familiar essay explanation

What is a Familiar Essay in Composition?

Definition and Examples

• An Introduction to Punctuation
• Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
• M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
• B.A., English, State University of New York

A familiar essay is a short prose composition (a type of creative nonfiction ) characterized by the personal quality of the writing and the distinctive voice or persona of the essayist. Also known as an informal essay .

"The subject matter," says  G. Douglas Atkins, "largely makes the familiar essay what it is: it is recognizable by human being qua human being, shared by her and him, and common to us all, requiring no arcane, specialized, or professional knowledge—an amateur's haven" ( On the Familiar Essay: Challenging Academic Orthodoxies , 2009).

Highly regarded familiar essayists in English include Charles Lamb , Virginia Woolf, George Orwell , James Baldwin, E.B. White , Joan Didion, Annie Dillard, Alice Walker , and  Richard Rodriguez .

Examples of Classic Familiar Essays

• Blakesmoor in H-----shire, by Charles Lamb
• Crooked Streets, by Hilaire Belloc
• Going Out for a Walk, by Max Beerbohm
• Getting Up on Cold Mornings, by Leigh Hunt
• On Going a Journey, by William Hazlitt
• The Town Week by E.V. Lucas

Observation

• "Post-Montaigne, the essay split into two distinct modalities: one remained informal, personal, intimate, relaxed, conversational, and often humorous; the other, dogmatic, impersonal, systematic, and expository ." (Michele Richman in The Barthes Effect by R. Bensmaia. Univ. of Minnesota Press, 1987)

Familiar Essays and Familiar Essayists

• - " Familiar essays . . . have traditionally been highly informal in tone , often humorous, valuing lightness of touch above all else. They have been filled with intimate personal observations and reflections, and have emphasized the concrete and tangible, the sensual enjoyment of everyday pleasures. . . .
• "Nowadays the familiar essay is often seen as a form particularly well suited to modern rhetorical purposes, able to reach an otherwise suspicious or uninterested audience through personal discourse , which reunites the appeals of ethos (the force and charm of the writer's character) and pathos (the emotional engagement of the reader) with the intellectual appeal of logos ." (Dan Roche, "Familiar Essay." Encyclopedia of the Essay , ed. by Tracy Chevalier. Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997)
• - "[T]he familiar essayist lives, and takes his professional sustenance, in the everyday flow of things. Familiar is his style and familiar, too, is the territory he writes about. . . .
• "In the end the true job of the familiar essayist is to write what is on his mind and in his heart in the hope that, in doing so, he will say what others have sensed only inchoately." (Joseph Epstein, preface to Familiar Territory: Observations on American Life . Oxford University Press, 1979)

Familiar Essays and Personal Essays

• " [Francis] Bacon 's influence continues today, often in familiar essays , whereas [Michel de] Montaigne's enjoys greater popularity as personal essays . The difference is neither precious nor sophistical, although it is subtle. Although the personal and the familiar are the two main sorts of essays, essays are, truth to tell, often both familiar and personal, the difference at least nowadays residing mainly in the degree to which a particular instance emphasizes the tiny prepositions that we find in Montaigne and Bacon alike: 'on' and 'of.' If the essay tips toward being about a topic--books, say, or solitude--it may be termed 'familiar,' whereas if it focuses a bit less on the general or universal and more on the character of 'the speaking voice,' it is likely a 'personal' essay." (G. Douglas Atkins, Reading Essays: An Invitation . University of Georgia Press, 2007)

