Student’s Guide: 14 Essay Types from the Easiest to the Hardest One

09 April 2020

Being the most common type of written assignment, an essay is known by students of all ages. This task is an inevitable part of the educational program. Starting from middle school and all the way to college or university, everyone faces it.

Since this type of task is being assigned to students at all stages of their education, it has a significant influence on one’s final scores. That’s why mastering the art of essay writing is vital for overall academic success. This article is your comprehensive guide, from which you will learn what academic writing is and what are its different types.

What Is an Essay?

According to the general definition, it is a short academic paper that discusses a given topic from a specific point of view. As a rule, the subject is presented from the student’s own angle.

Typically, such papers are short. However, depending on several aspects, such as the subject, type of essay, or teacher’s instructions, the length of the text can vary. The common format for such paper is based on the five-paragraph structure. It consists of an introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

The general purpose of the task can vary depending on its type. For example, some essay types are created to inform readers about the given topics and some are analytical. Others can have a purpose to persuade someone of something.

This type of task is currently a part of every academic program in schools and colleges. Therefore, it is vital that every student could handle it to ensure a high GPA.

14 Essay Types from the Easiest to the Hardest One

Writing this type of academic work is, by no means, a simple matter, which is why many students struggle with such assignments.

Luckily for those who lack time for their homework or simply can’t cope with the task, there are professional writing services. Sites like https://essaypro.com/custom-essay.html can deliver high-quality academic help to anyone in need. However, if you want to hone your skills and cope with the task on your own, this guide will come in handy for distinguishing different types of essays.

Simple:

1) Descriptive

This is probably the easiest type of work. In a nutshell, a descriptive paper is the one that describes something (a person, object, phenomenon, event, etc.) in detail. The author’s goal is to provide a clear description adding vivid details. They need to help readers see, feel, smell, hear, or taste what is described.

As a rule, this task is short, it follows a standard structure, and doesn’t require in-depth research.

2) Narrative

The second easiest type of academic paper is a narrative essay. Its main purpose is to tell a story. Similar to the previous task, it requires using plenty of details in order not to tell but show a story to readers. It is a creative task that most students handle with ease.

3) Process

The next rather simple type of work is a process essay. As you could already understand from the name, its goal is to describe a certain process. The author needs to break down the process of doing something into a set of smaller sequences and describe each step so that readers could do it after reading a paper.

4) Comparison and Contrast

The goal of such a paper is to make either a comparison, contrast, or both between two or more similar or different things. This form of assignment is rather simple as all a student needs to do is to analyze different objects and define what they have in common or what differs them.

5) Cause and Effect

The main purpose of this task is to reveal the interconnection between certain things or actions. A writer needs to explain what caused them and what effect they can have. As a rule, students find this kind of assignment rather simple. However, the level of complexity depends on the object or topic that has to be explained.

Medium Level:

6) Review

This form of assignment requires a student to review a particular piece (usually, a book) and discuss its merits and demerits. Although such papers often follow the standard format and may not be too difficult to write, many students find it challenging. Such an essay requires a solid understanding of the book’s content and a lot of research.

7) Explicatory

Such papers are most often written about novels, poems, and short stories. The purpose of the assignment is to explain a literary piece so that a reader could easily understand it.

8) Critical

A critical essay is another assignment often written on a specific literary piece. The purpose of the paper is to give a thorough evaluation of the chosen piece based on its strong and weak sides.

9) Analytical

When writing an analytical paper, the author has to analyze a specific topic, concept, or a literary piece from different angles, providing supporting arguments. This kind of work requires in-depth research, so it can be quite time-consuming.

10) Rhetorical Analysis

This work is similar to the previous one. However, as a rule, a rhetorical analysis paper is written about a piece of rhetoric or speech and has a purpose to assess it based on the rhetorical strategies and tools that have been used in a piece.

