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Getting Started (Part 14): Types of Essays By Joanne D. Kiggins
One of the steps in planning your essay is deciding what type of essay you will write. There's more to writing an essay than simply putting words on paper. Every essay should have a purpose and that purpose an audience. Some essays are written to inform, some to explain, some to entertain, and some to persuade the reader.
Each writer should carefully match what he or she wants to say and accomplish with a particular type of writing. To do this you must match your topic and purpose to the type of essay that will effectively communicate your ideas to your audience. In any essay you write, you should always have an objective in mind. That objective will determine the type of essay and its content.
You've probably read dozens of essays in your favorite magazine or local newspaper. Were you able to identify the essay's purpose? Were you able to define what type of essay you read?
Here you'll find a list of the most common types of essays, their definitions, and the purpose the essay should accomplish.
Expository/Process Analysis: Here a writer explains, gives directions or instructions about how a thing or a process works or "how to" complete a task. This type of essay is written with facts or examples and is presented in a chronological order.
Cause/Effect: In a cause/effect essay the writer focuses on a subject or situation and explains the relationship of a subject and its cause or the effects it had on something or someone. The essay should ask why (cause) and/or explain the result (effect).
Persuasive/Argumentative or Pro/Con: In this type of essay, the writer supports his or her opinions with facts, examples, and reasons, trying to convince the reader to agree with his or her point of view. The writer's opinion on the subject is argued by either presenting objections (argumentative/con) against the subject or support (persuasive/pro) for it; the writer presents points supporting his or her position by reasoning and understanding.
Compare/Contrast: This essay is used to compare two ideas, concepts, people, places or things, etc. Writers should show the subjects' similarities (compare) and/or the differences (contrast). This essay can be written to show insight on a subject, convince the readers of the benefits of the subject, or simply to entertain the reader.
Definition: The writer chooses a subject to define completely by its (dictionary definition) term, category or class to which it belongs, and/or characteristics that distinguish it. A dictionary often defines a word three ways: The term, the category or class to which it belongs, and the characteristics that distinguish it, e.g., path (term): a trodden way (category), route or course (characteristic). The writer can simply define the term or go deeper into the subject by implying the definition and allowing the reader to infer the meaning.
Narrative/Personal: A narrative or personal essay is a writer's own account of an event or personal experience and is usually written in first person point of view. This type of essay should tell a story in conversational style.
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This month I'll explain the expository/process analysis essay.
As stated above, this type of essay contains factual information meant to inform the reader, convey information, define a process, or give directions and/or explain the "how to" process of something. The process tells the reader how to do something or how something works. The purpose of the essay is to explain the process so instructions may be easily followed and clearly understood by the reader.
This type of essay is written in a direct, objective, and straightforward manner and is presented in chronological order. It should have an explanatory purpose and an informative tone.
The expository essay should follow the same three-part structure of any standard essay, but the thesis statement should be completely explanatory.
The opening paragraph of the essay should present a statement of fact.
The body of the essay should clarify the statement with facts and develop the explanation with objective information on the subject.
Supporting information should supply the reader with specific examples and details to give him or her an understanding of the facts about the subject.
All information should be in a logical, organized form and develop the most important aspects of the main topic.
All of the main ideas in the expository essay should represent statement of fact. Support for these facts normally includes verifiable information from experts or reliable sources, such as books, almanacs or encyclopedias.
Be informative and concise:
Questions to consider when preparing an expository or analysis essay:
Possible Topics:
Cars Mythology Early explorers Cameras Photography Extinct species Earthquakes Volcanoes Snakes
Let's say you chose cameras for a subject. List several statements of fact.
Statement of fact: A camera is used to take a picture. Statement of fact: There are several types of cameras. Statement of fact: The camera was invented by Joseph Necpore Niepce in 1826.
List questions to determine whether the essay will be an analysis of a topic or explanation or how to do something. Using the first statement of fact, I've listed possible questions to develop and essay.
As you see, by the list of statements of fact and questions, this subject could be broken down into several essays that could explain how to complete a task or about how a thing or process works. It's simply a matter of gathering the supporting information and arranging it in a clear, concise chronological order so the reader will have an understanding of the subject or idea.
Now try your hand at writing an expository or process analysis essay. Use one of the possible topics listed above, or make your own list.
The list can be endless!
In the following months, we'll discuss how to develop other essays, how to plan and write your essay, and list available markets for essays.
Joanne will accept questions by e-mail about writing from readers and answer those questions in her column.
E-mail Joanne: joannedkiggins AT comcast.net
Visit her site at http://home.comcast.net/~joannedkiggins
Joanne Kiggins has published more than 2,500 articles. Her most recent articles were published in ByLine Magazine, Writer's Digest, Absolute Write, and Moondance. An excerpt from the mystery suspense novel she is currently writing, Unearthed, placed her in the top ten finalists of the Absolute Write Idol contest. Her co-authored romance novel Unforgettable Journey placed fifth in the Grand Beginnings romance contest in March 2005. Her essay, "Perseverance," is published in the Absolute Write Stories of Strength anthology, for which 100% of the profits will be donated to various disaster relief charities.
For more columns by Joanne Kiggins, please click here.
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