Submit Your Essay, Article or Commentary
We publish all three forms. Understand the difference, choose your form, and send us your work.
We publish all three forms. Understand the difference, choose your form, and send us your work.
Tales From A Harrogate Caravan publishes essays, articles, and commentaries from independent writers. All three are forms of nonfiction writing but they have completely different DNA — written for different purposes, following different rules, and aiming for different reactions from the reader. Choose your form and submit.
| Feature | Article | Essay | Commentary |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Driver | Facts, data, and interviews | A central argument or thesis | A personal reaction to current events |
| The Voice | Objective and detached | Analytical and reflective | Opinionated and subjective |
| The Goal | To inform or educate | To persuade or explore an idea | To critique or interpret |
| Where it Lives | News sites, magazines, journals | Academic papers, literary journals | Op-ed sections, blogs, columns |
An article is built on information. The writer acts as a reporter, gathering facts, interviewing sources, and laying out data.
The Tone: Objective. The writer's personal feelings should generally be invisible.
The Structure: Often uses the inverted pyramid — putting the most crucial information right at the top and filling in details later.
Example: A news report breaking down a new climate change bill, featuring quotes from politicians and scientists.
An essay is built on an argument or analysis. The writer is trying to prove a specific point or explore a complex concept through structured thought.
The Tone: Analytical, formal, or deeply reflective. It relies on logic, literary analysis, or structured evidence.
The Structure: Traditional introduction, body paragraphs building a case, and a conclusion that synthesises the ideas.
Example: A paper analysing how William Faulkner uses time as a narrative tool in The Sound and the Fury.
A commentary is built on reaction and interpretation. It takes a current event or public trend and provides a specific, often provocative, viewpoint on it.
The Tone: Personal, strong, and explicitly opinionated. The writer wants you to see the world through their specific lens.
The Structure: Loose and conversational, hooking into a recent event and spinning into the writer's analysis of what it means.
Example: An op-ed arguing that a newly passed climate bill does not go nearly far enough to protect local wildlife.
Lines can blur. A feature article might use narrative essay techniques to tell a story, and an academic essay might include heavily researched article-style data. However, looking at the ultimate goal — to inform (article), to argue (essay), or to critique (commentary) — will always tell you which one you are reading.
The article. Facts, sources, and data presented objectively for the reader to draw their own conclusions.
The essay. A thesis, structured evidence, and a conclusion that brings the argument home.
The commentary. A strong personal viewpoint on a current event, trend, or piece of work.
Whether you have written an article, an essay, or a commentary — we want to read it. Submit your work directly to the platform.
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