What are the salient features of an essay?

Please see the link below for another answer.

What are the salient features of an essay?

An essay must have the following main features:

1. An introduction.  In an introduction, you give the reader an idea of what your essay will be about.  You should have a thesis statement that does this.  If your essay is to be persuasive, you should tell the reader what point you will be trying to make.

2. A body.  In this part of the essay, you give the evidence to support the point you are trying to make.  Or, if you are just writing to convey information rather than to persuade, you cover the major information that needs to be presented to the reader.

3. A conclusion.  This part of your essay should wrap up your argument.  You can restate the gist of your argument, or you can suggest further topics for research, or you can issue a call for action -- it depends on what sort of essay you're writing.

The first link below has information on how to write various kinds of essays.  Scroll down toward the bottom to find these.

The second link is to the essay writing group here on enotes.  There's lots of information there about, no surprise, writing essays.

Please discuss the salient features of an essay.

The word essay originates from the French verb essayer, to try.  The French writer, Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, first used the word in his brief, personal meditations in prose, Essais.

So, an essay is an attempt on the part of the writer to communicate ideas, and communicate these ideas effectively enough that the reader is convinced of their values. 

• A salient feature of the essay is a singleness of idea (thesis) that has
• adequate support in order to be convincing (supporting details in the body). 
• Added to these two essential components is the confirmation of the idea at the conclusion of the essay,
• with a thought-provoking observation that piques further the interest of the reader ("clincher") and extends the concepts to relevant ideas, works, etc. that this reader will ponder further.  With the reader thus affected by the essay, the writer's attempt is, then, successful.

Reference to the "how-to" sites below may be helpful.

What are the characteristic features of a good essay?

The word "essay" comes from the French word meaning "to try," so an essay is an attempt to be interesting and fresh. Thus, the first rule of thumb in writing a good essay is to catch your reader's interest. You don't want the reader feeling as if she has read some variation of this essay a hundred times before.

Two important ways to catch the reader's interest are to have a provocative thesis and to write a compelling opening paragraph. A provocative thesis should definitely strongly state an opinion that has to be defended. To be provocative, however, a thesis has to not only be an opinion, but one that is narrowed down enough to be defensible—saying a poem, for example, is about love is too broad: what exactly is the poem saying about love?—and one that can be defended with strong evidence either from the literary text at hand or research.

Second, the first paragraph is crucial, and there are many ways to grab the reader from the first sentence on: a provocative quote, a passage of description, and an unusual anecdote are all tried and true ways to get started. The thesis statement can come next.

Characteristically, a strong essay has an interesting and narrowed topic (too broad a topic almost always equates to being boring and superficial), a strong thesis, a compelling opening, and strong facts and evidence to support your claims. Finally, the best essays don't just sum up what you have already said, but leave the reader with an added thought.

What are the characteristic features of a good essay?

An essay puts forth a viewpoint, so think of it as structuring an argument.

1.  Begin by writing an introduction that is general and introduces the topic. In your introduction, include a thesis statement that makes your position clear.

2.  Write as many paragraphs as you need to make all the points of your argument.  Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence that does two things: supports your thesis and controls the content of the paragraph it heads.

3.  Be sure to establish your credibility.  This is called ethos. Make your audience aware of what qualifies you to speak on the subject.

4.  Make sure your position is reasonable, logical, and supported by factual information.  This is called logos.

5.  Engage your audience by appealing to the appropriate emotions for your subject.  This is called pathos. The words you choose (diction) create your tone, and it, too, should be appropriate to your subject.

6.  In your concluding paragraph, don't simply restate your main points.  This is a bit insulting to your reader.  A more effective way to end is to once again turn to more general terms, but rephrase your thesis.  Rephrase, but don't repeat, to cement your argument.

7.  Be sure your grammar, usage and mechanics are clean.  Proofread carefully and seek an edit from someone you know to be a good writer. Be open to their edits and willing to revise.

What are the characteristic features of a good essay?

A good essay consists of three elements of composition: content, structure, and mechanics. If the writer deals effectively with each of these, the result will be an essay that expresses the writer’s thinking in an effective, interesting, and organized manner.

Content.  The content of the essay is the writer’s message. Good essays develop the writer’s main points through thorough discussion and by the use of specific details. General is boring; specific is interesting. A good essay includes specific details to support the writer’s explanations.

Structure.  The structure of the essay is its organization. An effective essay is organized with an introduction, main body, and conclusion. The introduction should begin in an interesting way that gains the reader’s attention; it should then lead the reader into the writer’s thesis statement: one sentence that states the writer’s position, what the writer will explain and support in the essay.

The main body should consist of several well developed paragraphs. The conclusion should “wrap it up” by giving the reader a sense of closure.

Finally, the writer should use transition words and phrases to move the reader smoothly from one idea to another within a paragraph and from one paragraph to another.

Mechanics.  “Mechanics” refers to the use of language. A good essay is well written and carefully edited in terms of grammar, punctuation, word usage, and spelling.