Revival of the Familiar Essay

• "Equally problematic are conventional divisions of the essay into formal and informal, impersonal and familiar , expository and conversational . Though imprecise and potentially contradictory, such labels not only serve as a form of critical shorthand but also point to what is often the most powerful organizing force in the essay: the rhetorical voice or projected character [ ethos ] of the essayist. . . .
• "The modernist era, that period of fragmentation and innovation at the beginning of the 20th century, is best known to students of literature for the radical transformations that occurred in poetry and fiction. But the essay, too, experienced dramatic changes during this time. Divested of its self-conscious literariness and reinvested with the colloquial vigor of popular journalism, the essay was reborn in such cosmopolitan magazines as The Smart Set , The American Mercury , and The New Yorker .
• "This 'new' brand of essay—exuberant, witty, and often contentious—was in fact more faithful to the journalistic traditions of Addison and Steele, Lamb and Hazlitt than the often preciously lambent writings of those who had deliberately mimicked the English essayists. Recognizing the power of a combative narrative voice to attract readers' attention and impose on a journal a distinctive style , magazine editors recruited writers with forceful rhetorical presences." (Richard Nordquist, "Essay," in Encylopedia of American Literature , ed. S. R. Serafin. Continuum, 1999)

Organs of Personality

• - "The  familiar essay in prose and the lyric in poetry are alike essentially literary organs of personality. In discussing the nature and the character of these two forms of literature, it is well-nigh impossible to consider separately the subject, the author and the style ." (W. M. Tanner, Essays and Essay-Writing . Atlantic Monthly Company, 1917)
• - "The true essay, then, is a tentative and personal treatment of a subject; it is a kind of improvisation on a delicate theme; a species of soliloquy." (A.C. Benson, "On Essays at Large." The Living Age , Feb. 12, 1910)

The Familiar Essay as Chat

• "A familiar essay is not an authoritative discourse, emphasizing the inferiority of the reader; and neither the learned, the superior, the clever nor overwitty, is the man who can "pull it off." An exhibition of pyrotechnics is all very fine; but a chat by a wood fire with a friend who can listen, as well as talk, who can even sit with you by the hour in congenial silence—this is better. When, therefore, we find a writer who chats with us familiarly about the little things that in the aggregate go to make up our experience in life, when he talks with you, not to show off, not to set you right, not to argue, above all not to preach, but to share his thoughts and sentiments, to laugh with you, moralize a bit with you, though not too much, take out of his pocket, so to speak, a curious little anecdote, or run across an odd little experience and share it pleasantly, enjoying it unaffectedly and anxious to have you enjoy it, too —when we have all this, we have the daintiest, the purest and the most delightful of all the forms of literature—the familiar essay." (Felix Emmanuel Schelling, "The Familiar Essay." Appraisements and Asperities as to Some Contemporary Writers . J.B. Lippincott, 1922)
• The Essay: History and Definition
• What Are the Different Types and Characteristics of Essays?
• What Is a Personal Essay (Personal Statement)?
• Definition and Examples of Formal Essays
• What Does "Persona" Mean?
• Periodical Essay Definition and Examples
• Definition and Examples of Humorous Essays
• 250 Topics for Familiar Essays
• exploratory essay
• What Is Colloquial Style or Language?
• Definition of Belles-Lettres in English Grammer
• A Look at the Roles Characters Play in Literature
• AP English Exam: 101 Key Terms
• Character Sketch in Composition
• The Writer's Voice in Literature and Rhetoric
• An Introduction to Literary Nonfiction

Familiar Essay: Definition and Writing Recommendations

Usually secondary and high school students know nothing about familiar essays because it is considered as a challenging assignment. A familiar essay is focused on one’s own reflection and exploration of a topic such as “Deceiving Oneself” or “Giving Advice”.

What is a Familiar Essay?

Let us define a familiar essay. A familiar essay is a type of nonfiction short story writing in which the author shares a life experience and uses a personal or voice unique to themselves. It is known for being written in an informal manner.

Popular Classic Familiar Essays

• Death of a Pig, by E.B. White
• An Apology for Idlers, by Robert Louis Stevenson
• A Piece of Chalk, by G. K.Chesterton
• The Indian Jugglers, by William Hazlitt
• Getting Up on Cold Mornings, by Leigh Hunt
• Imperfect Sympathies, by Charles Lamb

How to Write a Familiar Essay

The familiar essay uses a unique literary device that involves addressing the reader directly as if they were an acquaintance. When executed properly, this keeps the audience interested and engaged as they read the story. As you begin to define a familiar essay writing process, think about how you can frame the narrative in a way that takes into account the needs of the reader. Using the first-person can be effective, although you should first ask your instructor if it is permitted for the assignment.

