Check that an essay keeps the form that Montaigne gave the essay. The writer is in it, it opens on a case, it doubts and it does not teach. Use to check an essay, or to tell an essay from an article.
# essay
An essay is a trial. Montaigne's *Essays* give the rules. This skill checks the form of an essay
against them. It cannot tell you that an essay is good or true.
## The rules
| # | Rule | Check |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The writer is in it, in the first person, from the first paragraph | count "I" / "eu" |
| 2 | It opens on a case of the writer's, not on a definition or a survey | reader |
| 3 | It tries the writer's judgement. It does not show learning | reader |
| 4 | It moves by a method that a reader can name | reader |
| 5 | The writer speaks first. The borrowed words come after | count |
| 6 | Quoted words are 20% of the text or less | count |
| 7 | A judgement is the writer's measure: "I think", "I do not know" | reader |
| 8 | It doubts at least once, in earnest | search "I do not know" / "não sei" |
| 9 | It has a date, and its writer can contradict it later | front matter |
| 10 | It does not teach: no orders to the reader, no list of lessons | search "you must" / "você deve" |
| 11 | It stops before it covers all of the subject | reader |
| 12 | Each borrowing is named in a `## Sources` section | count |
| 13 | Each topic of the brief is in the text | compare with `topics:` |
| 14 | The writer's experience is the writer's | see below |
| 15 | A translation has the same markers and the same numbers | compare the two files |
## Language
The language comes from the front matter (`lang: pt-BR`) or a name that ends in `.pt-BR.md`.
Otherwise the essay is English. In pt-BR, the first person is `eu`, `meu`, `minha`. A doubt is
`não sei`, `que sei eu`, `não tenho certeza`. An order is `você deve`, `você precisa`. The last
section is `## Fontes`.
## The writer's experience
Never invent an experience of the writer. When a draft needs one, write a marker:
`**[AUTHOR ANECDOTE: what is needed]**`. An essay with an open marker stays a `draft`.
In an essay that an agent drafted, each first-person sentence must come from a note of the
writer. Name the note for each one, or replace the sentence with a marker.
## Steps
1. Read the essay once for its meaning.
2. Do the counts and searches of the table.
3. Answer each "reader" rule in one line, with the sentence of the essay that shows it.
4. Report a table: rule, pass or fail, the sentence.
5. Say plainly that the form was checked and the quality was not.
## A second model
For an essay of cultural criticism from a working life, read Theodore Dalrymple. He puts the
case first and the general idea after it. He speaks from the place where he works.
h0ffmann/skills