An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal[->0] point of view[->1]. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism[->2], political manifestos[->3], learned arguments[->4], observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition of an essay is vague, overlapping with those of an article[->5] and a short story[->6]. Almost all modern essays are written in prose[->7], but works in verse[->8] have been dubbed essays (e.g. Alexander Pope[->9]'s An Essay on Criticism[->10] and An Essay on Man[->11]). While brevity usually defines an essay, voluminous works like John Locke[->12]'s An Essay Concerning Human Understanding[->13] and Thomas Malthus[->14]'s An Essay on the Principle of Population[->15] are counterexamples.
In some countries (e.g., the United States and Canada), essays have become a major part of formal education[->16]. Secondary students are taught structured essay formats to improve their writing skills, and admission essays[->17] are often used by universities[->18] in selecting applicants and, in the humanities and social sciences, as a way of assessing the performance of students during final exams. The concept of an "essay" has been extended to other mediums beyond writing. A film essay is a movie that often incorporates documentary film making styles and which focuses more on the evolution of a theme or an idea. A photographic essay[->19] is an attempt to cover a topic with a linked series of photographs; it may or may not have an accompanying text or captions.
An essay has been defined in a variety of ways. One definition is a "prose composition with a focused subject of discussion" or a "long, systematic discourse".[1] It is difficult to define the genre into which essays fall. Aldous Huxley[->20], a leading essayist, gives guidance on the subject.[2] He