The good news when it comes to writing a familiar essay is that it is a far easier assignment than a research paper or most other academic work. Rather than requiring you to seek out sources or read up on a topic, all you really have to do is use your imagination. Of course, coming up with familiar essay topics that the reader would find interesting can be a challenge. In addition, if you lack creativity or the ability to find colorful ways to express yourself, you might struggle with this paper. One way to get started is to think about a passion in your life or a memorable event that you think would make for an interesting narrative. Usually casual slang – typically frowned upon in conventional academic writing – is perfectly acceptable. If you can get the reader to laugh or even cry, you have accomplished your goals.

Audience and Tone of Writing

While writing a familiar essay, imagine that your audience is one person only. Your reader is educated enough to understand the topic and there is no need to prove additional clarifications or explanations. Think that your audience is enthusiastic to hear your opinion on the topic. You can even interact with the reader by using personal pronouns.

Make a Plan

Even if a familiar essay refers to personal writing, you still need to organize your ideas before writing. You can begin with freewriting and create a paper with all ideas that appear in your mind during several minutes. Do not worry about the content. You will extract the most valuable and significant ideas for your outline, which will further transform into a real essay.

Writing a Familiar Essay

Now it is time to use your outline and create the essay itself. Do not underestimate the importance of creating an outline and following it during the writing stage. Since familiar essays are deeply personal in their nature, students often go off the track and forget about the initial topics they tried to address. One of the easiest ways to write a familiar essay is to produce it at once (in one session). It will help you not to lose the focus.

Usage of Sources

Most of the teachers ask students not to use any references in familiar essays. However, please read carefully your instructions to be sure. If allowed, you can rely on the quote of a famous philosopher to prove your point. However, there is no need to introduce an outside argument because the focus of discussion should be your personal reflection.

Revise Your Paper

Always re-read your familiar essay before submission and revise its content. The reader should have a clear understanding of your personal standpoint. You should check the tone and style of writing. Be sure to get rid of all stylistic inconsistencies. For example, if you begin your essay with an enthusiastic tone, the same should be seen in the concluding paragraph. Check your paper for unity and coherence as well.

High Quality Academic Help

Although the familiar essay does not involve doing outside research or collecting data, it is nonetheless a difficult paper if you have trouble expressing your ideas in an entertaining way. Fortunately, when you are feeling stuck you can always buy a familiar essay from the experts at WeWriteOnline.com!

Buy Custom Essay Papers

Sometimes downloading an example of a familiar essay just will not cut it, especially when your own paper has to reflect on aspects of your life. This is why ordering a high quality custom familiar essay is the perfect solution. But where should you shop for paper? With so many writing services to choose from, it is not always easy to know which one is right for you. Here are a few traits that a reputable writing service should always possess:

• The company has developed a solid reputation for creating high quality content and has a high review score.
• The company does not merely send you the same familiar essay examples that they give to all their clients, they provide custom work that cannot be found anywhere else.
• The company understands the importance of keeping their prices low so that their services are accessible to all students.
• The company delivers their work by the deadline, even on the tightest of time frames.

When you look at the custom writing company websites, you will find that many of them are poorly written; containing grammar mistakes and typos. If they cannot even get their webpages right, how can they be expected to deliver an essay that gets you an A? Other websites look perfectly fine, but that also is not an automatic sign that they are reputable. Ultimately, it is important to choose the company carefully.

We at WeWriteOnline.com are the company that you can trust. Whether you need a familiar essay, movie review or even a dissertation, we have talented writers to handle all of your academic and professional needs. Every paper that we produce is original and follows your instructions to the letter. You are free to provide us some information about yourself that your writer will then craft into an entertaining, beautifully written familiar essay that keeps the reader’s attention. Alternatively, you can send us the general requirements of the assignment and we will use our creativity and imagination to do the rest! They will craft a purposeful, coherent story that leaves the audience feeling satisfied. Of course, the ultimate judge (your instructor) is sure to give it a high grade.

