Essays are an important part of the academic curriculum. Whether you’re a newbie high-school essay writers uk or a professional custom essay writer, knowing the fundamentals of essay writing is important before you scribble down words onto the paper.
Writing an essay is also a science; it goes through rigorous planning, improvement, trial, test and failure, and breakthroughs. But do you know what does a scientist need to perform a successful experiment? They have to get their basics right!
Similarly, if you want to write a remarkable essay, you need to first brush up on your basics.
Types of academic essays
Like any writing form, essays also exist in different shapes and sizes. Every student must know each type and its format. Oftentimes, professors assign assignments with proper instruction about essay type, format, and word count limit. Your essay can either be formal (academic), professional or personal.
While there might be a thousand types of essays in the world of academics, we will list down the most common ones that you will likely be assigned in school, college or university.
Expository essay:
Also known as a definition essay, expository is derived from exposition (noun: expose). It is the most basic essay type and usually focuses on informing readers without making any claims or arguments. Expository essays are usually short pieces designed to answer the question directly. This type of essay tends to illustrate, simplify, explain or clarify something so that it becomes comprehensible for readers.
It’s just meant to answer the question directly. For example: “How are computers made?”
2. Persuasive essay:
The word “persuasive” is derived from the verb “persuade,” which means “to convince someone.” It is a genre of essay writing that takes a stance – either in favor or against it – on a particular issue or argument. In a good persuasive essay, a writer employs all the convincing techniques to prove a point with the help of supporting evidence. It consists of a thesis statement in the introduction, body paragraphs where writers add counter-arguments to back up their stance, and a conclusion.
3. Analytical essay:
Analytical refers to breaking down something into simpler versions or the explanation made with dissecting or analyzing topics from every angle. It quite different from the rest of the essays in the list, as its objective is to explain a topic bit by bit to enhance readers’ understanding. Analytical essays can be written on a particular piece of literature or a process or an idea. In literature, analytical essays are meant to criticize an author’s writing skills or the overall narrative.
4. Narrative essay:
A narrative essay, also described as a reflective or personal essay, fuses personal experiences with an academic argument. In this essay type, writers use personal experiences to make a point. A narrative essay can either be non-fiction or autobiographical; hence, it can be written from the first-person perspective.
They are more creative in nature and free of fact-based writing usually used in journalism and research papers. Here, authors have full command over the format, styling, and words they choose to demonstrate their central idea. Other forms of narrative essays include personal statements, scholarship essays, college application essays, etc.
5. Descriptive essay
As the name suggests, a descriptive essay focuses on describing a particular event or object using vivid sensory details (smell, taste, touch, sight, and sound). Unlike expository essays, descriptive essays are more creative in nature and allow writers to use imagery to tell a story or make an argument.
That’s all for now. If you have something to add to the list, please drop it in the comment section.
