Man versus nature lends itself to adventure stories. If your essay is a piece of fiction, place your character on a deserted island, in the jungles of the rain forest or in the Canadian wilderness in winter. Describe the character's struggle to find the basic necessities of food, water and shelter from a hostile environment.
Well-known books about survival include "Hatchet," by Gary Paulson, "The Perfect Storm," by Sebastian Junger, and "Alive," by Piers Paul Read.
If your essay is nonfiction, consider writing about people who have survived impossible circumstances. Steven Callahan, author of "Adrift," survived 76 days drifting in the Atlantic Ocean after his yacht sunk.
An adventure essay can explore new lands or make discoveries. Take the reader on a journey to a foreign land or even into space. Describe the people your character meets. Notice the differences in terrain, culture and foods. Consider the challenges faced by the strangeness and the character needed to press forward.
"Journey to the Center of the Earth," by Jules Verne, plunges the reader under the earth's crust to discoveries in the center of the earth.
Consider writing about famous explorers as an essay topic. Follow the trails of Christopher Columbus, Lewis and Clark, or Neil Armstrong.
A quest or search for treasure brings a natural sense of adventure and curiosity to an essay. Detail clues to the mystery of the hidden treasure. Explain steps taken to complete a quest. In order to do what has never been done before, careful planning must take place.
Stories of Hercules and Jason and the Argonauts chronicle famous quests in mythology.
Charles Lindbergh was an adventurer in his quest to be the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927. He gained international fame for this feat.
Life experiences can be inspiration as a topic for an adventure essay. Write about a recent vacation. Include details about the new discoveries made along the way. Detail any hardships encountered from the natural world.
Perhaps you are dodging rattlesnakes on a hiking trip through the Badlands in South Dakota. Your throat parched as the sun beats down relentlessly, with no end to the trail in sight. Use descriptive detail and hints from the above three attention-getting types of adventure to make your essay more exciting. Perhaps you are only in the Badlands for an afternoon, rather than days or weeks in a true adventure story, but you can detail the adventure to make an afternoon feel just as exciting.