Let me be clear: I am well aware that my blog posts are NOT essays. Generally, they are musings. Sometimes they are stories. They meander. They generally have a point, but they are not structured or necessarily supported.

That said, I do know what goes into writing a good essay. Generally speaking, I can pull them off when needed. I’m super strong on two of the three required parts.

Essay introductions? No problem. I am fine with kickoffs. I’m enthusiastic, I’m engaged. I can zoom in from the general to the specific. I have always been decent at writing pithy thesis statements, although I have gotten better at that in my years editing obfuscatory copy for Thinkers Who Write the Way They Think. I suspect all this intro skill is part of why I am not bad at punching up query letters for publishing and cover letters for job applications.

Essay bodies? The easiest part. I love lists, thus I love outlines. I love research, thus I love supporting my arguments. I can structure my thoughts in logical order. I can keep it relevant. After several years of painful learning the hard way in my current job, I’m decent with constructing citations and bibliographic references in assorted styles.

But conclusions? I struggled mightily in school with conclusions. It seemed so weird to construct a piece of writing that went “I’m going to talk about X. So here I am, talking about X. Now, allow me to restate everything I just wrote about X.” Having made my arguments, restating them briefly just seemed utterly pointless. I always wanted to end my essays with “So, there you have it,” but was told in no uncertain terms that it was glib and unacceptable.

I still struggle with conclusions that are not punch lines.

So, there you have it.