WRW-The Essay Lesson

The Essay

An essay is a piece of writing on a particular subject. There are four main types of essays used to write about particular topics of interest. The classifications of essays are: Expository, Descriptive, Narrative, and Persuasive. Regardless of the essay type, each essay contains the same components in order to create organization, or cohesion.

Each component of the essay serves a particular role. The thesis statement is a major part of an essay because the thesis statement reveals the subject of the entire essay. All of the ideas, or thoughts and opinions that the writer has on the subject, must relate to the thesis statement. Ideas that relate to each other will be grouped into paragraphs.

Practice

Before we move ahead, use the slide show below and write down the vocabulary words and definitions in order to become more familiar with the terms you will see in this module.

The Four Types of Essays

  1. Expository Essays: The expository essay requires writers to explain or inform the reader about a certain subject. Certain types of essays can fit under the category of expository. Writers can create a comparison and contrast essay that reveals the similarities and differences regarding a topic; they can also define an idea or show cause and effect within an essay. For example, a writer can take two characters in a story and write about how they are similar and different—this would be an expository essay.   
  2. Descriptive Essays: Descriptive essays provide vivid imagery describing an object, person, place, experience, emotion, or situation. With descriptive essays, the writer becomes an artist by painting pictures with words. Writers should use words that create imagery, so the reader can see, smell, taste, touch, and hear the description the author provides. 
  3. Narrative Essays: Narrative essays appear as though the writer is telling a story. These types of essays can be creative writing, but they can also involve personal experiences from the writer's life to get a point across. Although the narrative essay is more like a story, there should still be a reason for the essay. 
  4. Persuasive Essays: Persuasive essays are also known as argumentative essays. In this type of essay, the writer argues an opinion about a topic or idea. These essays need support to persuade the reader that the ideas are correct and believable. Persuasive essays are similar to expository essays, but persuasive essays require more research and support than an expository essay.

Practice

Now, complete this practice activity regarding the various types of essays. Look at the description of the various essays below, and categorize the essay as Expository, Descriptive, Narrative, or Persuasive.

RESOURCES IN THIS MODULE ARE OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER) OR CREATED BY GAVS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. SOME IMAGES USED UNDER SUBSCRIPTION.