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A contributor to this site has talked about an 'essay' they are writing. My supposition was that it was a non-fictional piece, perhaps of criticism, history or something. But it transpires that it is a fictional creative piece.

'Essay' as a piece of writing is covered by meaning 8 in the OED, below. But it doesn't supply clarity on the type of writing which can be called an essay. Does anyone have views?

  1. A composition of moderate length on any particular subject, or branch of a subject; originally implying want of finish, ‘an irregular undigested piece’ (Johnson), but now said of a composition more or less elaborate in style, though limited in range. The use in this sense is app. taken from Montaigne, whose Essais were first published in 1580.

1597 Bacon (title) Essayes.

–12 Bacon Ded. Prince Henry in Ess. (1871) 158 For Senacaes Epistles..are but Essaies—that is dispersed Meditations..Essaies. The word is late, but the thing is auncient.

1665 J. Glanvill Scepsis Scientifica Addr. 26 No higher title, then that of an essay, or imperfect offer at a Subject.

1684 Dryden To Earl of Roscomon in Earl of Roscommon Ess. Translated Verse sig. A1v, Yet modestly he does his Work survey, And calls a finish'd Poem an essay.

1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 476. ¶1 The Wildness of those Compositions, which go by the Name of Essays.

1764 T. Reid Inq. Human Mind Ded., This leaves me no room to doubt of your favourable acceptance of this essay.

1782 V. Knox Ess. (1819) I. i. 1 Essays..may now convey the idea of regular treatises.

1843 Macaulay (title) Critical and Historical Essays.

1864 Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. ii. i. 165 She could write a little essay on any subject. (Hide quotations)

III.

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  • Interesting question. I like how Collins defines the word: a short literary composition dealing with a subject analytically or speculatively. I think most works of fiction would usually be called short stories, simply because that's a more apt term in most contexts. But I also think a short story with some underlying philosophical lesson could be dubbed an essay, even if it was based on a fictional tale.
    – J.R.
    Commented Feb 24, 2014 at 23:46

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They can indeed be creative. This site talks about different types of essays, all of which I have seen taught in schools.

These four types are expository, persuasive, analytical, or argumentative.

The latter two are of the type commonly considered to be typical of academic essays.

The analytical essay should, as the name suggests, present a formal analysis. One should:

Be “objective” [and] avoid using the first person too much

and one should not:

Use slang or colloquial language (the language of informal speech) [or] contractions.

An argumentative essay should

prove that your opinion, theory or hypothesis about an issue is correct [and] be a topic that you can support with solid evidence

(and, by extrapolation, use formal language as for an analytical essay).

An expository essay, however, is more about personal response:

Your reaction to a work of literature could be in the form of an expository essay, for example if you decide to simply explain your personal response to a work. The expository essay can also be used to give a personal response to a world event, political debate, football game, work of art and so on

and, in a persuasive essay:

You are presenting an opinion and trying to persuade readers

but in a less scientific way than in an argumentative essay.

Generally, there are still conventions that separate a personal essay from creative nonfiction; the latter might rely on narrative or characterizing devices, whereas the essay is likely to be more formal and use more straightforward, less "creative" devices.

Editorial opinion pieces in a newspaper can be classed as essays. Typically, they can use slang and first person, but don't tend to play with nonstandard syntax or narrative devices too much. Of course, there is a lot of leeway that depends on the newspaper's style and intended audience, among other things.

The American Scholar has a collection of essays that show how personal and nonacademic an essay can be.

As for whether an essay can be fictional:

I think the idea is that an essay will be based on truth, but can be subjective, while fiction would be called a story/creative writing or similar. The first link certainly suggests that even the less formal essay types are about presenting your opinions/recounting your experiences, etc. There is nothing to say that you can't lie or pretend, but that could mean your "essay" is reclassified when you are found out.

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  • Thank you for this extensive response, which is worthy of a +1 for effort, but with respect it is only the last two sentences which address the question. And as you point out you are not able to supply an answer.
    – WS2
    Commented Feb 9, 2014 at 18:30
  • Yes I got carried away with the "creative" part of the question as potentially distinct from the "fictional" part, didn't I. But maybe my answer gives context that could help with that part. I will try to return to the question of fiction later.
    – nxx
    Commented Feb 9, 2014 at 18:42
  • In the meantime, edited slightly to address the question more directly.
    – nxx
    Commented Feb 9, 2014 at 18:46
  • But generally speaking a fictional piece of 'essay length' would be called a 'short story' wouldn't it? My feeling is that the answer is 'no', an essay is non-fiction.
    – WS2
    Commented Feb 9, 2014 at 19:04
  • I'm surprised that others haven't had anything to say on the matter, so far.
    – WS2
    Commented Feb 9, 2014 at 19:05

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