7 Secrets to a Striking Essay
June 4, 2008 by John Hewitt
Article by Jeanne Dininni
The mere mention of the term “essay” is enough to strike fear in even the stoutest heart. That simple, unassuming word conjures horrific visions of endless hallways teeming with students, bodies packed into classrooms like sardines, legendary cafeteria food (and cafeteria food fights), schoolyard bullies, and massive amounts of unnecessary homework.
It’s easy to see why, for many, the essay is a topic-and a chapter of their lives-they’d really rather forget. But, is the much-maligned essay really unique to the academic world, or is it simply misunderstood? Does it actually show up in other venues, as well?
Perhaps defining the term would help. I like Encarta’s definition: “essay - short nonfiction prose piece: a short analytic, descriptive, or interpretive piece of literary or journalistic prose dealing with a specific topic, especially from a personal and unsystematic viewpoint.”
From this definition, it’s obvious that many of the articles and other non-fiction pieces we write are essays-whatever else we may call them (i.e., article, blog post, etc.). (Straight factual pieces would be the main exception.)
For our purposes, then, let’s assume that most of the non-fiction we write consists of essays. And let’s see if we can’t use a few simple essay-writing secrets to add impact to our work.
1. Devise a Plan of Attack
Creating an effective essay means far more than simply deciding on a topic and then “winging it.” It means first refining your topic to give it a specific focus, then developing your angle or “treatment,” planning how you’ll set up your essay, researching your topic, and finally, writing.
Even if you’d rather not make a traditional outline (i.e., three main points, three sub-points, etc.), plan your piece carefully. This lets you present your material in a logical, organized way, making your reader confident that you actually know what you’re talking about. (You do, don’t you?)
Planning your essay might include dividing it into the usual three sections-Introduction, Body, and Conclusion-and simply listing all the points you want to cover in the Body, as I did for this piece. (It wasn’t necessary to break each section down further-though I could have, and you may want to.)
2. Dig Up Some Background
Just how much research your essay requires will depend on the complexity of your topic, your own personal knowledge of it, the type of essay you’re writing, your audience, and the requirements of your market.
This is where you’ll delve into your topic to find all the information and supporting details to bolster your thesis and illustrate your points. Unless you know your topic extremely well, don’t skimp here. The Internet makes research so much easier than it ever was, so there’s no excuse. Your audience will appreciate having your fascinating opinions backed up by a little hard data. Check your facts, because readers always appreciate accuracy, and your credibility is on the line.
3. Create a Scintillating Title
Grab your reader’s attention immediately with an intriguing title that promises a worthwhile read. You have mere seconds to capture your audience’s imagination and pique your potential readers’ interest. Don’t let them stop reading before they find out how great your article is. Entice them with a fascinating but accurate title.
4. Write an Alluring Lead
While writing an intriguing title will lure the curious into sampling your essay, a captivating lead will reel them in, irresistibly drawing even the most reticent reader into your piece by creating a natural desire to learn more about your topic or be entertained by more of your engaging prose. Give the reader a reason to care about what you have to say in the remainder of your piece. Create anticipation by providing a sneak preview of the wit and wisdom to come in the rest of your essay.
5. Observe the Rules of “Engagement”
Engage your reader at every turn. Speak directly to him or her. Make your content relevant-or at the very least, too fascinating to ignore. Weave your words in ways that make your readers really want to read on, even-or especially-if your topic isn’t one they’re drawn to naturally. Use your own unique voice, and to the extent that your subject matter allows, let your sterling personality shine through. Make your topic come alive for your reader, and you’ll have a fan for life.
6. Make a Dramatic Exit
Say something memorable, witty, or profound, emotionally stirring or thought-provoking, humorous or dramatic as you bid your readers farewell. Leave them with a powerful reminder of your literary presence, an impact that will resonate long after they’ve moved on. Give them an impressive standard against which to compare all their future literary encounters.
Aside from the above six points, always remember to take good notes, organize your material logically, express yourself clearly, and cite your sources (if required). I won’t belabor those points, however, because the final piece of advice for a striking essay is this:
7. Know when to end it.
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Jeanne Dininni is an independent writer and blogger, whose work appears in various online and print venues. She authors the Writer’s Notes blog, does freelance and contract writing and editing, and writes business guides at Work.com.
Great advice, Jeanne. We tend to forget that blog posts and many other pieces we write regularly are essays.
Jeanne, I second Lillie’s comment! Do you find reading quality essays is useful? Where can you find them - The New Yorker, Time Magazine?
Jeanne, this is a great post! In a past life, I taught one semester of first-year composition, and I would have loved to have had your essay-writing secrets back then. The way you present the secrets is also more entertaining than your standard textbook.
You can add email messages to the list of non-fiction pieces that can be called essays. When I write messages at my day job, I approach each one as a mini-essay; oftentimes, I am trying to impart detailed information for a large audience. The immediate nature of email messages is a real challenge, especially in the workplace where employees may often feel overwhelmed by the number of messages they receive in a day. My message has to break through the morass of junk and flagging it as “High Importance” is not enough. My audience has to be able to open the message, get the info they need without scrolling (i.e., searching) for it, and then act on it (if necessary).
