Essay

An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument; the exact definition is vague. Essays are commonly used as literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. Quotes The river's algorithm is simple. At each step, flow down. For the essayist this translates to: flow interesting. Of all the places to go next, choose the most interesting. One can't have quite as little foresight as a river. I always know generally what I want to write about. But not the specific conclusions I want to reach; from paragraph to paragraph I let the ideas take their course. Paul Graham, The Age of the Essay (2004) A great deal of writing is not "plotted"—most of my essays have no plot structure, they are a ramble in the woods, or a ramble in the basement of my mind. E. B. White, Letter to Miss R, September 15, 1973 1989 Letters of E. B. White revised Harper & Row https://books.google.com/books?id=CYJbAAAAMAAJ&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=basement 650 006091517X (1st edition, 1976) Category:Literature