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C2 Sample Essay 39 (School or family shapes one's personality)

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
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Oracle & Folly du Jour (On Thanatophobia)

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Peter Meinke - The Cranes (Overview)

If there were a definitive checklist of prerequisites that need to be satisfied for a short story to be rightfully called a short story, then Peter Meinke's "The Cranes" would tick all the right boxes on that checklist. His story is short, can be read in one sitting thus capturing the reader's full attention with details given to pique interest, foreshadow events leading to an overwhelming climax and leave readers with questions that need to be addressed.  His story is as stately as the characters that inhabit it, be they human or faunal, progressing steadily, constructing a lifetime of conjugal experiences piecemeal in less than 1000 words -- the perfect vignette to kick off class discussions about death, suicide, dignity, love, loyalty, perseverance.
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