Various higher educational establishments, including colleges, pay specific attention to their learners’ writing skills. Therefore, students are frequently tasked with composing essays. Consequently, to improve their academic performance, learners should be aware of different types of essays in college curricula. Essays may focus on any sphere of life, concept, event, or issue. The ability to design well-structured and coherent essays characterized by a logical flow of ideas is valued among college learners.
Types of Essays
Every learner should be aware of the four principal categories of essays, namely expository, persuasive, descriptive, and narrative essays. If you are good at composing such papers, you are likely to have an excellent academic record. Nevertheless, you should pay attention to other kinds of essays as well. The section below presents information about diverse types of essays in college.
The aim of a descriptive essay is to portray a particular object or phenomenon. Besides objectively depicting a certain subject, this type of essay frequently aims to provoke an emotional response. Authors tend to utilize vocabulary that allows them to vividly present their subject matter. Moreover, authors often employ various literary devices (like personification, idioms, allegory, etc.) to strengthen their arguments and convey their messages in different essay types. The purpose of a descriptive essay is to describe a phenomenon in such a manner that readers who might have not seen or heard of it understand it in a better way.
The objective of an argumentative essay is to persuade readers that a certain point of view is correct. It is quite challenging to compose a convincing argumentative essay. To prove a point, an author must provide sufficient credible information. Some people are not easily convinced. Therefore, to make them accept a particular view, it might be necessary to provide accurate numeric data or information. In addition, referring to reliable sources may also prove beneficial. Moreover, it is essential to construct a clear thesis statement and base the whole paper on it. Lastly, the usage of such rhetorical devices as logos, pathos, and ethos can help make an argumentative essay more effective.
Cause and Effect Essay
A cause-effect essay explains a relationship between certain events, namely how one event or action leads to the other. This type of essay can deal with different phenomena, including business, financial, economic, and social ones. The principal objective of an author is to explain the reasons for particular results. Thus, to compose an effective cause-effect essay, it is essential to clearly identify the reason why a certain event occurred. Such expressions as “therefore,” “as a result,” and “consequently” can help to make a stronger argument.
Compare and Contrast Essay
This type of essay entails discussing the dissimilarities and the common features of certain phenomena. Some assignments may require you to compare two different objects, while others might task you with discussing only deviations. To effectively compare and contrast two notions, it is necessary to use relevant signal words and apply critical thinking.
A definition essay involves explaining the meaning and the nature of a certain notion. For instance, such an essay may define a theory, category, process, appliance, or any other term or notion. An author must describe an object or a phenomenon in such a way that a person who is not aware of it gains a profound understanding of it. It is essential to provide background knowledge, explain terms that might be unknown to the target audience, and construct fathomable examples.
A narrative essay is a less formal type of an essay. Therefore, it is not characterized by a predefined structure and does not have to adhere to strict guidelines. A narrative essay may feature informal expressions, contractions, and colloquialisms. In addition, emotional language and biased views might be utilized in such essays as well. The aim of a narrative essay is to tell a story in the manner in which famous writers do that.
This type of essay entails assessing a piece of writing. An author is supposed to demonstrate objectivity. Therefore, a critical essay is usually devoid of biased opinions. The purpose of this type of essay is to evaluate different aspects of a work, determine its strengths and weaknesses, and provide a critical account of its content and the way it is organized. Critical essays are usually elaborate and complex academic works that are meant to follow concrete guidelines.
The purpose of this type of essay is to describe a certain process in detail. For example, such an essay may recount the actions involved in the cooking of a certain meal or the crafting of a certain product.
An expository essay should feature a clear thesis statement. In addition, to design a quality expository essay, an author must conduct an adequate investigation of an issue under analysis and organize the paper in a proper manner.
The objective of this type of paper is to convince the audience that a certain opinion is correct. To make a trustworthy case, an author should apply rhetorical devices. An author must reinforce own views while disproving any potential opposing opinions. It is essential to present credible information and, at the same time, be respectful to potential opponents.
Students should be aware of different types of essays in college curricula since their academic record directly depends on the way they handle such assignment. Numerous courses require students to compose multiple courses in the course of study. Thus, learners should become proficient in different types of writing if they want to write essays in a time-efficient manner.