<p>This article discusses and exemplifies a more visual and expressive way of constructing and presenting sociological insight. It seeks to articulate the specific demands, traits and potentials of the 'visual essay' as a societal and sociological practice and format. In particular it provides some observations, propositions and arguments that may further help to clarify what the visual sociological essay, as an unorthodox scholarly product, might entail and what place it should acquire in broader scholarly discourse. This theoretical discussion is accompanied by excerpts of concrete visual essays of both scholarly and non-scholarly origin. These examples help to show some of the basic strengths of this format which attempts to play out the synergy of the distinct forms of expression that are combined: images, words, layout and design, adding up to a scientifically informed statement. 1.1 What is today routinely considered visual social research ranges from the study of existing visual data of a variety of sources to the production of visual data (most often photographs and film/video records) by the research team or by the field ('respondent generated production'), and to using visual materials in interview situations to trigger partly unanticipated responses (factual information and projective comments).</p><br /><br /><p>The results of these methods and techniques can be presented in a variety of ways: conventional articles, with or without visual materials, up to fairly self-contained films or multimedia products (Pauwels, 2002; 2010). 1.2 Fortunately the idea is gradually taking shape that visual (social) science is not just about analysing and producing visual data but also about visualising and expressing insights in novel, more experimental and experiential ways (e.g. including arts-based approaches). 1.3 This contribution therefore will try to showcase the unique potential of a more visual and expressive way of constructing and presenting sociological insight as an end product of visual research or even as a visualisation of more traditional (non-visual) research. In particular, it will focus on what has been termed the 'visual essay' by a number of authors (Wagner 1979; Grady 1991; Pauwels 1993). The visual essay can definitely be considered as one of the most visual forms of visual research, but also as a mode that seems very remote from traditional social scientific practice and hence likely to produce controversy, both at the level of journal boards and organisations measuring academic output.</p><br /><p>Data has been created by Essay Writersversion .</p><br /><br /><p>While at present this issue has barely surfaced, many journals, by default, reject these kinds of contributions as they fail to meet the required format of a scholarly contribution. 2.1 The origin of the 'visual essay' as a broader category can be partially rooted in the one-time successful journalistic and documentary practice of the 'photo essay' in illustrated magazines such as 'Life' , 'Look' and 'Vu' in the thirties and forties of the 20th century. These magazines for many decades provided compelling, often socially inspired stories that cleverly combined photographs with captions or longer portions of text. Truly exemplary are W. Eugene Smith's photo essay 'Country Doctor' (LIFE, 1948 ) capturing the drama of everyday life in a small rural town and 'Spanish Village' documenting traditional ways of life (LIFE, 1951) which marked a departure from the more strict narrative approach of his earlier work. Noteworthy are also Henri Cartier Bresson's (Life, March 1963) and Rene Burri's (LOOK, April 1963) photo essays of Cuba.</p><br /><br /><p>2.2 The skilful combination of images and textual parts thoughtfully laid out to create a synergy out of the distinct contributing modes of expression can be considered the basic or most elementary - but still vigorous - form of the visual essay. The relations between visual, auditory and verbal parts can be played out in many different ways. Both tight and loose relations between these expressive systems may be accommodated. Authors may choose to steer the receiver in a specific direction by furnishing a clear verbal context for the interpretation of the visual parts, or alternatively, pursue a more reciprocal relation between text and image, granting each the possibility of contributing their own part to the overall message. 2.3 Today the visual essay seems to blossom once again in various forms and guises: in art and educational spheres as well as on social media platforms and in mass media and activist spheres.</p><br /><br /><br />