The Different Forms and Styles of Essay Writing Free Essays

eEssay An  essay  is a piece of writing which is often written from an author’s personal  point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including:  literary criticism, political  manifestos, learned  arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition of an essay is vague, overlapping with those of an  article  and a  short story. We will write a custom essay sample on The Different Forms and Styles of Essay Writing or any similar topic only for you Order Now Almost all modern essays are written in  prose, but works in  verse  have been dubbed essays (e. g. Alexander Pope’s  An Essay on Criticism  and  An Essay on Man). While brevity usually defines an essay, voluminous works like  John Locke’s  An Essay Concerning Human Understanding  and  Thomas Malthus’s  An Essay on the Principle of Population  are counterexamples. ————————————————- Forms and styles This section describes the different forms and styles of essay writing. These forms and styles are used by a range of authors, including university students and professional essayists. Cause and effect The defining features of a â€Å"cause and effect† essay are causal chains that connect from a cause to an effect, careful language, and chronological or emphatic order. A writer using this rhetorical method must consider the subject, determine the purpose, consider the audience, think critically about different causes or consequences, consider a thesis statement, arrange the parts, consider the language, and decide on a conclusion. Classification and division Classification is the categorization of objects into a larger whole while division is the breaking of a larger whole into smaller parts Compare and contrast Compare and contrast essays are characterized by a basis for comparison, points of comparison, and analogies. It is grouped by object (chunking) or by point (sequential). Comparison highlights the similarities between two or more similar objects while contrasting highlights the differences between two or more objects. When writing a compare/contrast essay, writers need to determine their purpose, consider their audience, consider the basis and points of comparison, consider their thesis statement, arrange and develop the comparison, and reach a conclusion. Compare and contrast is arranged emphatically. Descriptive Descriptive  writing is characterized by  sensory  details, which appeal to the physical senses, and details that appeal to a reader’s emotional, physical, or intellectual sensibilities. Determining the purpose, considering the audience, creating a dominant impression, using descriptive language, and organizing the description are the rhetorical choices to be considered when using a description. A description is usually arranged spatially but can also be  chronological  or emphatic. The focus of a description is the scene. Description uses tools such as  denotative  language,  connotative  language,  figurative language,  metaphor, and  simile  to arrive at a dominant impression. [9]  One university essay guide states that â€Å"descriptive writing says what happened or what another author has discussed; it provides an account of the topic†. Lyric essays  are an important form of descriptive essays. Dialectic In the  dialectic  form of essay, which is commonly used in  Philosophy, the writer makes a thesis and argument, then objects to their own argument (with a counterargument), but then counters the counterargument with a final and novel argument. This form benefits from being more open-minded while countering a possible flaw that some may present. Exemplification An exemplification essay is characterized by a generalization and relevant, representative, and believable examples including  anecdotes. Writers need to consider their subject, determine their purpose, consider their audience, decide on specific examples, and arrange all the parts together when writing an exemplification essay. [ Familiar A familiar essay is one in which the essayist speaks as if to a single reader. He speaks about both himself and a particular subject. Anne Fadimannotes that â€Å"the genre’s heyday was the early nineteenth century,† and that its greatest exponent was  Charles Lamb. [13]  She also suggests that while critical essays have more brain than heart, and personal essays have more heart than brain, familiar essays have equal measures of both History (thesis) A history essay, sometimes referred to as a thesis essay, will describe an argument or claim about one or more historical events and will support that claim with evidence, arguments and references. The text makes it clear to the reader why the argument or claim is as such. [15] Narrative A  narrative  uses tools such as  flashbacks,  flash-forwards, and  transitions  that often build to a climax. The focus of a narrative is the  plot. When creating a narrative, authors must determine their purpose, consider their audience, establish their point of view, use dialogue, and organize the narrative. A narrative is usually arranged chronologically. Critical A  critical  essay is an  argumentative  piece of writing, aimed at presenting objective  analysis  of the subject matter, narrowed down to a single topic. The main idea of all the criticism is to provide an opinion either of positive or negative implication. As such, a critical essay requires research and analysis, strong internal logic and sharp structure. Each  argument  should be supported with sufficient evidence, relevant to the point. Other logical structures The logical progression and organizational structure of an essay can take many forms. Understanding how the movement of thought is managed through an essay has a profound impact on its overall cogency and ability to impress. A number of alternative logical structures for essays have been visualized as diagrams, making them easy to implement or adapt in the construction of an argument. I just don’t know how these people live their lives pointing out the imperfections of other people? To think that those good people have nothing against them, and still they make issues about them. Isn’t it very immature of you to talk about other people everyday? Don’t you like get tired of being mean? Yeah, some people have rough edges, but is it right to blurt them out to everybody? To like tell everybody that this guy or this girl have these weird allergy and stuff, do you feel good about yourselves spreading those to everybody? â€Å"But I’m just saying the truth†Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ B*tch please,  being honest is different from being a rude. If you have nothing good to say about others, then shut it. They don’t live their lives for you. They don’t live to impress you, and to be perfect just to hear your applauses. Whores, better stop whorin’ about other people ‘cause mature people wouldn’t stoop down to your level. You’re just proving how uneducated you are in terms of morals. How to cite The Different Forms and Styles of Essay Writing, Essay examples