Read 2 essays and answer 3 questions each. Then read two essays and compare and contrast. Make first observations about each essay.
https://www.youmightfindyourself.com/post/252362834/zadie-smith-on-the-rise-of-the-essay

The Rise of the Essay by Zadie Smith

In this thread: Please answer the following discussion questions:

1. Why does fiction matter? Use Smith’s essay to support your stance.

2. According to Smith, Sir Francis Bacon, who incidentally, is widely considered the father of the English Essay, which stands in direct opposition to the Montaignian method discussed in The Age of the Essay said: “There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion.” Do you agree? Why or why not?
3. Smith states: “For a writer, composing an essay instead of a novel is like turning from staring into a filthy, unfathomable puddle to looking through a clear glass windowpane.” What does this mean? Why is this an apt description of the differences between fiction-writing and essay-writing?

How to Become a Writer by Lorrie Moore-Document Uploaded
In this thread, answer the following discussion questions:

1. Moore makes many unique stylistic choices (writing in second person “you”, using shorter, clipped sentences etc.). How do these choices contribute to the effectiveness of the essay?

2. Relate this Essay to Smith’s The Rise of the Essay. Does Moore’s essay support or rebuke Smith’s thoughts? Why or why not?

3. Although one would be hard pressed to call Moore’s essay ‘scholarly’ or ‘academic’, how can the Academic/Scholarly essay benefit from incorporating some of Moore’s techniques?

Why I Write by George Orwell and Why I Write by Joan Didion-Both Documents Uploaded

On this thread:

Compare and contrast the two Why I Writes in terms of style, voice, structure, and content.