Types of Essays

Lecture 7

Recap

I. What is an Outline? A. Sentence outline B. Topic Outline

II. Purpose for Using an Outline A. To help organize key ideas in writing an essay or

research paper B. To help summarize key ideas in reading C. To help you develop subtopics

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• An essay is an organized collection of your thoughts on a particular topic.

• An essay consists of three major parts:

1. Introduction2. Main body3. Conclusion

WHAT IS AN ESSAY?

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Writing Process

• Pre-writing Stageo Pre-writingo Free-writingo Note keepingo Brain stormingo Mind Mapping

Writing Stage Re-writing

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• Essays can be either:o Long or Shorto Serious or Humorous o Formal or Informalo Can describe your opinions

or be a synopsis of expert opinions.

WHAT IS AN ESSAY?

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Writers use essays to: • Describe or define a subject (What is an Essay?) • Compare related items in a subject

(The Difference Between Apples and Oranges) • Show cause and effect (If You Write It, They Will

Read) • Write a narrative (My Summer Vacation) • Explain a process (How to Write an Essay) • Deliver an argument (The Case Against Essay

Questions) • Critique (My Least Favorite Movie)

WHAT IS AN ESSAY?

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How to Write an Essay

A successful essay should meet a number of other criteria. Consider these points to perfect your essay writing skills:

• Before starting your essay, think of the main objective that you set for yourself and keep it in mind throughout your writing.

• Make sure you know what you are writing about. • Try to start each paragraph with a topic sentence, then develop it in

the following sentences, and end with a conclusion. • Do not be afraid to go into details. • Be creative in your writing. • Do a thorough proofreading after you have completed your essay.

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Types of EssaysThere are many different kinds of essays. The following are a some of the most common ones:

• Descriptive Essay• Definition Essay• Compare and Contrast Essay• Cause and Effect Essay• Narrative Essay• Argumentative Essay• Critical Essay• Evaluation Essay• Analysis Essay• Reflective Essay• Expository Essay

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Descriptive Essay

The descriptive essay provides details about how something looks, feels, tastes, smells, makes one feel, or sounds. It can also describe what something is, or how something happened. These essays generally use a lot of sensory details. The essay could be a list-like description that provides point by point details.

Examples: A descriptive essay could describe . . .

* a tree in my backyard; * a visit to the children's ward of a hospital;

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A definition essay attempts to define a specific term. It could try to pin down the meaning of a specific word, or define an abstract concept.

Examples: A definition essay may try and define . . .* the meaning of an abstract concept, like love;* the true meaning and importance of honesty; * how the meaning of family goes deeper than just your blood relatives.

2. Definition Essay

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The compare/contrast essay discusses the similarities and differences between two things, people, concepts, places, etc.

• A comparison essay usually discusses the similarities between two things

• the contrast essay discusses the differences. Examples: A compare/contrast essay may discuss …* the likenesses and differences between two places, like New York City and Los Angeles; * the similarities and differences between two religions, like Christianity and Islam; * two people, like my brother and myself

Compare/Contrast Essay

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The cause/effect essay explains why or how some event happened, and what resulted from the event.

• A cause essay usually discusses the reasons why something happened

• An effect essay discusses what happens after a specific event or circumstance.

Examples: A cause/effect essay may explain . . .* why a volcano erupts, and what happens afterwards;

Cause/Effect Essay

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The narrative essay tells a story. It can also be called a "short story."

• Conversational in style• Tells of a personal experience

Examples: A narrative essay could tell of ...* my brother's and my fishing trips; * a boring trip to the grocery store; * my near-death experience at the beach.

Narrative Essay

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An argumentative essay is one that attempts to persuade the reader to the writer's point of view. The writer can either be serious or funny, but always tries to convince the reader of the validity of his or her opinion.

Examples: An argumentative essay may persuade a reader that . . .

* he or she should use public transportation instead of driving

* cats are better than dogs

Argumentative Essay

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A critical essay analyzes the strengths, weaknesses and methods of someone else's work.

A critical essay can be written about another essay, story, book, poem, movie, or work of art.

Examples: A critical essay may analyze . . .* how Shakespeare presents the character, Hamlet, in his play, Hamlet;

* the strengths and weaknesses of the movie, Bol;

* the use of color in Monet's painting, Sunflowers.

Critical Essay

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• Each day we face various facts and scenes, and to act adequately we need to develop our assessment of them.

• Writing an evaluation essay is a good way to size up a certain item, phenomenon, entity, or any other object.

Examples:– a vacation spot;– a new restaurant;– an educational website;

Evaluation Essay

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• In reflective essay, you express your thoughts and emotions about certain events or phenomena.

• Writing this type of essay is good training to sharpen your critical thinking skills, as well as your ability to develop and express opinions on a particular topic.

Examples:– a trip to an exotic place;– a book that you have recently read;

Reflective Essay

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• An analysis essay assumes that you break a larger subject into subcategories– then examine each subcategory to form an opinion

about the whole– explain how each subcategory is interrelated and

come up with your own conclusionsExamples:• Economic crisis and the rate of unemployment;• Replacing School Textbooks With Laptops

Analysis Essay

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• They are pieces of scholarly writing which describe or examine a process of some kind in a comprehensive way:– analyze a concept– describe and explore a written work or an event; – explain detailed instructions or a description of a

method or procedureExamples:• The Influences of Culture and Environment• The Internet and Society

Expository Essay

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Common methods of beginning: Cohesion and Coherence

• The introduction and the conclusion, although very important, are often relatively short• The bulk of an essay, both in form

and substance, is contained in the main body

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1. The introduction is intended to lead the reader into the topic and clarify what the essay will specifically deal with;

• usually consists of one paragraph• the amount of background information the context requires• Introduction will contain a key sentence (or, if necessary,

more than one).

2. The main body deals with the major ideas that support the statement;

• Each main idea is presented in a separate paragraph• developed with supporting ideas in the form of explanations,

definitions, or similar, and illustrated with examples where appropriate or necessary.

3. The conclusion brings the reader back to the purpose of the essay and draws all the points together before making a final comment on the result of the discussion.

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Ultimately an essay will show a progression from a general level (in the introduction) down to the specific (the statement and body) and back up to the general level again(conclusion). The reader will be expecting this so it gives your essay a sense of completion. In other words, the essay must have Coherence and Cohesion

• Coherence means connecting your ideas together in a logical way, depending on the type of essay you are writing.

• Cohesion means using pronouns, conjunctions etc. to tie the ideas in your essay together.

COHERENCE AND COHESION

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References

• http://academichelp.net/academic-assignments/essay/