What are the characteristic features of a good essay?

The word
"essay" comes from the French word meaning "to try," so an essay is an
attempt to be interesting and fresh. Thus, the first rule of thumb in writing a good essay is to
catch your reader's interest. You don't want the reader feeling as if she has read some
variation of this essay a hundred times before.

Two important ways to catch
the reader's interest are to have a provocative thesis and to write a compelling opening
paragraph. A provocative thesis should definitely strongly state an opinion that has to be
defended. To be provocative, however, a thesis has to not only be an opinion, but one that is
narrowed down enough to be defensiblesaying a poem, for example, is about love is too broad:
what exactly is the poem saying about love?and one that can be defended with strong evidence
either from the literary text at hand or research.

Second, the first
paragraph is crucial, and there are many ways to grab the reader from the first sentence on: a
provocative quote, a passage of description, and an unusual anecdote are all tried and true ways
to get started. The thesis statement can come next.

Characteristically, a
strong essay has an interesting and narrowed topic (too broad a topic almost always equates to
being boring and superficial), a strong thesis, a compelling opening, and strong facts and
evidence to support your claims. Finally, the best essays don't just sum up what you have
already said, but leave the reader with an added thought.