Complex:

11) Definition

The main goal of such work, as you could understand from the name, is to give a clear definition of a concept or idea. What makes it a complicated assignment is that you must have a solid understanding of the concept to be defined. Only that will allow you to create a high-quality definition essay.

12) Expository

This form of work has the goal to explain a complex concept or idea in detail to make readers understand it with ease.

13) Argumentative

An argumentative paper is one of the most time-consuming and challenging types of essays. This type of assignment requires conducting an in-depth research and collecting valid data (arguments) that would support the author’s ideas.

14) Persuasive

Another complicated kind of work is a persuasive paper. Similar to the previous type of paper, it should provide valid arguments to support certain ideas. However, what makes it even more complex is that the author has to use different techniques to persuade the readers of the correctness or incorrectness of certain ideas.

Read Also:

Content Rally

Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

View all posts

All Comments

I appreciate your ability to simplify complex concepts into accessible chunks. Well done!

Reply 2023-10-18 20:02:43

5 Things You Need To Know Before Hiring A Ghostwriter

A Ghostwriter is the master of the writing craft. They are the go-to guys for homework assistance, ebook or novel writing when you don’t have the skills or time required to create an engaging piece. However, to avoid costly mistakes, time wasting and ending up with a bad fit for the job, here are five important things that you should know before hiring one. Different Factors To Consider Before Selecting A Ghost Writer 1. Experience and writing style: There is more to hiring a ghostwriter than going through their profiles or reviews. You need to know what the writer is bringing to the table. Else, the purpose of getting the service of the writer will be defeated. Once you found someone that fits the bill, schedule an interview with them to get to know their personality and years of experience, and if they have ghosted a similar project. It is equally important to ask for a customized sample written according to your specifications. This is because you can’t take the pre-written examples ghostwriters offer for it. Moreover, the ideal writing styles vary based on the content types. For instance, how I’ll craft the words for a fiction book will be different from how I will do if I am writing my essay. So get a personalized sample to make sure that the ghostwriter’s style suits your project, there is no better way to find out. 2. The cost: Different ghostwriters charge different amounts. Sought-after “A-list” ghostwriters with a proven track record of producing bestsellers command about a million dollars or more per book. On the other hand, newbies or lower-end writers, especially those sourced from freelancing sites charge between $ 5,000 to 25,000 to pen a book. You can also get it done for less but get ready to hire a copyeditor to help you cut out the fluff and errors and bring the content to life. If you can afford it, it’s better to hire an experienced ghostwriter with many bestsellers under their belt. Though this does not mean that the book you’ll get will also be a bestseller, it will surely be up to standard and meet publisher’s expectations. The reason is that such writers are highly skilled in plot writing, and know how to hook readers right from the very first page. Other things that can influence the price include word count – the more it is, the higher the cost – and the time you want the job delivered (be ready to pay more if you expect the book within a short time frame). 3. Expected delivery time: How soon the job will be completed depends on you, the ghostwriter and the word count. If you have already done the background research on the topic and have prepared an outline, the writer can get straight into writing. However, if you have not, the ghostwriter will have to do it themselves, so it will take more time to finish the job. A seasoned, fast writer should be able to churn out about 2000 words per hour. It can take more though, if the task is a bit complex or if the topic requires a lot of creativity and imagination. At this rate, you should expect to get the delivery of a 20000-word eBook or novel within 7 to 10 days tops. So ask the ghostwriter when they can complete the task without rushing or sacrificing quality. 4. Word Count: Another important thing you will want to know before hiring a ghostwriter is the number of words that you want the book to be. The mode of publishing and your budget are two things that should shape your decision. There are specific word limits that the book must meet whether you plan to use a publisher or take the self-publishing route. You don’t want your book rejected after the ghostwriter has completed the job just because it is below the limits. Also, you should choose your book’s word count according to your budget. If you can’t afford more than $200, then your word count should be on the lower side. You’ll need to hire a ghostwriter whose rate is $0.01 per word to get a 20000-word book. 5. Words per page: The number of words that should be on a page is an important thing that most people who hire ghostwriters don't always give thought to. Though the ballpark figure is 500 words per page[1], it can change based on the font you want to use, the line spacing, and page size. If you intend to include pictures to make the book an attractive read, then this number will be lower. The number of words that should be on a page also depends on the type of the book (whether it is more of dialogue or exposition-heavy). Conclusion: Lack of skills or time should not be the stumbling block to your dream of bringing out the book in you. Whether you need homework assistance, report or novel writing, ghostwriters can get the job done. However, for successful collaboration, you need to know things such as the cost, expected delivery time, word count and so on before hiring a ghostwriter. Read Also: Can Dogs Help Writers Stay Positive During Stress? 10 Easy Ways For Students To Improve Their Writing Skills Features Image: unsplash.com