You never have to worry about plagiarism either. We scan all of our papers through the latest in plagiarism detection technology, guaranteeing one-of-a-kind work that you cannot find anywhere else. We also understand the importance of receiving your assignments on time. After all, receiving an amazing essay does you no good if your professor is not willing to accept it late.

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Guide: How to write a familiar essay

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The  familiar essay  is a type of essay that has fallen by the wayside in most primary and secondary school curricula because it is difficult to write. The familiar essay is a personal reflection on an elevated topic, such as  “people worth knowing,”  or  “How religion informs morality.”

It is similar to a personal essay because the observations are unique to the author and research is not required. However, the familiar essay diverges from the personal essay because of the philosophical nature of the topics.

Tone and Audience

The author of a  familiar essay  writes as if they have an audience consisting of one person. They may even interact with their audience by using “you” or phrases such as “dear reader.” Because of the lofty nature of the topics for a familiar essay, the tone for this type of essay is typically elevated and geared toward an educated reader.

Planning the Essay

Even though the familiar essay is personal in nature, it is important to gather your thoughts before you begin writing. Many professors and instructors recommend freewriting about the topic or clustering as useful activities for planning a familiar essay. From the freewriting activity, the author can then create an outline to use as a general guide for organizing the essay.

Writing the Familiar Essay

As you write, use the outline you created during the planning phase. Working from an outline is important for any essay that is personal in nature because writers have the greatest tendency to ramble or get off topic when they are writing about their observations. Many authors find that writing the familiar essay is easiest if it is written in one session. This helps the writer to stay on track and prevents them from losing their focus.

Most familiar essays do not cite other essays or use references. However, you might make an exception to this rule by discussing a famous author, philosopher, or politician’s point to illuminate your point or to serve as a counterpoint to your assertions. In that instance, you would need to cite the reference.

Revising the Essay

Like other types of essays, the familiar essay should be carefully revised before it is turned in. Pay close attention to the tone of the essay. The tone should remain consistent. For example, if you began the essay with a light-hearted tone, make sure to continue that tone to the end of the essay for consistency. The exception would be if you have good reason to dampen the tone of the essay.

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On the Familiar Essay

Challenging Academic Orthodoxies

• © 2009
• G. Douglas Atkins

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Table of contents (10 chapters)

Front matter, the observing self, or writing upon something: the character, art, and distinctiveness of the familiar essay, on time, the familiar, and the essay, envisioning the stranger’s heart, e.b. white and the poetics of participation, “the way life should be,” or the maine-ing of existence: e.b. white as familiar essayist, the limits of the familiar: e.b. white and t.s. eliot, toward a familiar literary criticism, of swords, ploughshares, and pens: the return of/to civility, against winning, and the art of peace, the essay in the academy: between “literature” and “creative writing”, essaying to be: higher education, the vocation of teaching, and the making of persons, back matter.

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About this book

"In this timely revalorization of the form, Atkins shows the unexpected depths of the familiar essay. Far from being the lightweight pieces dismissed by their detractors as trivial, he shows how, at their best, such essays are exquisitely crafted intersections of time and timelessness. Their indirectness, individuality and warmth suggest a way of knowing that at once challenges and complements the clinical prose of conventional academic articles. Essayists, says Atkins, are endeavoring to write personally and artfully about the familiar and through it to approach the universal. His study calls for a meticulous reading of their work in order, ultimately, for the reader to learn from it how to make the most of the short time we have on earth." Quoting extensively from acknowledged masters of this neglected mode of writing, Atkins provocatively questions the adequacy of established educational procedures and champions a pedagogy informed by essayistic ideals." - Chris Arthur, author of Irish Nocturnes, Irish Willow, Irish Haiku and Irish Elegies

"In these pages, Atkins richly models the exploratory, revelatory pursuit that he calls the familiar essay. The essays he celebrates range outward from personal experience to impersonal, even cosmic concerns. They marry literature and philosophy, wisdom and wit. Through illuminating readings of figures as diverse as E. B. White and T. S. Eliot, Atkins confirms his position as the leading interpreter of this various and vital mode of art." - Scott Russell Sanders, author of A Private History of Awe

"In these deeply felt and elegantly expressed thoughts about the essay, Atkins offers a moving account of the hard work of self examination in a difficult world. His book is also both an apologia for and a gentle critique of Atkins s own vocation to an academic life. But unlike Marxist or disciplinary commentaries on the profession, this essay invokes the much rarer language of spirituality - of value - to engage, disturb, and inspire its readers." - Patricia Harkin, Professor, English and Communication Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago

About the author

Bibliographic information.

