How is a good essay judged?

People of all age groups and professions can write essays. Many of such essays are being written by students, professors, teachers, writers and those engaged in various other fields, but not many know how to write a good essay. They are mostly written without any real commitment to the work which is clearly reflected in the essay. Essays are judged on the basis of topics, language usage, writing style etc. The criticism also varies according to the content discussed within the essay and also the different types, like the descriptive style, narrative style and so on.

A good descriptive essay is judged on its ability to bring the words to life i.e. its ability to create a visual impact on those who read it. It is ideally said that an essay of this nature should be able to invoke the five senses of sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell. For example an essay describing a hotel room should also describe the total feel of the room, the scent, the ambience, the tapestry etc. The more vivid the explanation is, the better the essay is considered. A narrative essay is considered good when the rule of logical sequence is followed throughout the essay. Narrative essay topics must be good enough to capture the attention of the readers. It should be written in a way that the reader is clearly able to distinguish between the beginning and end of the events described. This is significant as the chances of things being muddled are very high. A good reflective essay should mainly focus on the achievements and criticisms of the project or research conducted by the writer. A special mention on his own criticism and ways of improving the project will make the work more useful even for those who wish to do projects and research on the same topic. It should also help the writer to realize and learn from his past mistakes. A comparative essay should be able to bring out the comparison between two things effectively and also have a strong conclusive statement. This applies to essays written for comparing aspects like business performance of previous years and similar topics. The essay will be judged on the comparison of each and every aspect and the level of accuracy of it. There are different types of essays as such written on myriad topics and the judgment of the essays will vary according to the essay type and the respective content. But there are some common aspects to all essays that would establish its superiority or preference over other essays.

How to write a good essay?

As mentioned earlier essays can only be rightly judged on the characteristics of that particular essay type. But an amateur judgment can be passed by any body considering some common aspects.

• • Essays are considered good if it is written in accordance with a prescribed format. It should contain an introduction, body paragraphs and the conclusion.
• • It should satisfy the object of writing the essay. For example if the essay is written to invoke awareness in the readers, it should satisfy that.
• • Trivial and known aspects like good English and vocabulary often forms the criteria for judging a good essay.
• • People are often asked to write an essay describing their ambitions and aspirations in life when they apply to a university, in such a case the essays determine the student’s admission. A good essay will help the person to get into his or her dream university!