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$9 essay coach
The feedback you won't get from your friends, family, and chatbots
Oct 12
•
Michael Dean
71
17
September 2025
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
57
8
Table of Contents
Essay Architecture (the whole book)
Sep 16
•
Michael Dean
48
9
Idea
Have you explored a terrain of concepts to find a central idea that can organize complexity?
Sep 15
•
Michael Dean
13
Material (1)
Have you tapped into your personal and cultural memory to build an argument that supports your thesis?
Sep 15
•
Michael Dean
4
Experience (1.1)
Do biographical events from your life make your thesis relatable?
Sep 15
•
Michael Dean
11
Argument (1.2)
Have you explored two sides of an argument to come to an unexpected conclusion?
Sep 15
•
Michael Dean
3
References (1.3)
Does a web of external sources make your thesis contextual?
Sep 15
•
Michael Dean
5
Thesis (2)
Have you organized complexity through a central idea that is concrete, contextual, and catalytic?
Sep 15
•
Michael Dean
2
Microcosm (2.1)
Is your essay centered around a representative example that makes your thesis concrete?
Sep 15
•
Michael Dean
2
Response (2.2)
Is your thesis framed as part of an existing conversation so it has societal context?
Sep 15
•
Michael Dean
4
Catalyst (2.3)
Does your thesis inspire change in action or outlook?
Sep 15
•
Michael Dean
3
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