Book Title : On the Familiar Essay

Book Subtitle : Challenging Academic Orthodoxies

Authors : G. Douglas Atkins

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230101241

Publisher : Palgrave Macmillan New York

eBook Packages : Palgrave Literature & Performing Arts Collection , Literature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)

Copyright Information : G. Douglas Atkins 2009

Hardcover ISBN : 978-0-230-62000-1 Published: 18 November 2009

Softcover ISBN : 978-1-349-38259-0 Published: 18 November 2009

eBook ISBN : 978-0-230-10124-1 Published: 26 October 2009

Edition Number : 1

Number of Pages : XIV, 204

Topics : Literary Theory , Social Sciences, general

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Extended Essay: Formal vs. Informal Writing

• Extended Essay- The Basics
• Step 1. Choose a Subject
• Step 2. Educate yourself!
• Using Brainstorming and Mind Maps
• Identify Keywords
• Do Background Reading
• Define Your Topic
• Conduct Research in a Specific Discipline
• Step 5. Draft a Research Question
• Step 6. Create a Timeline
• Find Articles
• Find Primary Sources
• Get Help from Experts
• Search Engines, Repositories, & Directories
• Databases and Websites by Subject Area
• Create an Annotated Bibliography
• Advice (and Warnings) from the IB
• Chicago Citation Syle
• MLA Works Cited & In-Text Citations
• Step 9. Set Deadlines for Yourself
• Step 10. Plan a structure for your essay
• Evaluate & Select: the CRAAP Test
• Conducting Secondary Research
• Conducting Primary Research
• Formal vs. Informal Writing
• Presentation Requirements
• Evaluating Your Work

Differences Between Informal and Formal Essays

When writing your extended essay you should use language that is formal and academic in tone.  The chart below gives you some idea of the differences between informal and formal essays. See the box below for examples of the differences in tone in informal and formal essays written on identical topics. A PDF of this chart, and the examples below, is in the box to the right , along with a list of tips for avoiding colloquial writing.

Examples of Informal and Formal Tone in Essay Writing

The following examples highlight the differences between formal and informal tone.

Language B - English

• Formal vs. Informal Writing A chart giving the differences between informal and formal essays in seven areas (author's viewpoint; subject/content (sources of evidence); tone; structure; location of the research question; vocabulary; and purpose. Also included are examples comparing informal and formal writing for essays in English, biology, and psychology.
• How to Avoid Colloquial (Informal) Writing While it may be acceptable in friendly e-mails and chat rooms, excessive colloquialism is a major pitfall that lowers the quality of formal written text. Here are some steps/tips that you can follow to help improve your overall writing.
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• Summer Reading
• Quarter 1 Syllabus
• Quarter 2 Syllabus
• Quarter 3 Syllabus
• Quarter 4 Syllabus

Familiar Essay

Nonfiction:  The Familiar Essay

 The discovery of the essay…

Sir Francis Bacon is generally credited with introducing and popularizing the essay in the English-speaking world. Influenced by the French essays of Michel de Montaigne, who first used the term “essais” (or “attempts”) to describe his prose reflections on commonplace topics and occurrences, Bacon published Essays, Religious Meditations, Places of Persuasion and Dissuasion in 1597.

Understanding the familiar essay…

A familiar essay can be easily described as a merging of the expository essay and the true narrative essay.  The familiar essay is written by the first person but does not tell a story based on plot like the true narrative.  The writer of the familiar essay has an interest, if not passion, in her subject.

