The word "essay" is defined as a short composition on one subject, written from the view of the essay's author. An essay is a specific type of writing, just as novels, poems and even term papers are types of writing. An essay is not fiction as a novel is; not a poem with stanzas, and not as long or broadly focused as a term paper. An essay is written on one rather narrow subject, from the point of view or opinion of the essay's writer. Its purpose is to get the student to develop ideas and concepts of their own rather than merely reporting with a description of a book or subject.
"Theme" is defined as a topic or subject for discussion. An essay often has an assigned theme. If a teacher asks students to write an essay on Charles Dickens' story, "A Christmas Carol," that would not be the theme of the essay, because it is not specific enough. Such a broad essay would be nearly impossible to write at all, and difficult to end. The teacher would more specifically ask students to choose a theme for their essays on "A Christmas Carol." Themes for this work might be poverty, family or happiness. Students would choose a theme, decide their position and how they will back it up, and write the essay by stating their themes and giving examples from the story to illustrate and support their themes. Not only the theme, but every point made in the essay must be supported with examples. Examples of theme could be, "Greed" or "Personal Responsibility."
People are sometimes confused about essays and themes because teachers may ask students to "Write a theme about..." In this case, a teacher is referring to the actual written composition. This is not a common occurrence in today's schools, but was a generation ago. Now students are more commonly asked to write an essay on a particular theme.
There are several different types of essays, which are described in different ways.These types of essays are sometimes called expository, descriptive, narrative, argumentative or persuasive, comparison, cause-and-effect, and others. Most students today learn to write the "five paragraph essay." In this essay, the theme is stated and explained in the first paragraph, with a thesis statement. The next three paragraphs give three points or arguments backing up the theme or opinion, beginning with the strongest point or argument. The fifth paragraph is a summation of the essay.