An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the authors own argument but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have traditionally been sub-classified as formal and informal. Formal essays are characterized by serious purpose, dignity, logical organization, length, whereas the informal essay is characterized by the personal element (self-revelation, individual tastes and experiences, confidential manner), humor, graceful style, rambling structure, unconventionality or novelty of theme, etc.1 Essays can consist of a number of elements, including literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and...
each job vacancy announcement. KSAs are brief and focused essays about ones career and educational background that presumably qualify one to perform the duties of the position being applied for. An Executive Core Qualification, or ECQ, is a narrative statement that is required when applying to Senior Executive Service positions within the US Federal government. Like the KSAs, ECQs are used along with resumes to determine who the best applicants are when several candidates qualify for a job. The Office of Personnel Management has established five executive core qualifications that all applicants seeking to enter the Senior Executive Service must demonstrate.