An essay is a piece of writing that gives the authors own argument, or simply informs the reader about a particular topic. Essays can be classified as formal or informal, with formal essays characterized by "serious purpose, dignity, logical organization, length," whereas informal essays are characterized by "the personal element (self-revelation, individual tastes and experiences, confidential manner), humor, graceful style, rambling structure, unconventionality or novelty of theme," etc. .
The main parts or sections of an essay are the introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction must contain an attention-grabber for the reader or at least make the essay sound interesting, and it should move from the general to the specific in regards to the topic. It should also provide the reader with a "road map" of the essay. The body of the essay is where the author presents their argument or information about the topic, and the conclusion summarizes the main points and restates the thesis statement.
Essays are commonly used as literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. There are many different types of essays, including argumentative, persuasive, narrative, descriptive, expository, compare and contrast, cause and effect, process, definition, and critical essays.
