Types of Essays

Essays ( or Themes ) usually have the following structure:

*Introduction   (tell the reader what you will say)

*Body  (say it)

*Conclusion     (say what you have said, summary)

​

There are many ways in which the different types of essays have been described,  from 4 different types  to as many as 15. 

​

1.   Narrative Essays (a) tell a true story about yourself (autobiographical), (b) tell a true story about someone else (biographical), or (c) telling a fictional story with one or more characters..

​

2.  Descriptive Essays  or Process Essays tell how to do something.  For example,  recipes or instruction manuals describe processes.

        

3.  Expository Essays use resources to explain more about a topic.   Newspaper articles are examples of expository writing.

 

 4.  Analytical Essays  (breaking the subject of the essay into distinct parts and discussing

  each part).   For example,  you are asked to write an analytical essay when you are asked to (a) compare and contrast, or (b) specify a cause and effect. 

 

5.  Pursuasive Essays.  These essays require that you try to convince the reader of something. 

 These include evaluative essays,  essays that involve argumentation, and synthesis essays. 

 

A discussion of these and other types of essays can be found here.  View both the page and the links within. ​

​