Essay: Introduction, Types of Essays, Tips for Essay Writing

Whether you are studying English, history, sociology, biology, or art, you will have to write essays as part of your course. With that said, writing an essay can be hard—even for professional writers. If you know the basics, the task will get easier for you. 

This post is about essays. We will discuss what an essay actually is, the types of essays, and then provide some tips that may help you write better pieces. 

What Is an Essay, Really?

An essay is a short piece of writing set around a specific subject or topic. The goal of writing an essay can be to propose an argument, present an idea, initiate a debate, or express the writer’s emotions. 

However, the definition of an essay is somewhat vague because it overlaps with those of a paper, a letter, a pamphlet, an article, and a short story. Traditionally, essays have been classified as formal and informal.  

Types of Essays

There are basically four types of essays. Here they are: 

• Narrative Essays

In a narrative essay, the writer narrates a story or incident. In general, a narrative essay includes a set of characters, a plot, and a location. 

The plot can be used as a way to narrate events in the story. While writers are expected to maintain the order of time, they may go back and forth in time and use flashes of history. 

When writing this type of piece, make sure you use fine details so that the reader can feel the emotions you are trying to convey. And mention the point of the essay early on, but not in the introductory paragraph. 

A narrative essay is different from a fictional story because the former is based on facts. It should be written in the first or third person. 

     2. Descriptive Essays

The main characteristic of a descriptive essay is the detailed description of something like an object, a place, a memory, or an event. But the description is just an aspect of a piece like this. 

The writer must use language in a way that contributes to a mental picture. The goal is to convey the mental picture to the reader. Describing the look, smell, or taste of something effectively evokes the readers’ senses. 

Writing a good descriptive essay can be challenging for someone who does not have a way with words. For this, and a host of other reasons, many students are using professional essay writing services these days. A super busy student with a part-time job can easily get in touch with an essay writing service and get a paper written by a professional writer. Even serious students occasionally use professional writing services. 

• Expository Essays

The goal of writing an expository piece is to go deeper into a problem. For this, the writer puts a lot of emphasis on the balanced presentation of a topic. The writer should conduct research and learn about the subject before starting to write. 

Storytelling may be an aspect of an expository paper, but it should go beyond that. The goal is to explain an idea with the help of facts. 

When writing an essay like this, make sure you use simple language and provide several points of view on the subject. In general, the subject of an expository essay is difficult to understand, and that is why it is important to write clearly and concisely. 

If you want to get your essay written by someone else for whatever reason, be sure to choose a reliable writing service. There are plenty of companies out there, but unfortunately, most of them are unreliable. Whether you choose Paperleaf or any other company, hire a qualified writer to get the job done. It can be highly rewarding to learn what to look for in a writing service. 

• Persuasive Essays

The purpose of writing an argumentative essay is to convince your readers about a point of view or opinion. It is not a mere presentation of facts.  You try to convince your readers that they should join your side of the argument. 

When you claim in an argumentative piece, you must use facts to support the claim. The key is to discuss both sides of the argument and show that one side carries more weight. 

Tips for Essay Writing

• Use clear and concise language, make every word count. The sentences should be crisp and simple. Unnecessary and complicated words hamper the flow of writing. 
• Give your essay an appropriate and interesting title. A good title is an attention grabber. It piques the curiosity of the reader. 
• Take formatting and structuring seriously. Learn about the citation rules of MLA, APA, Chicago, and Harvard, and apply them. In an essay, you should stick to a particular citation style. 
• By all means, avoid grammar mistakes. Use correct spellings and punctuation. Making grammar mistakes is one of the surefire ways to distract the reader. 
• Plan and prepare your argument before you present it. It will help you take an informed point of view or position. 
• Use reasoning, evidence, and scholarship. Evidence is basically concrete information that backs up your claim, and reasoning establishes a connection between your evidence and your argument. Use scholarship to show that your argument is actually based on existing materials on the topic. 

Final Thoughts

Writing an essay requires some level of creativity, but the technical aspect is equally important. When writing an essay, you should have a pretty clear idea of what type of piece it will be and how you should approach the task. Writing is like any other skill. The more you write, the better you get at the craft.