After reading Paul Graham’s ‘The Age of the Essay’, I was left feeling as though my whole high school career was a lie. I was arguing a point about a text or topic and through the use of examples and evidence I would be able to ‘persuade’ my readers. However, I have now learnt that this is not the correct way to go about it, which is frustrating. Graham states that “In a real essay, you don’t take a position and defend it. You notice a door that’s ajar, and you open it and walk in to see what’s inside.” This would have been so much more exciting than simply repeating knowledge that my teachers were already too familiar with over and over again.

When I thought back to the first essay I ever wrote (I think I was about 14), I was never actually taught how to write one. This is probably why most of us struggled. Then I tried to remember when I was taught how to write one. All I received was a piece of paper with a rough guideline and essay structure. Was it really that simple? Since then, it was but of course many were still confused because learning to write an essay was never implemented, you were just supposed to know how.

I do believe that had I used Graham’s method I would have run into many problems with actually passing my subjects. I do not however, think that this method can be used in all subjects. When writing about historical events, it would be far more reliable if the majority of the piece contained facts and evidence, not opinion. But I guess I guess I’ll never know until I try it.