English Essays : Learn Offline

Learn about types of essays, format, and tips for essay-writing.

Did you know the word ‘essay’ is derived from the Latin word ‘exagium’, which roughly translates to presenting one’s case? So essays are short pieces of writing representing one’s side of the argument or one’s experiences, stories, etc. Essays are very personalized. So let us learn about types of essays, format, and tips for essay writing.

An essay is generally a short piece of writing outlining the writer’s perspective or story. It is often considered synonymous with a story or a paper or an article. Essays can be formal as well as informal. Formal essays are generally academic in nature and tackle serious topics. We will be focusing on informal essays which are more personal and often have humorous elements.

An English essay is an organized and analytical discussion and interpretation of a work or works of literature in English. There are many approaches to writing an English essay, but most start with you closely and actively reading, responding to, and thinking about the text(s) being written about.

Types of Essays

The type of essay will depend on what the writer wants to convey to his reader. There are broadly four types of essays. Let us see.

Narrative Essays: This is when the writer is narrating an incident or story through the essay. So these are in the first person. The aim when writing narrative essays is to involve the reader in them as if they were right there when it was happening. So make them as vivid and real as possible. One way to make this possible is to follow the principle of ‘show, don’t tell’. So you must involve the reader in the story.

Descriptive Essays: Here the writer will describe a place, an object, an event or maybe even a memory. But it is not just plainly describing things. The writer must paint a picture through his words. One clever way to do that is to evoke the senses of the reader. Do not only rely on sight but also involve the other senses of smell, touch, sound etc. A descriptive essay when done well will make the reader feel the emotions the writer was feeling at the moment.

Expository Essays: In such an essay a writer presents a balanced study of a topic. To write such an essay, the writer must have real and extensive knowledge about the subject. There is no scope for the writer’s feelings or emotions in an expository essay. It is completely based on facts, statistics, examples, etc. There are sub-types here like contrast essays, cause and effect essays, etc.

Persuasive Essays: Here the purpose of the essay is to get the reader to your side of the argument. A persuasive essay is not just a presentation of facts but an attempt to convince the reader of the writer’s point of view. Both sides of the argument have to be presented in these essays. But the ultimate aim is to persuade the readers that the writer’s argument carries more weight.

Now there is no rigid format for an essay. It is a creative process so it should not be confined within boundaries. However, there is a basic structure that is generally followed while writing essays. So let us take a look at the general structure of an essay.