Essay facts for kids

An essay is a piece of writing that shares the author's own thoughts or ideas about a topic. It's a bit like an article or a short story. Most essays are written in regular sentences, which is called prose. Sometimes, even poems were called essays, like those by Alexander Pope. People who write essays are called essayists.

Essays are usually short. However, some can be very long, like An Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke or An Essay on the Principle of Population by Thomas Malthus.

Essays can have many different goals. For example, an essay might try to convince you of an idea. It can also discuss different sides of a topic to give a balanced view. Essays should offer new insights and be helpful to readers.

Different Kinds of Essays

Essays can be written in many ways, depending on what the writer wants to achieve. Here are some common types:

• Argumentative essays: These essays try to convince the reader about a certain point.
• Thesis-led essays: These essays focus on proving a main idea or claim.
• Cause and effect essays: These explain why something happened and what its results were.
• Problem and solution essays: These describe a problem and suggest ways to fix it.
• Comparison and contrast essays: These show how two or more things are alike and different.
• Descriptive essays: These paint a picture with words, describing a person, place, or thing.
• Analysis essays: These break down a topic to understand its parts.
• Procedural essays: These explain how to do something step-by-step.
• Chronological essays: These tell a story or explain events in the order they happened.

What is an Argumentative Essay?

An argumentative essay asks you to explore a topic, gather information, and then take a clear stand on it. You need to support your position with facts and good reasons. A strong argumentative essay is well-organized, uses clear logic, and provides evidence to back up its claims. It always ends with a conclusion that summarizes your main points.

For example, an argumentative essay might discuss questions like: 'Is polygamy evil or not?' or 'Are US elections always fair?'

What is a Thesis Essay?

In a thesis essay, the main idea is presented in a special sentence called a thesis statement. This statement is usually one or two sentences long and clearly states the main point or argument of your essay. It directly answers a question or makes a claim. The thesis statement acts like a map for your readers, guiding them through the entire essay and showing them what to expect.

Images for kids

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  Essays by Michel de Montaigne

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  John Locke's 1690 An Essay Concerning Human Understanding.

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  Malthus' Essay on the Principle of Population

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  University students often write essays to analyze what they have read.

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  An 1895 cover of Harpers, a US magazine that prints many essays.

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  "After School Play Interrupted by the Catch and Release of a Stingray" is a simple time-sequence photo essay.

See also

In Spanish: Ensayo para niños