Essay writing is one of the most common forms of assessment for students today. While all essays have the same basic structure – introduction, body and conclusion – there are different types of essays that serve different purposes.

Knowing the different types of essays and their structures can help you write more effectively for different tasks (and archive better marks😉).

In this article we will explore the five most common essay types you need to know. To make things more interesting and convenient for you, I included some thesis statement examples for each type of essay described from well-known and reputable sources. You will also find the link to each resources so you can also check them out any time.

Expository Essay

An expository (or explanatory) essay aims to simply present factual information on a specific topic without expressing a personal opinion or point of view. It is similar to a news article in the sense that should be written with an objective approach and based on evidence or reliable sources. Hence expository essay or “writing style” is mostly used in magazines, and newspapers, among other technical writing.

In essence, the primary goal is to educate the reader about the subject matter, providing a clear and concise explanation. You can spect to see this type of essay assigned as an in-class or exam task.

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Expository Essay Key Features :

• The topic of an expository essay should be clarified and its aspects should be simply laid out in the opening.

• A well-defined thesis statement should appear in the introductory paragraph, to capture the reader’s attention and provide a clear direction for the rest of the essay.

• Your expository essay’s body paragraphs should contain adequate evidence to back up your thesis statement.

• In the conclusion of your expository essay, you should double check the thesis taking into consideration the evidence presented in the body.

• The transitions between sections of your explanatory essay should be smooth and reasonable.

Here is an Expository thesis statement example take from Britannica on an article about “Snake”.

“The oldest known fossil snake, Eophis underwoodi, was a small snake that lived in southern England about 167 million years ago”.

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Persuasive Essay

The persuasive writing is what many say to be the exact opposite of expository writing we saw above. Here your point of view should be the main subject of this type of essay. To put it in perspective, with persuasive writing, your goal is to try to persuade readers, shape people’s attitudes and beliefs, or encourage them to take action.

As you can imagine, this type of writing style is particularly useful and very important in the marketing industry, where success depends on influencing people.

Persuasive Essay Key Features :

• Make it apparent in your thesis statement that the essay has a point of view. The following is an example of a strong convincing thesis statement:

• Your persuasive essay’s position should be established right from the start. Make sure to keep it consistent throughout the content.

• The body of your persuasive essay should present the arguments in order of importance, from least to most important.

• To persuade your audience, you should use ethos, logos, and pathos.

Below is an extract from Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau.

“Even voting for the right is doing nothing for it. It is only expressing to men feebly your desire that it should prevail.” Read more.

Argumentative Essay

The argumentative essay is a type of writing that requires a comprehensive analysis of a topic, involving the collection and evaluation of evidence. It generally call for extensive research of literature or previously published material.

A detailed and well done research will allow you to gain learn more and understand different points of view about a particular topic. This will give the opportunity to choose a position and support it with the evidence collected during your research.

In the argumentative essay, you need to be able use a persuasive tone to present an unbiased viewpoint to follow based on your research.

Argumentative Essay Key Features:

• Thorough research: Gather evidence to support your position. This involves reading and analyzing various sources to develop a well-informed opinion on the topic.

• Clear thesis statement: State your position concisely. A clear thesis statement should be concise, direct, and arguable. It should clearly state your position on the topic.

• Body paragraphs: Present evidence and counterarguments. Body paragraphs should provide evidence to support your position and address potential counterarguments.

• Logical structure: Follow a structured format (introduction, body, conclusion). A logical structure helps the reader follow your argument and understand your position.

• Persuasive language: This involves using rhetorical devices to appeal to the reader’s emotions and logic to persuade them to accept your position.

Below is an example of a simple argumentative thesis statement about “Diversity and work group performance”. You can click the link to read the full article.

“People tend to think of diversity as simply demographic, a matter of color, gender, or age. However, groups can be disparate in many ways.”

Descriptive Essay

There is no essay with a more obvious title than the descriptive essay. The purpose is to describe something, such as a person, an object, or a location. But at the same time, iIt tests your ability to use descriptive language and paint a picture with your words.

Descriptive essays are a type of writing that most of us might remember from our middle or high school days. Typically, for this kind of assignment, we are (or were) asked to write about a place we have visited, talk about someone we admire, or describe a particular situation.

This is exactly the kind of writing (speaking ) style I was required to use when I took my last IELTS test. More precisely, I was asked to describe “a famous person I knew well.”

In simple terms, a descriptive essay requires you to vividly describe a person, place, object, or experience in a way that allows the reader to imagine and understand it clearly. The main goal is to see how well you can express yourself in writing and discuss your own experiences.

Descriptive Essay Key Features:

Here are the main key points you should focus on when writing a descriptive essay:

• Try to describe every aspect that surrounds your subject or an experience without missing anything.

• Provide your readers with a detailed description that makes it easy to follow what has been happening (or happened).

• Avoid leaving your readers confused or in suspense as they finish reading your descriptive essay.

• Use descriptions and literary devices like metaphors, repetitions, or allegories to better convey the idea you are trying to portray.

• Focus on all the important points that help inspire and create a picture in readers’ minds.

• Describe the subject in a way that engages all five of the reader’s senses. Provide details about what it looks like, sounds like, smells like, tastes like, and feels like.

Below is an extract from Henry David Thoreau’s famous poem, “Smoke In Winter”

“The sluggish smoke curls up from some deep dell,
The stiffened air exploring in the dawn,
And making slow acquaintance with the day.”

Narrative essay

The definition of “narrative essay” (or writing style) is comparable to that of a story. It could be moving, emotive, anecdotal, or thought-provoking. Here, you are free to use first-person pronouns in your writing, and most importantly originality is encouraged.

In a narrative essay, you must include an introduction, characters, plot, setting, climax, and conclusion. You should also follow all tale rules. A book report is the only type of narrative assignment that does not require you to adhere to a plot structure. Why? Because this non-personal, non-emotional storytelling is informative.

Narrative Essay Key Features:

• The main focus of your narrative essay is the thesis. Make it obvious why you choose to convey the narrative, even though it doesn’t have to seem as formal as other academic papers.

• While first-person narration is not required, it is indeed highly recommended.

• Don’t move from one point of view to another. Keep the third-person narrative consistent throughout the text if you choose to do so.

• A narrative essay is more like a work of fiction than a scientific paper. Use expressive words to elicit an emotional response from the reader.

• Despite the fact that this is not a traditional five-paragraph essay, it should include an opening and a conclusion. A half-completed piece of writing is just as awful as one that is overly wordy.

And here is a four line extract from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

‘God save thee, ancient Mariner!
From the fiends, that plague thee thus!—
Why look’st thou so?’—With my cross-bow
I shot the ALBATROSS …’

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