In the minds of ESL exam candidates, e ssay writing is one of the most daunting tasks they are required to complete, regardless of the level of the exam, the administering body or the ease with which they themselves use the language. The same applies to students who are asked to write an essay by their teachers at school. In the previous sample essays posted on the blog, the main point I stress is the need to become acquainted with this form of writing (as opposed to writing a letter, review or report, for instance), to get a feel of what authorial voice is and how to organize and progressively express the arguments you wish to make in a coherent manner. Unfortunately, the best way to prepare for exam writing or learn how to write good essays for school is to read as many essays from as many sources as possible, then write as
Husband, wife, mistress. Your stock relationship fit for platitudinous movies, soap operas, and the romance series from Harlequin Enterprises (small aside: An Unexpected Amish Romance -- are they serious?). Arturo Vivante's "Can-Can" could have foundered in one of these genres, but being a short story, it gets to the point quickly enough and leaves so much to the reader's acumen that it is impossible as a reader to feel intellectually insulted by the tripe that would have naturally emerged had the story jumped ship to become a soap opera or longer romance novel. No, this is no tripe. This goes to the heart of all human relationships and asks questions like "What