“Probably not. In short, familiar essays are somewhere between the personal and the critical essay. According to Anne Fadiman, in an interview from All Things Considered , the familiar essay is “autobiographical, but also about the world”. She also says, in an interview on p owells.com , that “one of its hallmarks of that it is about the author, so it is a subset of the personal essay, but it is also about a subject”.

In the nineteenth century familiar essays were at their height of popularity as a culture of interested readers found the familiar essay entertaining and interesting.  With the advancement of society and the reliance on television and computer, the familiar essay has lost its status as a source of entertainment.

“However, it was in the 19th century – a period of material well-being in England , when there was a leisure class who enjoyed literature, when an education was received by many among the masses – that the familiar essay fully came into its own. The familiar essayist, as Sister Mary Eleanore wrote (1923), ‘is a veritable Jaques upon a mossy bank, who, while he watches the world go jostling its way down the river of life, extracts from its seemingly confused and meaningless tumbling bits of loving wisdom and quaint chuckles of fun . . .” He soothes the pains of the world’s tired travel, and does so through his ability to be whimsical, grave, melancholy, through his love of living and sense of humor over “those ridiculous and pathetic incongruities which are such a necessary part of life.’”

The familiar essay reached its zenith with Charles Lamb . Though living a melancholy and often tragic life, Lamb created in his essays a narrator “in love with this green earth,” – Dan Roche

Anne Fadiman revives the Familiar Essay…

I’ll admit that initially I was a bit thrown by the phrase “familiar essays” on the front of this book. I thought that maybe this was a collection of commonly told fables or something akin to that. I didn’t realize that the familiar essay is a type of essay. In my defense, they are not as common as they used to be. However, I would imagine that I have read some and didn’t even know it. Historically, these essays often had titles like “On Boating” or “On Politics Being a Masculine Arena.” They were meant to be informative, while at the same time highlighting pertinent personal experiences of the author.

Fadiman explains her devotion to the familiar form in the book’s lovely Preface: “Today’s readers encounter plenty of critical essays (more brain than heart) and plenty of personal – very personal – essays (more heart than brain), but not many familiar essays (equal measures of both).”

A typical Fadiman essay begins with an engaging personal anecdote before branching out into the history of the subject in question. As her extensive bibliography indicates, research aplenty goes into each piece. But it’s all so delightful, it’s like eating a meal that is both good for you and delicious.

How to write the familiar essay… I could just soon attempt to explain for you how to fly a kite, but begin with inspiration which serves as the wind of your discussion.

The Introduction :  There is not prescribed set form for the familiar essay, although to begin with an engaging personal anecdote, which serves to introduce the point of your discussion, is effective.  The writer will always benefit from providing an analogy or example to emphasize the opening anecdote.  Like the expository essay, the introduction should conclude with a unifying statement that reveals the thesis statement.  The language of the thesis does not have to be mechanical and straightforward, however, the declaring account should embrace the spirit of the discussion which follows in the body and conclusion.

The Body:  Each body paragraph should begin with a topic sentence, what follows is a combination of opinionated observations supported with facts, testimony or examples/analogies.  The transition statement is often used instead of the conclusive statement in an expository essay because the familiar essay is a blend of personality and formality.

The Conclusion:  Restate your thesis or the spirit of your thesis.  From here, you benefit by fulfilling the point of your discussion—another analogy or excerpt from your tale, that serves to culminate your discussion is appropriate.  Conclude with the lesson of life declaration of your essay.

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3 Estrangements of the World in the Familiar Essay: Charles Lamb and Zhou Zuoren’s Approaches to the Ordinary

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Chapter 3 examines the form of the familiar or informal essay, which flourished in Republican China from the early 1920s until the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, facilitated by the vibrant periodical press in metropolitan areas. In a 1921 essay in the Beijing Chen Bao or Morning News , Zhou Zuoren points to a line of Anglo-American essayists from Addison to Chesterton as inspiration for his Chinese contemporaries. What characterizes the familiar or informal essay, as distinct from the critical or polemical essay, is a casual, informal tone, with which the author simulates conversation with the reader as peer and uses occasions in ordinary life as points of departure and topics for reflection. This chapter studies how Charles Lamb, one of the essayists Zhou mentions, and Zhou himself use the medium of the familiar essay to explore the strangeness of the everyday in writings that subtly position London and Beijing within a global network of multiple locations, metropolitan and otherwise.

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William Hazlitt , Jon Mee , and James Grande

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• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Note on the Text
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• A Chronology of William Hazlitt
• 1 Reply to Malthus
• 2 Why the Arts Are Not Progressive?
• 3 Mr. Kean’s Shylock
• 4 On Imitation
• 6 On the Elgin Marbles
• 7 Mrs. Siddons
• 8 Mr. Kemble’s King John
• 9 Coriolanus
• 10 On Actors and Acting
• 13 Character of Mr. Burke
• 14 What is the People?
• 15 On Court-Influence
• 16 On Fashion
• 17 Minor Theatres
• 18 On the Pleasure of Painting
• 19 Character of Cobbett
• 20 The Indian Jugglers
• 21 On a Landscape of Nicolas Poussin
• 22 The Fight
• 23 On Familiar Style
• 24 On the Spirit of Monarchy
• 25 My First Acquaintance with Poets
• 26 On Londoners and Country People
• 27 Jeremy Bentham
• 28 William Godwin
• 29 Lord Byron
• 30 Mr. Wordsworth
• 31 On the Pleasure of Hating
• 32 Our National Theatres
• 33 The Spirit of Controversy
• 34 The Free Admission
• 35 The Letter-Bell
• Explanatory Notes

Subject(s) in Oxford World's Classics

23 p. 199 on familiar style.

• William Hazlitt
• https://doi.org/10.1093/owc/9780199591954.003.0023
• Published in print: 24 June 2021
• Published online: 27 January 2022

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How Pew Research Center will report on generations moving forward

Journalists, researchers and the public often look at society through the lens of generation, using terms like Millennial or Gen Z to describe groups of similarly aged people. This approach can help readers see themselves in the data and assess where we are and where we’re headed as a country.

Pew Research Center has been at the forefront of generational research over the years, telling the story of Millennials as they came of age politically and as they moved more firmly into adult life . In recent years, we’ve also been eager to learn about Gen Z as the leading edge of this generation moves into adulthood.

But generational research has become a crowded arena. The field has been flooded with content that’s often sold as research but is more like clickbait or marketing mythology. There’s also been a growing chorus of criticism about generational research and generational labels in particular.

Recently, as we were preparing to embark on a major research project related to Gen Z, we decided to take a step back and consider how we can study generations in a way that aligns with our values of accuracy, rigor and providing a foundation of facts that enriches the public dialogue.

A typical generation spans 15 to 18 years. As many critics of generational research point out, there is great diversity of thought, experience and behavior within generations.

We set out on a yearlong process of assessing the landscape of generational research. We spoke with experts from outside Pew Research Center, including those who have been publicly critical of our generational analysis, to get their take on the pros and cons of this type of work. We invested in methodological testing to determine whether we could compare findings from our earlier telephone surveys to the online ones we’re conducting now. And we experimented with higher-level statistical analyses that would allow us to isolate the effect of generation.

What emerged from this process was a set of clear guidelines that will help frame our approach going forward. Many of these are principles we’ve always adhered to , but others will require us to change the way we’ve been doing things in recent years.

Here’s a short overview of how we’ll approach generational research in the future:

We’ll only do generational analysis when we have historical data that allows us to compare generations at similar stages of life. When comparing generations, it’s crucial to control for age. In other words, researchers need to look at each generation or age cohort at a similar point in the life cycle. (“Age cohort” is a fancy way of referring to a group of people who were born around the same time.)

When doing this kind of research, the question isn’t whether young adults today are different from middle-aged or older adults today. The question is whether young adults today are different from young adults at some specific point in the past.

To answer this question, it’s necessary to have data that’s been collected over a considerable amount of time – think decades. Standard surveys don’t allow for this type of analysis. We can look at differences across age groups, but we can’t compare age groups over time.