10 Top-notch Tools to Improve Your Business Writing Skills

Even if you only write an email, the ability to effectively communicate is essential once you enter the business world. Unfortunately, not everyone has good writing skills, no matter if you are a student writing a paper on a descriptive essay topic, or a business person crafting a business letter to your partner or competitor, and even those who do, need to bend those skills in order to fit the business style of writing. 10 Top Notch Tools to Improve Your Business Writing Skills Just as the case with most things today, technology has come up with tools to make our writing lives easier. Here are some tools you can use to improve your business writing skills. 1. Grammarly : Grammarly is a writing enhancement tool. Being familiar with Microsoft Word’s spelling and grammar check facility, most of us use this feature whenever we type in a document. However, Grammarly’s grammar checking capabilities take it beyond Microsoft Word finding more than 250 types of grammatical errors. Although a bit expensive, you only have to copy and paste your text to find out the errors. 2. Dragon Dictation : In times when you have to do a lot of multi-tasking, this application makes your life easier. With this app, you do not have to type, you only have to speak and it types the text for you to see and send it anywhere. You can easily send business messages, emails or even personal notes. 3. Email Excellence : It is often a challenge to send an effective email, one that the recipient would want to respond to. Email-excellence has a number of templates that you can choose from. You not only get most of your work done for you but also receive advice that you can use in creating future emails. 4. Gorgias Templates : Often it is the case that you have to send similar emails to different people. Instead of typing the same message, again and again, you can use this tool to create templates for Gmail, Outlook or Yahoo. This is a Chrome extension that will make your life much easier and your email routine much faster and efficient. 5. Dictionary and Thesaurus : With these tools, you can find synonyms, definitions, and sentences of almost any word in the language. When you notice repetition, you can use Thesaurus to find smarter words with similar meaning to make your style more versatile. 6. Readable.io Making your text understandable is a key part of business writing. Your sentences should be brief and comprehensive. Readable is an online tool that you can use to test the readability of your text and improve it if necessary. It’s important to keep the reading level of your audience in mind. 7. ProWritingAid : This online app/site is a great tool for you. Even professional business writers need help from time to time. This is an online editor that helps check your grammar, along with other features which include spelling and grammar checker, improving readability, finding overused words and plagiarism detector. Just paste your work into it and it will show you an analysis of your writing. 8. OneLook Reverse Dictionary and Thesaurus : Unlike an ordinary dictionary in which you type the word and get a complete definition, in this dictionary, you can type in the concept of what you are thinking and it will give you a list of words so you can pick one which best describes your thought. Have you ever been stuck because you knew what you wanted to say but couldn’t think of the right word? If yes, then this will be a very helpful tool for you. 9. Freemind : A mind-mapping tool that can create a visual representation of ideas. If you do analytical writing, for instance, writing a case study, then this is an invaluable tool for you! When your mind is firing ideas at you, you need a place to store them, otherwise, you often forget them. This tool will help you so much in the process. 10. Gmail Templates : These templates are handy for you if you have a similar message to send to many people. However, be sure to proofread your messages as templates are a common area for typos. Your eyes become familiar with the text and it is difficult to spot an error. Business writing can be stressful and fun. When you express yourself through powerful content, you are appealing to your reader and are building a strong business relationship. There are lots of other tools out there, but the ones mentioned above are some that you will always find useful. Read Also : Argumentative Writing – The Skills You Need To Develop Top 5 Benefits Of Writing Term Papers Top 7 Things To Take Into Consideration When Selecting Essay Writing Service

