A BRIEF EXPLANATION OF FOUR TYPES OF ESSAYS
WHAT ARE THE FOUR DIFFERENT TYPES OF ESSAYS?
You may be familiar with four types of essays: discursive, descriptive, persuasive, and narrative. Before beginning the research and planning, it is important to understand which kind of essay your assignment falls under. The essay type will affect how you structure your essay, how you write, how you use evidence, and what tone you use. This is particularly important for university and school students: A narrative essay will not get many marks if it is intended to be persuasive (no matter how much your short story wins the Nobel Prize for Literature).
It can be frustrating to remember styles and genres, but you can take some comfort in knowing that you are ready for the real world. It's true, real life. Writing is a common career choice. It would be best if you met the needs of your audience or readers. A sales pitch in business is persuasive. However, this style would not be appropriate for a feasibility study or cost analysis. There are specific rules that apply to all types of writing, but each essay type has its requirements to impress its audience: clients, casual readers, or your examiner.
1. THE EXPOSITORY ESSAY
Expository essays are not as intimidating as they sound. You are basically presenting a balanced argument. You could write a typical academic essay to test your knowledge of a topic in your course or a more general issue.
This is where the word "balanced" comes in: even if your beliefs are strong, it's important to not appear biased. It's better to avoid using personal pronouns or personal opinions.
DEFINE AND DISSECT IT
It is important to define your topic as clearly as possible. If your topic or title has any terminology that could be misinterpreted, it is essential to clarify what you mean. If your expository essay is based on a topic area, it can be helpful to define its scope. For example, if you want it to focus on a specific historical period or geographic location, this will help you break down your topic into smaller, more manageable pieces. This will allow you to create a clear plan with only one topic per section or paragraph.
RESEARCH AND BACK-UP
It is crucial to have evidence. We do not mean that "8 out of 10 writers make their statistics." This type of essay requires the most research and reading. The more information you have, the better you will be able to make a decision. It is important to use the correct references. This will ensure that you follow your institution's guidelines regarding acknowledging sources and make your writing appear more professional and reliable. Avoid merely summarising your sources. Although some context can be helpful, such as the writer's background or other background information, it's not necessary. But, simply summarising it in your own words does not demonstrate your abilities. Analysing and evaluating is more crucial than just describing.
IT IS POSSIBLE TO POWER IT THROUGH
A well-written essay can lead to a solid, well-balanced conclusion. This is usually the most challenging part in the beginning, in the front. While you might already have your thoughts, the best way to go is to make your conclusion, which will only be apparent after you have completed the main body of your essay. This is the time to form your personal opinion based on the information that you have analysed. Make sure to write an unbiased but powerful conclusion. Try to avoid simply reciting what you wrote.
2. PERSUASIVE ESSAYS
Persuasive writing is used to persuade a reader to believe or do something. This is what we see all the time in the real world. We see ads trying to convince us to buy their products or politicians asking for our votes.
In academia, you are the most likely to persuade your readers to accept your beliefs about something - for instance, taking your side on an ethical matter.
CONCISENESS IS KEY
Your message must be consistent and clear in a persuasive essay. It is important to consider alternative viewpoints and counterarguments, but only to show that they are wrong. This could undermine your argument. Assume that you are having a debate and that your opponent will be responding right afterward. Is there anything they could pull out and use against you?
CONFORMING TO STYLE
Persuasive writing can be described as one of the most basic styles. Through a quick internet search, you can find thousands of persuasive methods to enhance your persuasive essay. These are undoubtedly useful, and many of them are so familiar to us that they are second nature: lists, rhetorical questions, emotive language, etc. Variable sentence length is highly effective. You must ensure that your persuasive essay shows academic depth. Avoid what is commonly called "empty rhetoric," or what is basically what it says on the tin. Without supporting evidence and details, all kinds of rhetorical techniques are useless.
TONE
Also, it is worth taking a moment and reflecting on your tone.
Reader! Do you want to fail your next assignment, or would you rather? What would it feel like to be kicked out of your course because you wrote a poor essay? Would you feel disappointed and unable to achieve your career goals?
You would have probably closed this tab quickly if we had started the blog in that way. Maybe you continued reading because you were curious. It is technically a good opening for a persuasive piece. It has a direct address, rhetorical queries, different sentence structures, and emotive language. This certainly grabs attention. However, the tone is totally wrong. It is too aggressive and strong. It is impossible to believe that the exaggerations—"cast out" and "dreams shattered"—are real. It is important to consider your tone carefully. Consider your audience before you decide on the tone and style that will engage them best.
