 The "Essay" is modelled on Jonathan Swift's satire "Instructions to Servants" (1746), and even mentions Swift directly, but Collier reverses the roles in Swift's satire and instead writes from a servant's perspective in the first book.All of her suggestions are to aid in the process of "teasing and mortifying".She begins her work with an actual "Essay on the Art of Tormenting" that serves as an introduction, before dividing the book into two parts.