Robert Frost's Advice on How to Read an Essay

Robert Frost begins his advice to his daughter by implying that imagination is needed to make an essay great, and then apologizing for the loss of imagination that comes with strain. However, Frost believes that even when imagination is diminished, ideas are still a good place to start for an essay. From there, he suggests trying to treat the reading of whatever work the essay will be on as a conversation with the author. Frost then provides one of the most important pieces of advice to essay writers: "you have to be honest." Being honest in writing means not making whatever argument you think will earn you the highest grade, or using words that will make you sound smarter, and instead choosing to make an original, thoughtful reflection of the work. I also interpreted being honest in writing as being honest to yourself about what the text says. While it may be tempting to come up with an argument and find evidence that supports it, the best arguments are made from the evidence, not vice versa. Frost ends his advice by once again claiming that essays are the "enemy to the really creative writing," and that while essays may have importance, they do not have the same meaning or worth as poetry or literature.

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