What Is Maximum Length For An Essay

[Iam Joy]

Hi. I started writing an article, but then it became longer than a few pages, so I thought I should call it an essay and structure it as such - but now it's reached 12,000 words and so I suspect it's too long to be called an essay (or is it?). However, I've not finished reviewing all the literature yet, or explaining what needs to be explained - so I estimate it's going to reach approx. 16,000 words by the time I'm finished.

 

My dilemma is that it's too long to be called a paper, or an essay - yet it's too short to be called a book - so what do I call it?

 

I need to know so that I can structure it in the correct format when it's finished.

 

It is a philosophy 'paper' that I started writing both as a sample piece of recent work to accompany my PhD proposal and also as something for my website as a download, and possible to seek publication with.

 

I hope that someone can fix my dilemma about what I call this so I can structure it correctly. Thank you.

[Turtle]

Hi.

 

 

...My dilemma is that it's too long to be called a paper, or an essay - yet it's too short to be called a book - so what do I call it?

...

Thank you.

 

monograph.

A scholarly piece of writing of essay or book length on a specific, often limited subject.

 

de nada. :)

Edited September 25, 2012 by Turtle

[Eclogite]

There is an alternative. Do you really need 16,000 words? Some ruthless, targeted pruning will leave the meaning intact and probably improved. Short is simple; simple is clear.

 

The best book review I ever read was on a work called The Art of Brevity. This was the review:

 

Excellent.

 

 

If you are interested, post a couple of hundred words here. I'll seek to simplify, yet lose nothing of value. Or send me a pm.

[Iam Joy]

TURTLE Thank you so much! I've had a look at 'monograph' on wikipedia and it seems to exactly describe my work. But I'm wondering if it should be called a 'treatise', though that does sound very formal and a bit too grand. I'm very glad you mentioned monograph - now I have to go find out how to structure the contents of a monograph properly, because I've never knowingly come across one of those before.

 

 

ECLOGITE I take your point about brevity and being concise is important to me. I hate it when writers go on and on in pedantic unnecessary detail. But my monograph is what it is - it's been determined by the literature I've needed to review, plus the amount of defence and counter I've had to provide. Thus it's as compact as I can make it.

[belovelife]

i had an interesting debate with a phylosophy major once

 

( forgive me if this does not relate in the way i intend )

 

 

we spent the first 2 hours of the conversation defining a word

 

the short definitioin being-

 

as we are in a state of constant conditioning, and energy sharing, whenever you interact with another being, that being becomes part of you, and you part of them

 

then we used the word in conversation for the next few days

[Eclogite]

ECLOGITE I take your point about brevity and being concise is important to me. I hate it when writers go on and on in pedantic unnecessary detail. But my monograph is what it is - it's been determined by the literature I've needed to review, plus the amount of defence and counter I've had to provide. Thus it's as compact as I can make it.

You may very well be correct, but I know two things:

1. I have a track record for effective editing of documents.

2. I like a challenge.

3. I'm quite happy to try a small portion of your report to see if I can trim it without loss.

 

All you can lose from allowing me the opportunity is few thousand words. :)

[Turtle]

TURTLE Thank you so much! I've had a look at 'monograph' on wikipedia and it seems to exactly describe my work. But I'm wondering if it should be called a 'treatise', though that does sound very formal and a bit too grand. I'm very glad you mentioned monograph - now I have to go find out how to structure the contents of a monograph properly, because I've never knowingly come across one of those before.

 

you're welcome. if your monograph leans to a formality of systematics, then a treatise it may be.

 

i found an outline on structure & content of monographs for you. >> Elements of a Monograph

[Iam Joy]

you're welcome. if your monograph leans to a formality of systematics, then a treatise it may be.

 

i found an outline on structure & content of monographs for you. >> Elements of a Monograph

 

TURTLE You are an absolute star! Thanks so much for your consideration and time. I'll find the info very useful. I had a search also, but didn't come across a philosophy monograph I could download to follow the structure, but I found a sociology one and it's formatted very much like a dissertation, which is good, as I'm familiar with that. Having said that though - now I've discovered a new and vital batch of info that I need to put into it I may well end up writing a BOOK at the rate it's developing :smile:

 

You know how you can start by thinking a subject is like a simple whip sapling, but before long the thing is growing branches and twigs in all directions!