3. NARRATIVE ESSAYS
Narrative writing basically means telling a story. It can be fiction or a true story. For example, college applications might require you to describe a memorable experience or a time that was challenging for you.
Plan, plan, plan!
A good plan is crucial to give your narrative essay structure. There are numerous resources available on narrative structure and plot. It's fascinating to see how they can be applied to short stories, novels, films, and plays. Although you may hear many technical terms such as climax, tension, and resolution, these terms can be very loosely interpreted. For example, a climax is not always a shocking revelation or dramatic escape. It is best to look at how these labels are applied to a movie you're familiar with or a recent episode of a box set.
Your plan should be simple and not include too many events. This is especially important if your word limit is strict. You can't squeeze the entire content of a novel onto a dozen pages. Worst-case scenario: Your writing will become a list.
WRITE IN A PROFESSIONAL MANNER
Write a narrative essay that engages the reader with imagery and vocabulary. There is always room for description.
A few descriptive sentences will suffice to set the scene, even if it is not a long paragraph. It is important to use a narrative voice. You can adapt your voice to explore the thoughts of your characters, even in a simple third-person narrative. If used sparingly, dialogue can be very effective. If your narrative essay is too long and full of long conversations, it might be worse than one that does not move the plot forward.
BE UNIQUE AND ORIGINAL
Then, the importance of originality. It's not difficult to duplicate something you've seen or read, sometimes through accident. Be sure you're not reading your 3000-word masterpiece so that you feel like you've just rewritten the story of the show you watched on Netflix the weekend before!
It is also true for the words you choose to use. Avoid phrases that have become so commonplace that they've lost all significance when the time comes, like white snow or a knife cutting through butter. Similarly, if you are writing within a particular area, do not employ phrases that have been used previously: it was a dark and stormy night... If it is something you have seen in a parody on The Simpsons, it most likely should be avoided.
4. DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY
It is often the most difficult to plan a descriptive essay. Many people find it easier to plan a narrative. They can add new events and keep the story going. It is easy to get bogged down in descriptive writing. There are many ways to achieve structure. This will make your work more cohesive and allow you to add more ideas.
MOVEMENTS
The description you write could be based on the journey you took. Even if the description is not in the first person, you could imagine you are moving around your scene and stopping to record the exact location every time.
TIME PASSING
We have all experienced the way a location can transform after sunset. Some of us may even have gotten up earlier to catch the sunrise. Areas we have been to could indeed appear and feel completely different based on the time of the day. It's not just about what we perceive but also the atmosphere and evoked emotions. Of course, you can utilise time in many different ways to make contrasts and allow yourself to utilise various kinds of words and images. Imagine contrasting a spot in two different seasons or even a tourist attraction during peak and off-peak hours as well as both past and current.
A KEEN EYE FOR THE FACTS
Have you ever visited the sites of professional photographers? One reason why their photos make money is the fact that, generally, they appear to differ from the photos in my camera roll, for instance (fingers towards the lens, people sitting at an angle, and unexpected motion blur). What is amazing, however, is their attention to detail. A wedding photographer will capture the moment that couples laugh together and keep it for eternity. Anyone who records an urban scene will naturally recognise the interesting architectural feature, a reflection of a child's face in a store window, or an old man gazing at a construction site.
Like these photos, an excellent descriptive essay will evoke reality through subtle details. Consider what details you can expand on and how many you can extend.
THE GOLDEN LAWS OF ESSAY WRITING
Regarding essay writing, several guidelines remain constant regardless of the subject matter.
ACCURACY
Be aware that spelling and grammar tests won't pick everything.
PROOFREADING
Even if you are 100% accurate in your work, there are still things you can notice, such as awkward phrasing when reading aloud.
BALANCE
Overview vs. detail: A reader will not feel engaged if they cannot see the larger picture. Equally, if your writing does not provide enough detail, it will appear vague and general.
Readability vs. showing off: Let's face it, you are here to learn how to get top marks. Part of that is displaying your skills. There's nothing worse than an essay with complex sentences and advanced vocabulary that you can't understand.
The first step to getting top grades is understanding the essay type. Knowing the requirements for each type of essay will help you make sure you meet them as soon as you start planning.
ESSAY WRITING TUTOR
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