Essay Architecture
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Essay Architecture (the whole book)
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Quality is the transcendence of categories
Announcing the judges for the 2025 Essay Architecture Prize & the judging system that will shape the anthology
Nov 23
•
Michael Dean
57
3
16
$9 essay coach
The feedback you won't get from your friends, family, and chatbots
Oct 12
•
Michael Dean
80
21
10
What's it like to live in 2025?
In this post I cover the prompt for The Essay Architecture Prize, why I picked it, some approaches, our judging criteria, the rules, 50+ examples …
Sep 16
•
Michael Dean
58
11
8
Table of Contents
Essay Architecture (the whole book)
Sep 16
•
Michael Dean
65
10
4
I’m giving $10,000 to the best essay of 2025
And the finalists will get published in a printed Metalabel anthology (submit by 11/23/2025)
Sep 1
•
Michael Dean
203
33
32
Burn down your architecture
Why I rebuilt Essay Architecture from scratch
Aug 15
•
Michael Dean
83
18
8
Best American Essays?
Let's analyze composition across the 2024 anthology
Jan 31
•
Michael Dean
42
5
Year of the wiki
Essay Architecture undergoes a phase change
Jan 9
•
Michael Dean
48
17
1
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Essay Architecture
Mapping the secret architecture of great essays.
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Elements
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Material (1)
Have you tapped into your personal and cultural memory to build an argument that supports your thesis?
Sep 15
•
Michael Dean
4
Thesis (2)
Have you organized complexity through a central idea that is concrete, contextual, and catalytic?
Sep 15
•
Michael Dean
3
Title (3)
Have you crafted an alluring, phonetic phrase that represents your main idea?
Sep 15
•
Michael Dean
4
Paragraphs (4)
Do most paragraphs open with tension, move with flow, and close with reward?
Sep 15
•
Michael Dean
3
Structure (5)
Have you selected, arranged, and detailed your material to minimize confusion?
Sep 15
•
Michael Dean
1
Tension (6)
Are you creating stakes and anticipation so the reader cares what happens next?
Sep 15
•
Michael Dean
4
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