Introduction to Essays

The essay, one of many Western literary forms such as the novel, poem, short story, and play, takes its name from the French word ESSAI meaning "to test, try, experiment, etc." This form has few restrictions. It must begin with a paragraph stating the topic of the experiemental piece of writing and a final paragraph that in some sense, returns to the topic originally set. In between, there are no constraints on what is discussed, length, germaineness, and so forth. This form reached its height in the work of Montaigne whose essays are now considered to be classics. This section contains a variety of essays that may or may not be used in the final working paper or monograph required by this project. Each is dynamic and will change over time as more information is accumulated and as older information is modified or updated. As such it represents a series of successive approximations to the final product. Since they are trials, they have not as yet been processed with a spelling or grammar checker, or made consistant from the points of view of rhetorical profile, diction, and style. At times an essay may contain a forward or backward reference that has not as yet been written. At any given momment, they are exactly what the name essay is supposed to imply: an experiment at developing one small area of the final report.

The essays in this section are prepared to facilitate the production of the final report. By their nature they are in a constant state of evolution and will change frequently.

They are copyrighted and are not to be reproduced, downloaded, or distributed in any form without the expressed permission of the author. Proceeding beyond this point is tacit acceptance of that fact.

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