Put Your Pen to Paper With Ease

An essay is generally a piece of writing that expresses information as well as the author’s own opinion. Aldous Huxley says The essay is a literary device for saying almost everything about almost anything. Writing an essay seems to be a dreaded task. It can be quite challenging to write an essay. One can have vast ideas, a lot of thinking in his mind, but its really hard to translate your ideas into written words. Writing an essay is a large project, but we can take some tricks and methods which will break down the task into manageable parts. The first and foremost thing is, selection of the topic, it can be a general overview of the subject else a specific analysis, so you have to filter your focus. Once you get the topic in your mind, start brainstorming, collect a lot of ideas and relevant data. Do research through a various online and offline medium, collect as much as supportive data, so that you can get a good flow to your writing. Let's consider some important steps to get into essay writing: Outline your ideas To write an essay you have to organize your thoughts. You have to put your thinkings in the paper, so that you can get a clear view of your thinkings and ideas related to your essay. With this process, your essay can be written in an organized way. With the outlining process, the views and ideas can come across in a clear and logical order. What’s Your Thesis After the vast research and brainstorming make a thesis statement to your essay topic. It's important because with this your entire essay will revolve around. It is mainly one sentence and it says what the essay is all about. It will be the central idea of the essay. A thesis statement tells the reader what the essay will be about, what point the author will be making. So keep it main but short and simple. Introduction It is the presentation of your position. It grabs the reader’s attention makes them want to read on begin with a hook.it should be designed to attract the reader’s attention and gives an idea of the essay. The introduction should begin with an attention grabber and it should offer a short, concise summary of the main points. Let’s give a sneak peek into the three main part of essay writing: Body Composition Use your outline as a guide and start composing the main body. You need not deviate from your thesis statement. Here write down your main ideas and write your supporting points to give a clear view of your ideas. You have to make a clear elaboration. The more you elaborate the more one can get understand. But you have to keep this in mind that, your elaboration should not be out of the track, unnecessarily lengthy, last but not the least boring. Conclusion Here you will emphasize the points or arguments discussed in the main body. You can provide a synopsis before closing. The conclusion brings closure to the reader. Summing up your points and providing a final perspective on your topic. Finishing Touches Check the order of your paragraph. Good title. Include relevant information. Double-space in the lines. You should use the correct margin. Try not to use the same words/phrases again and again. Structure your sentence eye-catching. Good writing doesn’t happen accidentally, at first it may not be a masterpiece but good research, and practice can make it icing on the cake. Read other people’s essays and It will help you to improve your own writing style. The wider you read, the maximum possible styles are bound to come. Accurate, effective use of advanced vocabulary. Learn a word a day. Use the start a vocabulary b. Essays are a chance for to showoff widely read you are, So quote other people’s options.write down quotations which will be particularly useful. Check to spell, punctuation grammar. When you are writing, the most important consideration is making yourself easy for readers to understand. Effective punctuation is vital in conveying your thinking. The main thing is to check spelling, punctuation, and grammar. For this, you can use various online writing tool as well as online punctuation corrector. This tool can make your essay and writing sound and readable. It will make your writing picture perfectas well as effective. That is why using of Grammarly, Whitesmoke and Paper rater will be really helpful in case of online punctuation corrector. Once you are complete, revise for clarity and consistency, revise for technical errors and make your essay truly accepted. Read More: Tips For Writing The Resignation Letter In A Professional Way 7 Tips For Writing A Perfect Cover Letter Topic Sentences And Thesis Statements: How Do They Differ? The Best Dissertation Service With Personal Manager