Guide on the Different Types of Essay Writings & their Features
TYPES OF ESSAY – Here is a list of the different types of writings, the characteristics of each, and the skills tested when writing.
A lot of different activities are usually done at school. One of the tasks usually assigned by the teachers to students is to write an essay about a certain subject. In most cases, the type of essay is not specified but there are situations when you really need to have a knowledge about the different types of essay.
There are actually many types of essay. To be able to distinguish one from the other, it is best to know their characteristics, the goal in writing each type of essay, and the skills they test on the part of the author.
Here is a list of the different writings and a description about their main purposes and how they differ from each other:
Narrative Essay
Among the many types of essay, the most popular is the narrative essay. It is usually used in telling stories and is often written from the first person point-of-view. The author usually writes about his/her personal experiences.
In writing a narrative essay, creativity in the presentation of a story is tested. Writing this type of essay also tests the imagination of the author.
Argumentative Essay
Also called the Persuasive Essay, this type of essay is written to expose a rational argument supported by facts. The intention is often to persuade or convince the reader to agree with the author but this type of essay can also be written in the pursuit to investigate topics fairly.
The writing of an argumentative essay tests the authors stand on particular topics as well as the ability to do in-depth research to support the stand. The arguments must be evidence-based.
Cause and Effect Essay
As its name suggests, this type of essay is written to explain in-depth the cause of a certain incident or phenomena. It is an expository writing that state facts and avoid subjective opinion. It uses the analytical structure to show the relationship between two (2) things.
Writing this type of essay tests the author’s research skills as well as understanding on how things happen. It will also test the writer’s capacity to present the explaination in a comprehensive way.
Compare and Contrast Essay
Also one of the types of essay is the compare and contrast essay which, as its name suggests, a piece of writing with the purpose of compare and contrasting or writing down the similarities and differences of two people, animals, event, things, etc.
Informative Essay
One of the most common types of essay written by college students is the informative essay which presents facts about something from an in-depth research. It aims to provide a body of knowledge to the readers about a particular subject.
Reflective Essay
Have you been assigned to write a reflection after watching a film or doing an activity? It is a Reflective Essay that you will be writing and it is personal as it explores the point of view of the author towards a subject.
