What is the difference between a short essay and a composition? Why 'making it fit at the end' is impossible in a short essay! [Short Essay Basics Part 2]

Last updated: 2026/01/11

This series, [Basics of Writing], introduces the fundamental elements of writing that I, Shime-no, an instructor of short essays and compositions, teach in my daily correction and grading guidance.

※This article contains advertisements.

(You can see Shime-no's self-introduction here.)

In a short essay, you cannot 'think while writing' or 'write while thinking' as you might in a composition!

A short essay that is 'structurally impossible'

Yesterday, I posted a tweet about this, but I would like to delve a little deeper into it here.

When looking at many short essay responses, some common points emerge. One of them is that the ideas become clearer as the content progresses. I often see short essays structured such that the outline of an idea (opinion) that was not solid at the beginning gradually becomes clear as you read on. However, this is structurally 'impossible' for a short essay. It is a completely 'impossible short essay.'

Why does this structure happen? It is undoubtedly because the writer is searching for a conclusion while writing. In other words, it is because they are trying to start writing for now and make it fit later. As a result, a piece of writing is created where the point (opinion) that was unclear in the first half gradually becomes visible in the second half. For example, the 'symptom' where the summary of the prompt text in the introduction becomes unnecessarily long, leaving no space to write one's own argument (opinion), also falls into this category. This is because the writer is searching for what they want to say (their opinion) while summarizing the prompt text, which results in a redundant structure.

I suspect that this is a 'writing skill' acquired by writing compositions. Compositions like book reports can generally be written using this 'writing method.' 'Summarize the plot of the book, state what you felt, and finally summarize what you wanted to say.' In this way, 'advancing thoughts while writing and thinking while writing' is possible in a composition. However, this 'skill' is not a 'useful skill' when writing a short essay; rather, it becomes a 'major obstacle.'This is a significant hurdle.

The actual thought process and the thought process in writing are reversed

In a short essay, you basically present what you want to say (opinion = conclusion) first. This is what is called the 'introduction.' Then, in the 'body,' you present multiple reasons and specific examples as grounds for that opinion. And finally, as a 'conclusion,' you present your opinion again; this is the basic structure of an entrance exam short essay. Of course, the details of the structure vary slightly depending on the instructor or reference book, but this is generally the foundation.

This basic structure is familiar in business writing as the 'PREP' model. It is a structure of 'Point (opinion = conclusion) -> Reason -> Example -> Point (conclusion). This is exactly the same as the basic structure introduced above; in short, it is 'Opinion -> Grounds (reasons and specific examples) -> Opinion.'

This is not a coincidence; if you consider the purpose and nature of writing a paper (essay), it generally converges to this basic structure. A paper (essay) is, after all, 'a piece of writing that persuades the reader,' and since it is 'a piece of writing that appeals to the validity of one's opinion by presenting grounds and demonstrating them,' the basic structure becomes as described above. The 'five-paragraph essay,' which is a basic American way of writing papers introduced in Masako Watanabe's 'What is Logical Thinking,' also has a structure of 'Claim (opinion) -> 3 grounds -> Claim,' which is exactly the same as the above structure (or rather, it is thought that the basic structure of entrance exam short essays is based on this American-style essay structure).

As Mr. Watanabe says here, in this type of essay structure, the actual thought process and the written thought process are reversed. More precisely, after reversing the actual thought process in the first half, you return to the original path in the second half, following the actual thought process in order to conclude the argument. In a natural thought process, you would 'reach this conclusion as a result of thinking about various things,' but if you present the conclusion first, you must think in reverse in the writing, saying, 'This is the conclusion. Why? Because this is how I thought about it.'. This is why an essay where you 'think while writing and write while thinking' is structurally impossible. Unless you have already determined what you want to say (your opinion), there is no way you can construct an essay using a reverse thought process.

You cannot write an essay if your message (opinion) is not determined in advance

　In this way, because you are 'thinking in reverse,' you must have your opinion decided within yourself beforehand. In other words, 'thinking while writing and writing while thinking' is impossible due to the composition and structure of an essay. If you think about it, you should realize that you cannot write with the structure 'I conclude this. Why? Because this is how I thought about it' unless you have thought about it beforehand and decided what you are going to assert as your opinion.

　Therefore, it is necessary to first organize the content you will write and summarize your thoughts in advance. After that, you organize the text according to the structure. The strategy of 'just start writing and find a landing point' cannot be used in an essay. You cannot complete an essay unless you 'organize your thoughts before writing'.

　Of course, most essays must be completed within the exam time limit. Therefore, when writing an essay, time management is also required. Situations like 'I ran out of time to write because I was thinking' should be avoided at all costs. Therefore, it is necessary to practice 'organizing your thoughts before writing' while being conscious of time on a regular basis.

Summary: Unlike a composition, it is important to 'organize your thoughts before writing' an essay!

　As described above, an essay is structured in such a way that you cannot write it without organizing your thoughts first. If you are writing with the intention of 'organizing my opinion while I write,' that way of thinking itself is a big mistake.

　I often see 'essays that never get to the main point.' They spend a lot of space summarizing the prompt, list several similar examples, and while doing so, their opinion 'becomes visible' and they summarize it at that stage... This will not allow you to write an essay that earns a high evaluation (*Summaries and similar examples are, broadly speaking, 'prompt summaries,' and since an essay is 'a piece of writing that persuades the reader of your opinion,' unless your opinion is clearly presented, the content up to that point is not an 'essay'). This is also a result of 'thinking while writing and writing while thinking,' and it will not be corrected unless you 'organize your thoughts before writing.'

　'Write an essay after organizing your thoughts'—just by thoroughly adopting this mindset, your essay writing skills should improve faster.

(Site map for essay writing)