The Principle(s) of Essay Writing

Expository writing is a distillation and an organization of a writer's best ideas.

Photograph © Richard Kuslan 2009 All Rights Reserved

An essay is the written presentation of ideas, distilled into essences, supported by evidence and fashioned into an organization for ready comprehension.

Literate individuals of the past practiced the principles by which essays are achieved; but writing instructors, perhaps for want of knowledge themselves, have not taught these principles. I know this because I read many Substack writers with PhDs, who surely have taken college writing courses, incapable of achieving a successful essay.

The recipe is simple.

State the Case, Prove it, Conclude

• Thesis at the top

• Argument in the body

• Conclusion at the bottom

That’s it. Really.

Naturally, the seeming simplicity hides the complexity the writer already distilled for the benefit of the reader. Like this:

To achieve simplicity, follow this guide:

The Nesting Rule of Thumb

• One idea per essay.

• One idea per paragraph.

• One idea per sentence.

Nest ideas one within the other, the lesser supporting the greater.

Examples

Essay single idea:

“William Shakespeare” did not write the plays historically attributed to him.

Paragraph single idea:

William Shaksper (not Shakespeare) was an actor in a company which performed the plays, but he did not have the literate capacity to write at the level attributed to him.

Sub ideas in sentences:

At his death, the record of his estate did not include a library of books, but the estates of other well-known writers did.

Et cetera. Naturally, each point requires an evidentiary basis. Evidence is a matter for an essay in itself.

Photograph © Richard Kuslan 2009 All Rights Reserved

Organization is not compartmentalization, which prevents the lesser from talking with one another and only the greatest knows what the others are all doing. Rather, each idea supports one another. The thesis idea lays down the path the following ideas explore, each feeding one another to build to their by-the-end fortified conclusion. The conclusion is the thesis, demonstrated.

Lastly, avoid the use of “I” throughout the essay. You are, of course, the writer. The essay is not about the writer — or is it, in your case? — but rather about the ideas the writer has determined to be worth someone’s time.

As with any recipe, cooking can be learned. Some chefs are born with talent and they learn the skills that earn them Michelin stars; others are better suited to short-order diner cooking; yet others must admit a hard-boiled egg is beyond them. (I will never play on a professional basketball team.)

That aside, how do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice!