Everyone can improve his or her writing ability. Effective essay writing is an acquired skill. It is not a subject so much as it is a process based on techniques. The techniques can be incorporated into one's consciousness and drawn upon according to one's particular needs and at one's convenience. The questions, answers, and examples presented here are intended to aid in the acquisition of these skills.

Dr. Erskine Peters received his Ph.D. in English from Princeton University. He is a graduate of Paine College and has also studied at Yale University and Oberlin College. He was Professor of English at the University of Notre Dame. Prior to that he was Associate Professor of African-American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Peters is also the author of "William Faulker: The Yoknapatawpha World and Black Being" and "African Openings to the Tree of Life."