Another complication is that the surveys we conducted 20 or 30 years ago aren’t usually comparable enough to the surveys we’re doing today. Our earlier surveys were done over the phone, and we’ve since transitioned to our nationally representative online survey panel , the American Trends Panel . Our internal testing showed that on many topics, respondents answer questions differently depending on the way they’re being interviewed. So we can’t use most of our surveys from the late 1980s and early 2000s to compare Gen Z with Millennials and Gen Xers at a similar stage of life.

This means that most generational analysis we do will use datasets that have employed similar methodologies over a long period of time, such as surveys from the U.S. Census Bureau. A good example is our 2020 report on Millennial families , which used census data going back to the late 1960s. The report showed that Millennials are marrying and forming families at a much different pace than the generations that came before them.

Even when we have historical data, we will attempt to control for other factors beyond age in making generational comparisons. If we accept that there are real differences across generations, we’re basically saying that people who were born around the same time share certain attitudes or beliefs – and that their views have been influenced by external forces that uniquely shaped them during their formative years. Those forces may have been social changes, economic circumstances, technological advances or political movements.

When we see that younger adults have different views than their older counterparts, it may be driven by their demographic traits rather than the fact that they belong to a particular generation.

The tricky part is isolating those forces from events or circumstances that have affected all age groups, not just one generation. These are often called “period effects.” An example of a period effect is the Watergate scandal, which drove down trust in government among all age groups. Differences in trust across age groups in the wake of Watergate shouldn’t be attributed to the outsize impact that event had on one age group or another, because the change occurred across the board.

Changing demographics also may play a role in patterns that might at first seem like generational differences. We know that the United States has become more racially and ethnically diverse in recent decades, and that race and ethnicity are linked with certain key social and political views. When we see that younger adults have different views than their older counterparts, it may be driven by their demographic traits rather than the fact that they belong to a particular generation.

Controlling for these factors can involve complicated statistical analysis that helps determine whether the differences we see across age groups are indeed due to generation or not. This additional step adds rigor to the process. Unfortunately, it’s often absent from current discussions about Gen Z, Millennials and other generations.

When we can’t do generational analysis, we still see value in looking at differences by age and will do so where it makes sense. Age is one of the most common predictors of differences in attitudes and behaviors. And even if age gaps aren’t rooted in generational differences, they can still be illuminating. They help us understand how people across the age spectrum are responding to key trends, technological breakthroughs and historical events.

Each stage of life comes with a unique set of experiences. Young adults are often at the leading edge of changing attitudes on emerging social trends. Take views on same-sex marriage , for example, or attitudes about gender identity .

Many middle-aged adults, in turn, face the challenge of raising children while also providing care and support to their aging parents. And older adults have their own obstacles and opportunities. All of these stories – rooted in the life cycle, not in generations – are important and compelling, and we can tell them by analyzing our surveys at any given point in time.

When we do have the data to study groups of similarly aged people over time, we won’t always default to using the standard generational definitions and labels. While generational labels are simple and catchy, there are other ways to analyze age cohorts. For example, some observers have suggested grouping people by the decade in which they were born. This would create narrower cohorts in which the members may share more in common. People could also be grouped relative to their age during key historical events (such as the Great Recession or the COVID-19 pandemic) or technological innovations (like the invention of the iPhone).

By choosing not to use the standard generational labels when they’re not appropriate, we can avoid reinforcing harmful stereotypes or oversimplifying people’s complex lived experiences.

Existing generational definitions also may be too broad and arbitrary to capture differences that exist among narrower cohorts. A typical generation spans 15 to 18 years. As many critics of generational research point out, there is great diversity of thought, experience and behavior within generations. The key is to pick a lens that’s most appropriate for the research question that’s being studied. If we’re looking at political views and how they’ve shifted over time, for example, we might group people together according to the first presidential election in which they were eligible to vote.

With these considerations in mind, our audiences should not expect to see a lot of new research coming out of Pew Research Center that uses the generational lens. We’ll only talk about generations when it adds value, advances important national debates and highlights meaningful societal trends.

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Kim Parker is director of social trends research at Pew Research Center

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Blinken meets Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on Friday for talks across a range of complex issues, including deepening strains over China's backing of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.