Types of Essays

Prof. Mara LunaIntermediate English

UPR – Rio Piedras Campus

What is an Essay?• An essay is a prose composition which presents a

writer’s perspective on a subject.• Most essays attempt to discuss a topic, convince

the reader of a thesis, or simply communicate a personal experience or belief. An essay can be fairly brief or quite long.

• It is a versatile and flexible literary form.

What is an Essay?• Unity and coherence are characteristics of well-

written essays. • Any topic can be the subject of an essay. • As it has been suggested, an essay is, indeed, a

very flexible literary form that enjoys the freedom that other forms of literature do not have.

There are four types of essays

• Narrative• Descriptive• Argumentative• Expository

Narrative Essay• Deals with the telling of a personal

experience.• Therefore, presenting time - whether in a single

personal event, a series of related events, or a historical occurrence - is one key element of narrative prose.

• Commonly, the events are presented in chronological order. Nevertheless, the writer is free to move around in time and organize the events from present to past using the technique called a flashback.

Narrative Essay• A flashback provides a break in the straight

chronological order of narrating events. Its purpose is to introduce material or information from the past. The writer must connect each event in the time span to other events that come before or after.

• Transition words of time serve as bridges to connect the various moments in the narrative pattern. In the narrative essay there must always be some purpose for the telling of events, a purpose that goes beyond the story itself.

• The narration of events is just a means to an end, a way to support a central idea or thesis.

Descriptive Essay• Uses sensory images to present a vivid

picture of someone or something. • Descriptive writing relies on sensory images that

appeal to the sense of sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste. Often these images are made more effective by the use of figurative language.

• The author’s feelings about the subject are clearly expressed in the controlling idea of the thesis sentence.

• All details are carefully selected to convey the author’s feeling through the creation of a dominant impression of its subject.

Descriptive Essay• To create that impression the author may use

descriptive language that is objective, straightforward, precise, and factual. This kind of language is called denotative and it makes use of neutral dictionary meanings.

• If the description is subjective, the writer may use connotative language, that is, language which suggests or implies something beyond the dictionary meaning.

• In brief, a word’s denotation is the specific dictionary meaning of a word. Connotation, however, refers to the suggestive quality of words, the feeling(s) or impression(s) that a word may awaken in the reader.

Descriptive Essay• Descriptive writing must have an organizational

pattern that supports the dominant impression of the subject.

• Details in descriptive essays are usually arranged spatially (from top to bottom, left to right, near to far, interior to exterior), but they can also be arranged emphatically (more important to less important, less striking to most striking).

• Details could also be organized according to the sensory images they evoke.

Argumentative Essay• Tries to convince the reader of some opinion

or persuade the reader to take action on an issue. Argumentation makes an appeal to the reader’s intellect.

• When a writer is trying to persuade, the writer will also make a strong appeal to the reader’s emotions. In this type of essay, the author takes a stand by offering a judgment of value, an interpretation of events, or a proposed course of action and then providing reasons for readers to agree with it.

Argumentative Essay• The position of the writer is clearly stated. A good

thesis statement is crucial to the essay. • This stated position is an idea that can be debated

or disputed, and towards which the writer must take a definite side.

• The reader must know what the writer’s position is, and must see that the central idea is supported with convincing reasons.

• To support each minor proposition, a writer must offer evidence such as statistics, facts, historical events, news reports, interviews, personal experience, and testimony from authorities.

Argumentative Essay• In addition to presenting the argument logically

and convincingly, the writer must also recognize and deal with opposing arguments.

• Since there has to be more than one side to any debatable issue, the writer must acknowledge the opposition.

• By effectively refuting rival propositions the writer can make a more convincing argument.

• In short, an argumentative essay is ultimately as strong as the logic that the writer brings to it.

Expository Essay• Informs, explains or analyzes a topic. • In this kind of essay, the thesis or controlling idea

is frequently referred to as a generalization (a statement that mostly applies to a group of things, ideas, or people).

• This generalization can be a value judgment, an opinion, or a factual statement.

• Specific details help prove or support the generalization or thesis.

• Factual details, examples, and illustrations are often used as support.

Expository Essay• The ideas in an expository essay are organized in a

logical manner. Order of importance and order of familiarity are two of the most frequently used forms of logical arrangement for expository essays.

• Although the paragraphs in expository essays can be developed in many different ways, some of the most common methods of paragraph development are: o classification, o comparison and contrast, o analogy, o examples and illustrations, o process analysis, o cause and effect, o and definition.

Remember…• However, it is important to keep in mind that

most essays are not pure specimens. • For example, an expository essay may begin

trying to convince the reader that a particular point of view or a particular brand of a technological device is the best.

• Or the essay may begin with a very brief narrative.

• In like manner, an argumentative essay may include some exposition.

ReferenceELEMENTS OF THE ESSAY• Prepared by Prof. Lydia A. López-Ruiz, 2005• Expanded by Prof. Brenda A. Camara & Prof.

Vanessa Irizarry, 2007• Revised by Prof. Lydia A. López-Ruiz, 2011

• University of Puerto Rico – Rio Piedras Campus• College of General Studies• English Department