| Art of the Essay

Embark on a journey with Daniel A. Gross, a story editor at The New Yorker, as you delve into the art of essay writing. Refine your writing skills to master the art of conveying ideas and narratives through compelling written expressions, creating impactful and engaging essays.

An essay can be many things: a true story about your life; an opinion piece that changes the reader’s mind; a chapter in a book-length collection; or the kind of first-person journalism you’d read in The New Yorker. This course explores what it takes to write a good one. 

Over the course of a week, we’ll read luminaries of the form and talk about how to craft memorable scenes, compelling characters, and persuasive arguments. Finally, at a dedicated feedback session, participants will have the chance to workshop an essay-in-progress or an early-stage idea.

Your high-school English teacher might have told you that an essay is five formulaic paragraphs with an introduction and a conclusion. The works we’ll explore in this course are much more than that. We’re interested in essays that make change, help readers see the world in a new way, and even become successful books or films. Along the way, we’ll talk in practical terms about the writer’s path to publication.

This course is an excellent fit for established and aspiring authors, journalists, and academics, as well as experts and activists with something to say. Whether you have a first draft or simply a vision for what you want to write, you’ll leave with a new appreciation of the art of the essay.