SOME OF THE SUBJECTS SET SINCE 1892 BY THE OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE SCHOOLS EXAMINATION ESSAY-WRITING FOR SCHOOLS INTRODUCTION FIRST of all, what is an Essay? Perhaps it has never occurred to you to ask yourself that question. Perhaps you have taken for granted that, even if you do not feel immediately equal to making one, at least you know what an essay is. Let us, at any rate, make sure of this point, at the outset; for, in making an essay, as in many other things, the first step is to know exactly what it is that you want to make. An Essay is the setting forth, the making clear, the illustration of a particular fact,1 idea, truth,2 or emotion, or of a particular group of facts, ideas, truths, or emotions, in a short written composition. For instance, the dictionary definition of the word essay, is itself a little essay on the word, an explanation of it. 'A composition on some special subject, commonly briefer and less complete and formal than a 1 Anything that is done or comes to pass, anything regarded as actually existent: something concrete as opposed to truth regarded as abstract. 2 Conformity to fact, or reality, past, present, or future; conformity to rule, standard, model, pattern, or ideal; conformity to the requirements of one's being, or nature; steadfastness; sincerity; right, according to moral law. A |
