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Elements of the Collage Essay

The essential elements of the collage essay

1) It should fall at the “focused collage” level on the spectrum described by Peter Elbow.

2) It therefore “implies a definite point.”

3) It should in fact have more than one point, equivalent to a complex thesis.

4) It should combine:

Facts (historical/scientific)

Description

Personal Narrative

Others’ histories

Reflection/commentary

5) While it does not make an argument, it provides the reader with a sense of meaning such as an argument would produce.

6) It works according to a discernable strategy such as those described in Root, p. 32.

7) “Threads” are stylistically consistent in both tone and format

8) Each discrete section or paragraph is:

coherent

grammatically correct

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