I guess you could say my work-related email writing is a form of “catch and release.” I need to catch my audience’s attention and then release them go do whatever it is they need to do with the information I gave them. Sounds like more fun than it really is
Thanks again for such great advice, Jeanne.
@Brad, here are a few places where you can find high quality essays: The New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine (www.harpers.org), Atlantic Monthly, Granta (www.granta.com), Utne Reader (www.utne.com), Prospect Magazine (www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/landing_page.php), and The American Scholar (www.theamericanscholar.org). Happy reading!
Marie Ann Baileys last blog post..Secrets to Successful Essay Writing
[...] wanted to tell you to be sure to keep your eyes open for another of Jeanne’s guest posts - 7 Secrets to a Striking Essay - scheduled to appear on John Hewitt’s Writer’s Resource Center, Wednesday, June [...]
@ Jeanne: This is amazing! What a fabulous job you’ve done sharing tips and tricks to writing great essays! Essays don’t scare me. I’d always love to improve my writing skills, but I always made A’s - even a lot of A+ - on my essays/book reports in school. I loved (still do) reading and writing.
The bullies… now that is a nightmare! 
I love these tips–especially #7. How slick you are! This is definitely Stumble-worthy!
@ John Hewitt: Thanks for inviting Jeanne to write for you. I’ve really enjoyed reading her beautiful work here!
*smiles*
Michele
Micheles last blog post..Guest Post - Motivation to Write: Is There a Magic Formula?
John,
Thanks so much for running my post! I appreciate the opportunity to share my thoughts with your readers, and it’s truly an honor to have my work appearing here!
Hope you’re enjoying your vacation!
Jeanne
Thanks, Lillie!
Many people have a negative view of the essay simply because they don’t realize how much of what we write actually qualifies for the title! Hopefully, I’ve helped put much of that unwarranted negativity to rest through this post!
I’ve always loved essay writing, myself, and like Michele, excelled in that area in college. I find it totally satisfying to create an excellent essay–and those A’s, A-pluses, “Bravos,” and “Amens” from my college instructors have been extremely rewarding, spurring me on to greater achievement.
The essay is certainly an indispensable prose form, and I think most people have no idea how much of our writing would disappear were we suddenly to lose the essay as a form of self-expression!
Thanks so much for your comment!
Jeanne
Thanks, Brad!
Definitely so! Unfortunately, I’ve had little time to read very many essays lately, unless you count the blog posts I’ve been reading–and why not count them, since they are essays, after all!
I notice that Marie Ann has given us an excellent list of essay sources. There are also many fantastic classic essays that can be located online via search, which are entertaining, informative, and instructive in the art.
So much of what we write qualifies as an essay–since the essay form can be broken down into so many sub-types–that almost any good non-fiction writing which expresses the author’s viewpoint fits this category and would be helpful for writers to read to improve at their craft.
Thanks so much for your welcome input!
Jeanne
Jeanne,
The real vacation doesn’t start until tomorrow, but I am looking forward to it. Today i got up at my usual 5:30, but had nothing to write. No deadline to hit. It was a little unnerving. I have really gotten used to my morning burst of writing.
Marie,
Thanks so much for your kind words! Glad to hear you were entertained–as well as informed by my piece!
It’s so true that e-mail messages can also fit the essay category. That’s one I hadn’t thought of–which is odd, since I write so many of them! Approaching them as mini-essays is a great way to write well-organized, informative messages which are more successful in a business environment. Excellent tactic!
I understand what you mean, though, about the immediacy of the medium presenting a challenge. There’s certainly no opportunity for further editing of a message once it’s been sent! And it’s so easy to click “Send” that we’re often tempted to do so prematurely. As you also point out, getting our messages noticed among the mountains of spam people receive today is another real concern. But it looks like you’ve come up with a few great methods for making sure your messages get noticed. Good for you! I think we can all learn from your wisdom!
Thanks so much for your insightful comment–as well as your wonderful list of essay sources! I’m certain that many will find it helpful!
Take care!
Jeanne
Michele,
Thanks for your very kind assessment of my piece–as well as for the Stumble! I, too, have always loved writing essays, totally losing myself in them–even when they were academic essays (or maybe, especially when they were academic essays)! Like you, I’ve always earned A’s and A-pluses for my college essays, which was quite rewarding after all the work I’d put into them! (I always loved my English composition classes; and though I didn’t have to, I took Advanced College Composition, in addition to Beginning and Intermediate–simply because I loved essay-writing so much!)
Thanks again for stopping by, reading, Stumbling, and commenting! I so appreciate your support!
<3
Jeanne
You’re most welcome, Jeanne! Anytime.
Oh, and I loved English Comp. too!
*smiles*
Michele
Micheles last blog post..Guest Post - Motivation to Write: Is There a Magic Formula?
John,
We do get used to our writing routines, don’t we! Though it will be strange for you at first, I’m sure your lack of deadlines and writing requirements will prove restful and rejuvenating in the long run!
