An essay is a short piece of writing on a topic and presents the author’s point of view on the matter. It is a pure non-fiction presentation of the writer’s outlook on the topic that is the focus of the essay.1 An essay should be structured in different sections that make it easy for the readers to read and follow the author’s thoughts clearly. It is composed of the introductory paragraph, supporting paragraphs and the summary paragraph. The introductory paragraph is the first paragraph of an essay. It brings the main idea of the essay. It captures the interest of the reader and notifies why the topic is important. Another important part of an essay is the main body or the supporting paragraphs. In these paragraphs, the main idea is discussed.
The points are cited one by one to develop the main idea of the essay. Aside from the introductory and supporting paragraphs is the summary paragraph which comes at the end of the essay. In this paragraph, all the ideas in the supporting paragraph are explained through a conclusion. By reading this part alone, the reader should be able to understand the whole idea of the essay.2 Since an essay can describe, clarify, argue or analyze, it has different types.3The four major types of essays are narrative, descriptive, expository and persuasive essays. In a narrative essay, the writer tells a story about a real-life experience. When writing this type of essay, writers should try to involve the reader by making the story as vivid as possible.
How to Write a Reader-Friendly Essay
Good writing is never merely about following a set of directions. Like all artists of any form, essay writers occasionally find themselves breaking away from tradition or common practice in search of a fresh approach. Rules, as they say, are meant to be broken. But even groundbreakers learn by observing what has worked before. If you are not already in the habit of reading other writers with an ...
A well-crafted essay builds towards a conclusion or making a personal statement. The second major type on the other hand which is the descriptive essay, paints a picture with words. A writer might describe a person, place, object, or even memory of special significance. The descriptive essay strives to communicate a deeper meaning through the description. This uses colorful words and sensory details. The third type is the expository essay. This essay is an informative piece of writing that presents a balanced analysis of a topic. Moreover, in this type of essay, the writer explains or defines a topic, using facts, statistics, and examples.
Lastly is the persuasive essay. While like an expository essay in its presentation of facts, the goal of the persuasive essay is to convince the reader to accept the writer’s point of view or recommendation. In this type of essay, the writer should present all sides of the argument, but must be able to communicate clearly and without equivocation why a certain position is correct.4 Despite having many types of essays with various compositions, they have one thing in common. All essays are collection of interesting ideas which are thoroughly organized to assure that readers are able to fully understand the main ideas of the essays.
1 “What is an essay,” <http://www.essaycapital.com/what_is_an_essay.htm>. 2 “Parts of an Essay,” <http://www.customessaypaper.com/essay-help/parts-of-an-essay.htm>. 3 Grace Fleming, “What is an Essay,” <http://homeworktips.about.com/od/collegeprepglossary /g/essay.htm>.
4 “Types of Essays: End the Confusion,”<http://www.time4writing.com/writing-resources/types-of-essays/>.
