The essential elements of the collage essay
1) It should fall at the “focused collage” level on the spectrum described by Peter Elbow.
2) It therefore “implies a definite point.”
3) It should in fact have more than one point, equivalent to a complex thesis.
4) It should combine:
Facts (historical/scientific)
Description
Personal Narrative
Others’ histories
Reflection/commentary
5) While it does not make an argument, it provides the reader with a sense of meaning such as an argument would produce.
6) It works according to a discernable strategy such as those described in Root, p. 32.
7) “Threads” are stylistically consistent in both tone and format
8) Each discrete section or paragraph is:
coherent
grammatically correct
