Essay guidelines
- How to write an essay
- Types of essays
- Common types
- Argumentative
- Biography
- Cause and effect
- Critical analysis
- Compare and contrast
- College application
- Definition
- Descriptive
- Evaluation
- Explanatory
- Expository
- First person
- Informal
- Literary analysis
- Narrative
- Opinion
- Personal statement
- Persuasive
- Profile
- Reflective
- Rhetorical analysis
- Scholarship
- Statement of purpose
- Length of an essay
- Outlining an essay
- Essay topic ideas
- Introduction
- Body paragraphs
- Conclusion paragraph
- Citing sources in APA
- Citing sources in MLA
- Avoiding plagiarism
- Checklist: Writing an essay
- Academic guides
- Research paper guides
- Writing samples
Home » Essay guidelines » Common types of essays
As we discussed in previous chapters, an essay refers to writing to persuade or inform the readers. Although there are many different types of essays, expository, argumentative, descriptive, and narrative essays are among the most common academic essays.
Narrative essays
Narrative Essay Example
When I was five years old, I always favored exploring new things in streets and different places. I found deep satisfaction in analyzing the things I found when I was walking as a kid. Background: You set the background of your story My grandfather taught me a life lesson that I still don’t forget: Always think good for other people.Theme: You introduce the theme of your narrative essay.
As usual, I was looking for different objects in our backyard, covered with apple trees. When I came down from a tree, I came up with an exceptionally exciting pin needle. The pinhead was cubic, and I could easily put it on the floor, heading upwards. I really didn’t want to hurt someone. I was only shocked by the fact that I found a pin needle with a cubic head, and I started playing with it.Description: This part expands on author’s feelings and story. My grandfather, who was around his 60s, saw me placing the pin needle heading upwards. He warned me –“You can hurt someone walking by putting the pin needle like this, watch out!”Character introduction:This part introduces the teacher of the story. After a while, I somehow left it heading upwards rather than getting rid of the pin needle. When I was running towards the backyard, I stepped on the needle and felt a crazy pain in my hell. Yes, I totally forgot the needle, and I was the one who stepped on it. When the doctor came, I instantly remember my grandfather’s advice.Development:Here you develop and detail your story. The experience has taught me to think more “deeply” when making an action—It may hurt someone even if you don’t want to. I also learned that I should listen to older adults as they have much more experience than us.Conclusion: You conclude your essay, preferably with a memorable sentence.Narrative essay topic example
Tell us about an experience where you learned a life lesson.Descriptive essays
Descriptive essays are used to describe something. Like narrative type, you may use a more creative and detailed language than other types of essays. However, descriptive essays are more focused on a specific subject. More specifically, rather than describing the whole story or incident, you should dig deep into a subject and describe it.
Descriptive Essay Example
Reminder
When writing a descriptive essay, you should choose clear and to-the-point words that describes the setting or a thing perfectly. Therefore, it can sometimes be challenging.Descriptive essay topic example
When writing a descriptive essay, you should choose clear and to-the-point words that describes the setting or a thing perfectly. Therefore, it can sometimes be challenging.Argumentative essays
Argumentative Essay Example Paragraph
- Summarizes and rephrases the significant points in the essay.
- Includes the insights and overall interpretation of your findings.
- Reiterates and rephrases the connection and importance of your thesis statement.
Argumentative essay topic example
The impact of social media on psychology.Expository essays
Expository Essay Example Paragraph
Expository essay topic example
Explain how the Second World War changed the political shape of the world.Textual analysis and critique essays
Rhetorical analysis essay
Rhetorical Analysis Example Paragraph
Important
Rather than deciding on the argument whether the author is right, you simply focus on the construction. That is, the way the author wrote the source text is more important than the arguments.Literary analysis
Literary Analysis Example Paragraph
Important
Themes, language, characters, and settings are among the leading themes of literary essays. The objective is to analyze these elements in a detailed and reflective manner.Frequently Asked Questions
What are the six types of essay?
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What are the types of essay outline?
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What are the 4 types of argumentative essay?
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Contents
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Essay Topic Ideas
In the writing process, generating ideas is the least systematic and most innovative step. Now, let’s continue with the steps you can follow in order to find a topic for your academic essay.
Differences between US and UK English
Your English style should always be consistent throughout the process of writing your research paper, essay, or dissertation. Even though there are more than 160 different English dialects worldwide, American English and British English are known as the most commonly used styles.
Active and passive voice in writing
Active voice and passive voice define how an action is told. While the subject is doing the action in active voice, the person or thing that receives the action comes before the verb in passive voice. You should use the correct verb tense to create a passive voice.
First-person pronouns in academic writing
There are many different perspectives on using first-person pronouns (I, we, our, etc.) in academic writing among various disciplines. While many experts advise using first-person pronouns even in fields of science, there is no consensus.
Common phrasal verbs in writing
The two lists below show commonly used phrasal verbs in academic writing and their one-word synonyms. Although it is academically acceptable to use phrasal verbs, you might want to switch them to their one-word synonyms to make your writing diverse and more professional.
Tense selection in academic writing
Every type of an academic paper (essays, theses, and dissertations) might require you to choose different tenses. This article will show you the different tense selections in different parts of an academic paper.