"As there is no standard human type who writes essays, so is there no standard essay; no set style, length, or subject. But what does unite almost all successful essays, no matter how divergent the subject, is that a strong personal presence is felt behind them. This is so even if the essayist never comes out to tell you his view of the matter being discussed, never attempts directly to assert his personality, never even slips into the first person singular. Without that strong personal presence, the essay doesn't quite exist; it becomes an article, a piece, or some other indefinable verbal construction. Even when the subject seems a distant and impersonal one, the self of the writer is in good part what the essay is about."Joseph Epstein
Essayists on the Essay pg.24
What Mr. Epstein says I believe to be intirely true, because an essay is a piece of literature that is not in standard form of an article which is based on topics that are current, not personal, and form a basis of knowlege. And although curtain essays can be written with a basis of knowledge, they are still personal and have the written express his/her own ideals, theories, stories, or life experiences. And this is where all people differ, no two human beings are completely alike and although there are always people who believe in the same things, there are never two people who will always thinks alike. And even if you were to tell two "like minded" people to write an essay about a specific topic neither one who have the same style, lenght, or form, or at least it is safe to assume that. An essay will always have the strong personal presence, and if it doesn't then it is of course considered a article. An essay that has that personal presence I believe is even funner to read, more interesting, and will hold my attention longer than a stardard article that is written on todays health practices or example. I believe that everyone who writes a topic and holds their own personal values in the wriiten topic will also make it easier to understand. Mr. Epstein is totally right in every way, an essay is personal, and holds the authors values within the essay, whereas a article does not, it is a written piece of literature that forms to conveying factual theories.
