Essays may be classified into a formal essay and informal essay. The formal essay is concerned mainly with facts or philosophical truth. The writer tends to be objective and the subject is developed logically. Conscious attention is given to the manner of expression. An informal essay is concerned with anything that may interest the writer at the time of writing. The essay, whether formal or informal, is characterized by the writer’s role. He/she does not just entertain the reader; he/she also provides some moral lesson, or draws attention to issues that he/she thinks are pertinent.
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The writer can therefore, be persuasive and subjective in his/her approach. The convectional structure of the essay consists of an introduction, body and conclusion. In the introduction, the subject is presented broadly and the attention of the reader is focused on the particular aspect or aspects the writer intends discussing. In the body, the idea that was presented in the introduction is elaborated on and developed logically and builds up in stages to the climax, which may be when a point is proved. The conclusion rounds off the subject. The purpose of the theme becomes clear. It is usually an unfolding, a challenge to the reader, or a solution to some problem.
According to Lutrin and Pincus (2006), there are persuasive essays, narrative essays, dramatic essays, meditative or poetic essays, and descriptive essays. In a persuasive essay, the writer makes a point and supports it. The narrative essay consists of narration, description, dialogue and commentary. The writer may also merely tell a story and end up by making his/her point or deduction based on the story.
The dramatic essay consists mainly of dialogue. Though this kind of essay is not strictly essayistic, literary critics maintain that a lot depends on our inference about the characters and the aim of the writer. It is designed to bring about a change in the socio-cultural outlook by concealed persuasion and has the necessary essayistic quality. In the meditative essay, the writer meditates throughout. Though he/she seems to be talking to him/herself, he/she does have contact with his/her reader. The writer makes his/her reader think along with him/her. His/her contact with the reader is, therefore, that of co-ponderer.
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Formal essays follow a certain procedure that means there is a philosophical truth. Here the writer tends to use accepted behaviours by the public. Only one of the 165 learners brilliantly managed to follow this procedure. Four learners wrote persuasive essays; 11 learners wrote dramatic essays; and 49 learners wrote meditative or poetic essays. The other 111 learners wrote narrative essays. In the following section, the researcher will give an analytic example of one essay from each category.
4.4.2 Application to the IsiXhosa entries
These features could also be applicable to the IsiXhosa submissions. Under the scrutiny of the data mentioned in 4.4.1, out of 165 essays, 20% of the entries wrote persuasive and 76% wrote narrative essays. There were no dramatic essays and only 4% wrote meditative essays. One type of essay was taken from each category.
The persuasive essay that was singled out, was written by 16-year-old Rose Matyala, who is in grade 9. She resides in the Gauteng province and studies at the Tswasonogu Technical College in Cartonville. Her topic is about Isiselo esinxilisayo "alcohol". The majority of Gauteng learners have a tendency to code switch when they narrate the story, but this submission was different in that the learner began by writing March the month of the year in IsiXhosa as 23 EyoKwindla 2000. Writing the month of the year using the vernacular is not common even among experienced writers. She is the only learner who used that style of writing. She opened the first paragraph by using very good language as it reads:
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Utywala sesinye seziselo esiphambili nesikhonzwe kakhulu luluntu ikakhulu ulutsha. Obu tywala buziindidi-ngeendidi. Obunye buyaqhwetha, obunye bumuncu, obunye buyakrakra kanti obunye bububusi.
There are different types of alcohol, some types are sour in taste, some are bitter and other types are sweet like honey.
She describes alcohol as a family destroyer and supports her arguments by giving examples of many families who were killed by alcohol. At the conclusion of her essay, she discourages the use of alcohol, especially by the younger generation. Few grammatical errors were noticed, but these will be discussed at the end of this chapter. In this essay, there is an introduction, body and conclusion.
The narrative essay that was selected was written by Ndileka Sikhosana of Tarkastad, a 13-year-old Grade 8 learner who wrote about Abahlobo abangalunganga "good friends and bad friends" emphasising how wrong friends can ruin one’s life. She explains that one can overcome loneliness by associating with older people who can give better advice and direction in life, setting goals and not allowing your friends to make all your decisions for you. She gives several examples of many friends who are jealous of the progress made by others while pretending to love them. This essay is a very important lesson to other young people.
One meditative essay was chosen about Ukubawa "Greed". It was written by Nokuthula who attends the Ulwazi High School in Mdantsane. This 14-year-old girl makes her point clear when she
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says: "Most people are committing suicide because of greed …" She gave an interesting example of a man who had a secondhand car and a man without a car. The one with a car had sleepless nights because of the problems the car caused. He has to deal with anxiety, insecurity and fear in his daily life while a tired man who walked a long distance everyday had a restful sleep. In this essay, the learner is meditating, taking her readers along with her. This good essay followed the features of a meditative essay.
4.5 Drama