Characteristics of Good Essay Writing

            Essay is a longer piece of writing, particularly one that is written as part of a course of study or writing for publication which expresses the writer’s viewpoint on a topic. Smalley et. al, (2001:104) defines an essay is as group of paragraph that develops one central idea. Furthermore, Ramsey (1983:2) describes an essay is a nonfiction composition that analyzes and interprets a topic, offering the writer’s view of it. Whether a writer argues against teaching strategy, describes language components, analyzes a business case, interprets a novel, examines the causes of a historical events, or tells of a personal experience, she or he is exploring her/his relation to the world and presenting ideas for reader to consider.

            In writing essay, a writer serves a basic purpose to communicate something about a topic to a particular audience of readers. The writer develops and arranges information about the topic, balances her / his view, the demands of the subject, needs, interests, and expectations of the reader.

            A good essay writing must fulfill several requirements. Oshima and Hogue (1983) mention two characteristics (elements) of a good composition: (1) unity and (2) coherence. Sullivan (1976) adds more elements i.e. complete and well ordered. Similarly, McCrimon (1980) mentions four requirements for an effective writing: unity, completeness, order and coherence.

               Unity gives indication that in every paragraph of essay, there is only one main idea to discuss that is the one stated in the topic sentence. Further, all supporting sentences in the sentences in the paragraph develop the main idea. The paragraph as a whole should focus on that idea. If it is to achieve such a focus, each succeeding sentence must show a clear connection to the topic. A simple way to test whether a paragraph of an essay unified is to ask each sentence composing the paragraph if it clearly refers to the idea stated in the topic sentence. If there is shifting in focus within the paragraph, then the paragraph is not well unified.

            An essay is coherent if readers can see how the paragraph holds together without having to puzzle out the writer’s reason for adding each new sentence. Coherent essay conveys the relations among paragraphs and sentences in many ways, and the relations could be looked at each one in detail. Smalley et. al, (2001:30) illustrates that a coherent essay contains paragraphs and sentences that are logically arranged and that flow smoothly. Further, they state that smooth flow refers to how well one idea or sentence leads into another. Smooth flow can be achieved through sentence combining and through the use of certain expression, called transitions that provide the links between ideas.

            Completeness of an essay refers to the content of writing. McCrimon (1980) describes that an essay is complete if it discusses any idea that is supposed to. A simple way to test the incompleteness of a paragraph, for instance, is when a reader feels that the paragraph misses to discuss something important about the topic sentence. A well-development of an essay indicates that ideas of the writing are developed well using appropriate methods of development e.g. using facts and examples of reasons, giving definitions, making comparisons and contrasts, making classification, etc.

            Order refers to a way to arrange the material in the essay so that it is clear and logical. McCrimon (1980) points out there are five basic ways to organize materials of an essay: by time, space, climax, general to specific, and specific to general. For time order, a writer starts with what happened first or what to do first and go on until she is finished with the process or the story. In space order, a writer describes something by locating it in space and relating the parts of whatever she is describing. For climax order, a writer organizes material in order of importance, beginning with the least important item and ending with the most important thing she has to say. For general to specific order, a writer begins with a general statement and then support that statement with specific details. This order is probably the most widely used kind of essay organization. For specific to general order, a writer lists all the specific details first and then come to a general conclusion at the end. This order is effective when a writer wants to give readers all the evidence about something before she states a conclusion.

            According to Oshima and Hogue (1990:76) as essay has three main parts, namely introductory paragraph, body and conclusion. The introductory paragraph consists of two parts: a few general statement about writer’s subject to attract reader’s attention and a thesis statement to state the specific subdivisions of her or his topic and/or the “plan” of a paper. They, furthermore, state that a thesis statement for an essay is just like a topic sentence for a paragraph; it names the specific topic and the controlling ideas or major subdivisions of the topic.

            The body paragraph consists of one or more paragraphs. Each paragraph develops a subdivision of a writer’s topic, so the number of paragraphs in the body will vary with the number of subdivisions. The paragraphs of the body are like the main supporting points of a paragraph. Moreover, when a writer can organize the ideas in a paragraph by chronological order or by order of importance, she or he will be able to organize the paragraphs in an essay in the same ways.

            The conclusion paragraph in an essay, like the concluding sentence in a paragraph, is a summary or review of the main points discussed in the body. It is very important part of the essay. In this paragraph a writer tells the reader that she or he has completed the essay. This is achieved by either writing a summary of the main points discussed in the body of the essay or by rewriting the thesis statement in different words. Then the writer adds her or his final comments on the subject (something to think about). Since this is the last opportunity to make writer’s point, she or he should write a strong, effective message that the reader will remember.

            In conclusion, writing an essay is no more difficult than writing a paragraph except that an essay is longer. The principles of organization are the same for both, so if a write can write a good paragraph, she or he can write a good essay. Several requirements of good essay such as unity, coherence, completeness and order should be covered to write a qualified essay.