Ten types of essays every student needs to know

Essay writing is among the standard academic tasks students do as they contribute to your GPA and better understanding of specific concepts taught in class. You will be required to write different types of essays.

Thus, it’s essential to hone your essay writing skills. These skills are easy to sharpen once you understand the various categories of essays and how to go around them.

Most essays take the common format of introduction, body section, and conclusion; however, the content of the essay depends on the prompt.

The approach taken towards writing an argumentative piece will differ from the one used in a paper that aims to persuade readers. So, what are the different types of essays? Let’s explore.

Compare and contrast essays

Essays of compare and contrast nature require one to distinguish between two subjects or identify their similarities. You can be asked to give the distinctions and similarities between books, historical characters, countries, and events, among other things. So, you should understand the differences and similarities of the subjects.

A trick here is to start with the side with stronger points. For instance, highlighting the differences before the similarities if the differences are stronger and require much attention. Another hack for acing these essays, like experts at an essay writing service Australia, is to conduct extensive research. Proper research will ensure you are well-informed about the topics you must compare.

Narrative essays

Narrative pieces allow the writer to explore their creative side by telling a personal story or a narration they can relate to. Personal stories often narrate what you have experienced and how they have shaped you.

Thus, narrative writing gives the reader a clear picture of how such experiences have affected you and the lessons learned. An important thing to note is that the paper should be written in the first person to build a rapport with readers.

Argumentative essays

Among the different kinds of essays, you’ll encounter in college, argumentative essays will be one of the most interesting ones.

Argumentative writing requires evaluating a subject, collecting evidence, and developing an argument supporting or opposing the topic. To compose a perfect argumentative paper, you must conduct extensive research to understand the different perspectives.

Once you understand the various points of view, it will be much easier to decide whether to support or oppose the topic. Also, you should convince the reader that your stance is appropriate.

Therefore, the paper should contain proven facts and vivid examples to support all arguments. Additionally, an argumentative piece should contain both supporting and opposing points. However, the side you have selected should have more points.  

Critical essays

Students often need clarification on critical and summary essays since both involve reviewing a source text.

The primary difference between these two is that you should not give your take on the source text for a summary essay, while a critical essay requires you to analyse an original text. To craft a good critical essay, consider the author’s arguments, thesis statement, and perspective.

Focusing on such information helps you develop a critical analysis and find relevant materials to support or oppose arguments made in the text.

To compose a quality critical essay, read the text more than once to comprehend better the issues you will be criticizing. The first reading is to get familiarized with the text. The subsequent readings are for noting the primary arguments and issues you will analyse.

Cause and effect essays

Cause and effect types of essays give a chronological analysis of events and their consequences, whether positive or negative. If the event has several causes and effects, you should analyse each in different paragraphs.

For accuracy, the paper should indicate the connection between the cause-and-effect elements. Therefore, research thoroughly and comprehend the subject before drafting the paper. 

Process essays

Process essays are closely related to the cause-and-effect essay, especially since one must read and comprehend the subject.

The key distinguishing factor is that a process essay is similar to a manual since it gives instructions on how something is done. Thus, the essay can be used to give a step-by-step explanation of a process.

Descriptive essays

Descriptive types of essay writing require students to give detailed information about an object, experience, place, situation, etc.

Depending on the prompt, give your descriptive essay a meticulous elaboration that paints a clear picture of a certain object, emotion, or place, even if the reader has not had the experience before.   

Persuasive essays

A persuasive paper is often mistaken for an argumentative essay and vice versa.

While argumentative writing presents both sides of an argument and then takes a stand, persuasive writing aims to shift the reader’s perspective completely and agree with you about a particular topic.

Therefore, in a persuasive essay, you have to convince the reader that your opinion is correct by using proper word choices and backing your assertions with facts and vivid illustrations.

Expository essays

Different type of essays has different purposes.

And when it comes to expository writing, the assignment will aim to test your knowledge of a particular topic and your ability to evaluate it, gather evidence to explain it, and write a concise argument.

Thus, the primary role of an expository paper is to educate the reader on a certain topic. A well crafted expository piece indicates how knowledgeable the writer is about a given topic and their ability to use facts and observations to give more credibility to a topic.

Definition essays

A definition essay is a type of expository writing where one is supposed to explain the meaning of a particular subject or terms. The essay requires a deeper explanation of specific terms beyond the dictionary definitions.

Wrapping up

As a student, you will be required to write different essay genres. While they might share similar features, such as structure, they differ in context.

Some of the essays you will be assigned will aim to narrate a story, criticise a scholarly work, persuade the reader, or educate them.

Nevertheless, a common thing about all types of essays in college is that you will have to conduct extensive research to develop solid content and arguments for your paper.