What Are Hermit Crab Essays? 5 Writing Steps with Examples
Creative nonfiction essays are sometimes shaped with non-literary forms such as emails, letters, quizzes, recipes, and more; this essay type is known as ‘Hermit Crab Essay’. In the academic journey this type of academic document has gained popularity in recent years, and teachers often ask students to write this essay.
However, writing a Hermit Crab essay is not a piece of cake for students as it requires exceptional critical thinking skills, storytelling abilities, and writing skills. According to the report by ResearchGate, 30% of students leave their degrees as they find it hard to complete their academic writing tasks. If you don’t want to become one of them, you have reached the right place. In this article, we’ll share what Hermit Crab essay is, why it is important, and some practical steps for writing a perfect document.
Let’s get started with knowing about this essay.
What is Hermit Crab Essay?
The term Hermit Crab was first coined in 2003 by Brenda Miller and Suzanne Paola in their book Tell It Slant: Writing and Shaping Creative Nonfiction. In this book, they clearly explain how to intermix the external structure with internal exploration.
Hermit Crab essay is a creative non-fiction piece that uses a preexisting writing structure as its framework. This external structure is used as the shell that’s why this writing document is named Hermit Crab essay. This external writing structure can be anything, including:
● Recipe
● Email
● Letter
● Product review
● Podcast
● To-do-list
The best thing about this essay is that it shows writers how to use different literary elements to create a standout piece. For students needing extra guidance, an affordable essay writing service can be a great way to improve their skills. Overall, this essay helps students sharpen their writing and sets them up for academic success.
Why Use Different Forms of Writing in Hermit Crab Essay?
Now that you know what this essay is, you would probably wonder why there is a need to use different forms of writing in this academic paper. Definitely, we got you right. So, we come up with the answer to your question.
Below are some reasons for using borrowed structure in Hermit Crab essay.
- Sometimes you don’t want to explain everything to your readers; instead, you want to give them space to interact with your work and develop their own ideas. This essay provides an excellent opportunity for your readers to interact with your work and contribute to it.
- One of the great benefits of this document is that it makes your work more obvious with less effort. Additionally, this writing piece assists you in delivering your ideas effectively to your readers. For instance, if you are writing about your great-grandmother and want to tell how precious she was, then why not write about a museum visit which has precious gems on display?
- Hermit Crab essay brings depth and meaning to your words and makes it easy for you to describe your emotions. If you cannot express your emotions in words, you can acquire essay writing help from professionals to ensure the success of your paper.
- Lastly, Hermit Crab essay can make your writing cool and impactful. This writing style pulls your readers’ attention and compels them to read your document.
5 Steps to Write a Winning Hermit Crab Essay
Readers will find your writing more interesting and intriguing with the Hermit Crab technique. Needless to say, it is a great way to make your writing entertaining. However, writing this paper is tricky, unlike other academic essays. You need to follow some steps to write a successful essay.
Have a look at these writing steps.
1. Select Your Shell
The writing process of this essay starts with choosing a shell or framework for your education document. This shell structure might be a letter, story, recipe, or newspaper article. It helps you to hide your main message, so choose a structure that matches your narrative style. For instance, if you are writing an essay about your family gathering, you can bury it in the food recipes and relate it to your content.
Keep in mind the below things while choosing the shell for your essay.
● Never choose a shell that doesn’t match your story theme.
● Ensure that you don’t lose the main idea of your essay while narrating the shell structure.
● When adding the shell structure, make sure that you don’t add unnecessary details.
2. Start with the Familiar
After selecting the shell, the next step is writing the shell structure. Make sure you start with a familiar structure so your readers will not be confused while writing this essay. For instance, if you want to use an internal structure of a letter, then begin with greetings and an introduction as the usual letter starts.
This will help your audience get a clue about what will be discussed in your Hermit Crab essay. Additionally, these steps with set the readers’ expectations as they make them mind what they are going to explore in your essay.
3. Add Story/Message
After setting the structure, now it’s time to tell your essay narrative. This narrative is the prime purpose of your writing or the key idea that you want to deliver to your audience. Remember, your narrative must match your shell structure.
For instance, if you want to tell your readers about your last summer vacation. You can start your essay with a recipe and use the preparation process as the ingredients of your recipe. Just make sure that your recipe seems to hide your actual tale.
4. Stay Consistent
It goes without saying that creativity is the key to your essay, but don’t forget to make your writing clear. The more your essay will be clear, the better your readers will understand the main idea of this document. Follow the below tips to maintain consistency in your essay.
● Use simple language that is understandable for your readers.
● Take help from the transition words to link different elements of your essay.
● Follow the same structure format throughout the essay.
● Use the same tone and writing style to keep your readers engaged.
5. Show the Surprise
Now, the time comes to unveil the surprise by telling your readers the main idea behind your recipe, letter, or newspaper article. You can highlight your tale creatively by following the original format of your document. For instance, if you have started your essay with a letter, you can close it by saying you wrote it to share your travel experience with your friend.
Thus, keep in mind that your tale or message must surprise your readers with writing style. If you think that you cannot write an essay with a spice of surprise, you can contact the best essay writing companies in the UK to complete this essay. The professionals of this company know how to write a winning essay without leaving any crumbs.
Hermit Crab Essay Examples
As you have learned how to write a successful essay, you must be crystal clear about writing this essay. If you are still struggling to write a perfect nonfiction personal essay, then you can explore the examples of Hermit Crab essay below.
Let’s check out another great essay example by Scribd for a better understanding.
Conclusion
Hermit Crab's nonfiction essay uses non-literary forms to convey their message. This writing is a great way to improve critical thinking skills, mental abilities, and writing skills. However, writing this essay is not like writing another essay. You need to follow some practical steps that can make your writing easier for you.
To help you, we have shared some writing steps you must follow if you want a winning essay. This writing process starts with selecting the proper shell structure for your essay. After that, add your story/ message by following the consistent structure format. Finally, unveil the surprise by telling your readers the main idea behind this writing document. We hope our guide will make your essay writing journey a walk in the park.
Author Bio
Lewis Hancock is a seasoned essay writer and creative writing expert in crafting unique and engaging narratives. With years of experience in academic and creative nonfiction, Lewis excels in breaking down complex writing techniques into practical, actionable steps. His passion lies in helping students and writers unleash their creativity and hone their storytelling abilities. Whether it's through structured frameworks or imaginative twists, Lewis is dedicated to turning ideas into impactful stories that captivate and inspire readers.
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