Essay classes are normally regarded difficult and boring. This study intends to think out various methods that can make essay classes more interesting and get higher quality especially by applying mass media. Not only formal and difficult reading materials can be the textbooks for essay classes. Various kinds of mass media also could be very helpful for students to write their essays and to get the background knowledge for writing, because media are easy to understand and student-friendly. This study inquires the necessity of using mass media in essay classes and researches various programs that can be applied by using three kinds of mass media; advertisements, films, and popular culture. Two groups of middle school students are the objects of this research. One group is composed of 4 boy students in 1st grade and the other one is comprised of 3 girl students and 3 boy students in 2nd grade. The result obtained through this study shows that the degree of the students' participation in classes is higher and the students reveal more active attitude to make use of their own background knowledge than using reading materials that are only composed of written text. In addition, the essays submitted as outcome of this study show that the students reflect more different perspectives than before and approach their theme critically.