straight into the matter.
This is how Aldous
Huxley begins his essay on “The Beauty Industry.” “The one
American industry unaffected by the general depression of trade is the beauty
industry....”
The direct method is
the easiest for an average student. He should not cudgel his brains in search
of an arresting, unusual beginning. This will only confuse him.
The End.-
A well-begun essay is only half-done. The other half depends upon the middle
and the end. In conclusion, no rules can be laid down, except that they
should be short. A well-concluded essay always gives one the impression of ‘completeness.’
The conclusion must be so worded that, while perusing the essay, the reader
feels that it has ended naturally and not abruptly. It the reader will carry
away. If the student finds it difficult to think of a striking sentence, he
may give only a short summary of the ideas contained in the middle of the
essay.
The Middle.-This
is the main part of the essay, and contains the appropriate facts,
illustrations and reflections. As regards the middle, there are only two points
to be kept in view. First, do not try to bring in all the facts which are available.
Only mention the most important and relevant ideas. Second, omit everything that has no bearing upon the subject. In order to avoid the
non-essential, you should make up your mind at the very outset, as to what
precisely falls within the scope of the essay and what does not.
Classification of
Essays. Essays have been variously classified.
A writer has divided essays into two main groups: (1) The Thought Essay, and
(2) The Feeling Essay. This classification is rather confusing. Essays can
be roughly classified into four classes:
(1) Descriptive Essays.
(2) Narrative Essays.
(3) Reflective Essays.
(4) Argumentative Essays.
You may not be
interested to know the technical differences between the different classes of
the Essays. Descriptive Essays deal with the description of
places, towns, persons: whereas Narrative Compositions deal with
important events, stories and biographical sketches of some well-known persons.
At the Intermediate stage, most of the essays are either descriptive or narrative. For instance, study the following subjects set in the University
Examinations:
(a) Life in a Punjab Village.
(Descriptive).
(b) A Picnic. (Narrative).
(c) Packing a Trunk. (Descriptive)
(d) A Deserted House. (Descriptive)
(e) Mr. Churchill and Roosevelt.
(Narrative).
(f) A Railway Journey. (Narrative).
(g) The House We Live in. (Descriptive).
Reflective Essays
consist of Reflections on social, political and domestic affairs. Most of the
essays that deal with controversial subjects come under this head.
Argumentative Essays
aim at explaining a saying or a thesis that is not clear to the mind of an
average reader.
These classifications
are only theoretical and have got no practical value. Sometimes a descriptive
essay may become philosophical in the hands of a great writer. ‘A City
Night-piece’ by Goldsmith is an excellent example of this.
Some
Practical Hints
1. Try to understand the wording of the
subject and the scope of the essay. If you are asked to write an essay on “A
Pakistani Bazar”, do not try to write an essay on the trade policy of
the Government of Pakistan.
2. When you have understood the subject,
jot down all the relevant thoughts that come to your mind. Arrange these
thoughts according to their natural connection and logical order.
3. Make a careful outline of the essay.
Always think out a suitable Introduction as well as a Conclusion to your essay.
4. Then write out your essay according
to the plan.
5. Always avoid apologies like these: “I
am sorry I cannot write much on the subject”, or “I have not been able to do
justice to the subject in hand.” Your essay reflects your ability. By pointing
out your faults, which are already evident, you make a bad essay worse.
6. Lastly, you should revise carefully
what you have written and correct mistakes of grammar, spelling, punctuation,
style, etc.