The Most Common Types of Essays
TYPES OF ESSAYS
There are many different types of essays and each type has a different purpose. The following are just a few of the most common types of essays. |TYPE |DESCRIPTION |EXAMPLE TOPICS | |Expository Essay |Gives directions or instructions about how to complete a task, |- How to water ski or snow ski | | |or how something is done. |- How to juggle work and school | | | |- How to lose friends | | | |- How to win an argument with your parents | |Cause/Effect Essay |Focuses on a condition or situation and asks either why? (Cause)|- second hand smoke (effects) | | |or what is the result? (Effect). |- poor grades (causes & effects) | | | |- staying up too late (effects) | | | |- teen suicides (reasons why & effects) | |Definition Essay |Defines a topic both concretely (dictionary def.) and abstractly|- Responsibility (facing the consequences | | |(extended def.). A dictionary often defines a word three ways: |of one's actions) | | |1. the term |- Best friends (what they are and are not) | | |2. The class to which it belongs
There are many different types of essays and each type has a different purpose. The following are just a few of the most common types of essays. |TYPE |DESCRIPTION |EXAMPLE TOPICS | |Expository Essay |Gives directions or instructions about how to complete a task, |- How to water ski or snow ski | | |or how something is done. |- How to juggle work and school | | | |- How to lose friends | | | |- How to win an argument with your parents | |Cause/Effect Essay |Focuses on a condition or situation and asks either why? (Cause)|- second hand smoke (effects) | | |or what is the result? (Effect). |- poor grades (causes & effects) | | | |- staying up too late (effects) | | | |- teen suicides (reasons why & effects) | |Definition Essay |Defines a topic both concretely (dictionary def.) and abstractly|- Responsibility (facing the consequences | | |(extended def.). A dictionary often defines a word three ways: |of one's actions) | | |1. the term |- Best friends (what they are and are not) | | |2. The class to which it belongs