English Literature / Unit 2 ENL 0130 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Essay, Memoir and Diary
Captions available
The idea
An essay is a short piece giving the author's own view; the Frenchman Michel de Montaigne named the form, from essai, an attempt. A memoir is nonfiction built on the author's memories, and a diary is a dated private record. Together they are ten percent of the exam.
In practice
A view, a memory, a dated record.
Where people slip
Nonfiction can still be artful and ironic.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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