essay

essay

I

es‧say¹ S3 /ˈeseɪ/ noun [countable]1. a short piece of writing about a particular subject by a student as part of a course of study
    essay on/about
    an essay on Bernard Shaw
2. a short piece of writing giving someone’s ideas about politics, society etc
    essay on
    Rousseau’s ‘Essay on the Origin of Languages’
3. formal an attempt to do something
     

COLLOCATIONS

(for Meanings 1 & 2)

■ verbs
   ▪ write/do an essay I’ve got a 3,000 word essay to write before Friday.
   ▪ give in/hand in an essay Half the class failed to hand in their essay on time.
   ▪ mark an essay British English, grade an essay AmE: I went home knowing that I still had a pile of essays to mark.
   ▪ read an essay Did you read her essay on ‘The Waste Land’?
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + essay
   ▪ an English/history/politics etc essay He got a good grade for his English essay.
   ▪ a critical essay (=one that judges how good a book, writer etc is) The anthology contains critical essays by Kael, Graham Greene and others.
   ▪ an academic essay Mature students often need practice writing academic essays.
   ▪ a literary essay In a literary essay, you should explore the meaning and construction of the text.
■ essay + NOUN
   ▪ an essay question We practised essay questions from previous exam papers.
   ▪ an essay title You will find a list of essay titles on the notice board.
   ▪ an essay topic Students will be given six essay topics, from which they must choose two.
■ phrases
   ▪ a collection of essays She published a collection of essays on philosophy.
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ essay a piece of writing written by a student as part of a course of study: We had to write an essay about the environment. | Have you handed in your essay yet?
   ▪ paper an essay written by a someone who has studied a subject as part of their research. Paper is also used about an essay that you have to write for a class at school, especially in American English: The professor has published over forty scientific papers on diseases of tropical crops | At the beginning of the school year we had to write a paper about our interests.
   ▪ dissertation a long essay written as part of a university degree: In the third year of their course, students have to write a 10,000 word dissertation on a topic that has been approved by their tutor.
   ▪ thesis a very long essay that is part of an advanced university degree such as a master’s degree or a doctorate: He wrote his doctoral thesis on the literature of the English romantic movement.

II

es‧say² /eˈseɪ/ verb [transitive]
formal to attempt to do something