Hope you’ll make the most of your vacation, rest, have fun, and do only those things that you really feel like doing! If any of those happen to be writing-related, at least you’ll know that you can do them if and when you want to and with absolutely zero pressure to complete them by any particular deadline. And that can be invigorating, making our writing so much more enjoyable–so much more like play than work.
Whatever you decide to do during your vacation…
Enjoy!
Jeanne
Michele,
Re: “Oh, and I loved English Comp, too!”
I would never have suspected otherwise!
Jeanne
I know that, Jeanne! I was just saying…
Those were the days, eh?
*smiles*
Michele
Micheles last blog post..Guest Post - Motivation to Write: Is There a Magic Formula?
Michele,
You bet!
Jeanne
@ Jeanne, great post! I am eager to put your secrets to work on a contest entry that I have coming up. I also think your post is a great resource for my own students.
@ Marie. I agree with you on considering email as an essay. I spend a lot of time working with email. I have found that often the extra time I put in coming up with a creative and unique title and adding a little humor to the email (if possible) can pay off wonderfully. People have tons of email to read and if they are entertained a bit while still getting the information they need, they are often willing to return the favor and help the writer out.
@ John. Thanks for the great guest bloggers. I can’t wait to read the rest.
Morgans last blog post..To Paula Gunn Allen
Morgan,
Thanks so much! Hope these seven secrets will help make your task of creating a winning contest entry that much easier–and I mean the word “winning” both literally and figuratively!
It’s also wonderful to hear that these principles might prove useful to your students! May they grow into accomplished essayists under your tutelage!
Thanks again for your input!
Jeanne
P.S. Your tips about creative e-mail techniques are excellent! After all, why should people have to wade through boring e-mails simply because they need a little information! If we put them to sleep, we’ll never inspire the intended response!
@ Morgan - you are so right about taking that extra bit of time with emails. I always try to add a bit of humor and the results pay off in discovering my recipient’s humor is just as fun if not better. A good chuckle or outright guffaw is so healthy.
@Jeanne - Thank you. This is very useful and inspiring.
@John - You have great taste!
JoniB,
Thank you! Always glad to be able to help and inspire a fellow writer!
Appreciate your feedback!
Jeanne
Jeanne: Your essay was chock-full of useful information! Wow, wish I coulda done that! It was nice to revisit some of the things I have probably forgotten, but shouldn’t have, from my college days. #7 is especially helpful to me, as I tend to over-lean on purple prose and long-windedness. Brevity is the soul of wit, eh?!
Thanks for the article. I really enjoyed it and will have to check out your blog.
Thanks, Leigh!
#7 is actually a great lesson for me to remember, myself, since I tend to write “long.” I generally include so much detail that I often overdo it! Being detail-oriented definitely has its advantages; but we do have to check ourselves to make sure we don’t go overboard.
I admit, however, that I’m a lover of fluid, flowing prose; so I’ll rarely write with real brevity–except now and then for contrast and its resulting impact. So, you won’t find any recriminations in this quarter for failing to be brief. The key, I think, is in knowing where to draw the line–and when.
Thanks so much for your kind words!
Jeanne
[...] post at John Hewitt’s Writer’s Resource Center is filled to the brim with advice! In 7 Secrets to a Striking Essay, Jeanne will lead you through each step with such inspiring wisdom, you’ll be to the last [...]
As a home school mom of three, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve broken down this procedure in order to teach them to write an essay. And lo, here it is again.
I find the essay one of the easiest things to write. It’s everything else that I’m having a really tough time with.
Perhaps this is why I’m struggling a bit to grasp the blogging voice. It’s a different type of writing for the most part and I’m stumbling trying to get a handle on it.
Magnolias last blog post..When children leave…………
Magnolia,
Sounds as if you have a natural affinity for writing! That should help you a great deal in blogging! It can take a bit of time to get used to blogging, though, since every blogger must develop his or her own unique blogging voice. Every blog is different — in nature, purpose, topic, and personality of the blogger who writes it. But this variety is one of the very things that makes blogs so fascinating.
You’ll also find that blogging is a very forgiving form of writing, providing a writer with a great deal of latitude for experimentation (along with a perpetual opportunity to go back in and edit a post — one of my favorite things about it). As you gradually develop your own blogging style, you’ll really enjoy this freedom to try different things. And, as long as you remember to engage your readers all the way through, you’ll do just fine. (It might also help to think of your blog posts as essays.)
Hang in there and keep experimenting! This time next year, you’ll be an expert!
Thanks so much for your comment!
Jeanne
Jeanne,
Thank you again for the excellent guest article. Thank you as well for taking the time to comment on so many other people’s articles this month. You were a great asset to the conversation.
Thank you, John. It’s been a pleasure!
Jeanne
great advice. I can consider myself a an essay writer too since I have been making some post to my blogs. You are a very good writer. I find your article very professional and rich of information. You are a very talented person on your craft. I hope I can be as good as you in writing.Cheers
wd,
Thanks for your kind comment! Glad you enjoyed my article, and hope you’ve found it helpful.
Best wishes for your essay-writing success!
Jeanne