Have you been assigned an essay and you’re not sure what’s expected of you? Here’s a range of guides to each of the different types of essay and assignments most often given to students. Using our guides, you’ll be able to choose the right essay structure to fully address what is being asked of you. We also have an overview of essay types here. Underneath the essay writing guides on this page you can read a guide to breaking down the essay question.
Purpose Writing a business research proposal is a useful exercise, which can help students develop critical thinking skills and enhance their career opportunities. The proposal is the first attempt to tackle the issue interesting to the writer and/or the business community. The business research proposal serves as a mean to introduce the concern and as … Read more
You need to reference all of your sources for your dissertation properly. Before we talk about referencing, let’s talk plagiarism. To “plagiarise”, according to the dictionary, means 1. to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own 2. to use (another’s production) without crediting the source 3. to commit literary theft … Read more
A review essay examines a piece of writing, a film or some other form of art, but it differs from a literary essay in a couple of key ways. A review essay is evaluative. That means that its purpose is to tell the reader whether the work is good or not and whether the work … Read more
Purpose Response essays are typically assigned as a precursor to a evaluative essay or to a critique. These papers are typically written in response to a short literary passage, an editorial, a speech, or an artistic work. The response essay is useful because it gives students the opportunity to express their opinions in a professional manner but … Read more
A guide to writing effective research proposals This article explains how to write a research proposal, including the purpose of the proposal, what to include, the structure and common problems that are encountered by students as they research or write their proposal. Purpose of the research proposal A research proposal may have several purposes, including to receive … Read more
In a literary essay, a writer analyzes some aspect of a piece of literature. Topic Literature is made up of elements such as character, symbolism, theme, language and structure. The best way to approach a literary analysis is to choose an element of the story, poem or novel to focus on and think about what … Read more
Purpose The purpose of the deductive essay is to guide students in the process of using deductive reasoning. In Western countries, deductive reasoning is the most commonly used method to arrive at a valid conclusion. Deductive reasoning uses facts to draw a conclusion. For example, a simple deductive argument might be “Only depressive students exhibit the following … Read more
Purpose The exploratory essay is designed to research a topic, and to present that research. This paper does not draw conclusions or make recommendations. Because the exploratory essay asks students to gather information about a topic without synthesizing the sources in a sophisticated manner, such as the traditional argumentative paper, instructors often assign this paper as … Read more
What is the extended essay? The extended essay is an independent research project on a topic chosen by the student working in collaboration with their supervisor. The extended essay puts forward a well-reasoned argument in relation to a research question. This essay is a formally presented scholarly paper that should not exceed 4000 words (approximately … Read more
The familiar essay is a type of essay that has fallen by the wayside in most primary and secondary school curricula because it is difficult to write. The familiar essay is a personal reflection on an elevated topic, such as “people worth knowing,” or “How religion informs morality.” It is similar to a personal essay because the observations are unique … Read more
Purpose An illustration essay is the simplest form of argumentative essay. The point of an illustration essay is to prove that something exists. For example, a topic of an illustration essay might be sexism in the workplace. The main argument would be that sexism exists in the workplace, and illustrative examples are offered as evidence. Topics Choosing a … Read more
An informal essay, unlike most formal academic essays, puts the writer and maybe even the audience front and center. An informal essay can cover a variety of topics, and it may overlap with other essay types such as the persuasive. How the informal essay is approached will depend on the topic. Informal Essay Topics Informal … Read more
Purpose The personal statement is usually used as part of the criteria for admission into a graduate program. There are often dozens of applications for one spot in a graduate program, and the personal statement helps the graduate school admissions counselors determine which students are most suitable for the program. Criteria Universities rarely offer concrete prompts or … Read more
In persuasive writing, the author is trying to convince the audience to agree with a point of view. Persuasive essay writing differs from an academic argument in that an academic argument uses reason and logic to persuade its readers while a persuasive paper may rely on other techniques such as emotion. Persuasive writing examples can be found … Read more
A process essay explains how something is done. It gives the reader specific instructions. Topic One key to a successful process essay is to choose a task that has the appropriate level of difficulty for the length of the essay. A writer may struggle to fill three pages with directions for making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but … Read more
As well as understanding what type of essay you are being asked to write, sometimes, looking at the wording of the question helps you to understand more about the content of the essay that is expected. These are terms commonly used in essay questions:
Account for
Your tutor is asking you to explain or clarify an issue, or give reasons for something.
Analyse
Your tutor will expect you to resolve the essay question into component parts, examining the issues critically and minutely. It is likely you are being asked to write an analytical essay.
Assess
For this type of essay, you are being asked to determine the value of or weigh up a particular piece of evidence, statement or fact.
Compare
When asked to compare, you are required to look for similarities and differences between issues, perhaps reaching some conclusions about which is preferable. See compare and contrast essays.
Contrast
Your tutor here wants you to set different perspectives in opposition in order to bring out the differences. See compare and contrast essays.
Criticise
In a critical essay, you are being asked to make judgments (backed by the discussion of the evidence or reasoning involved). See critical essays.
Define
As you might expect, here you are expected to state the exact meaning of a word or phrase. In some cases it may be necessary or desirable to examine different possible meanings or often used definitions. See definition essay.
Describe
When asked to describe, you are expected to give a detailed or graphic account of a particular issue. See descriptive essay.
Discuss
If your tutor asks you to discuss an issue, you are expected to explain the issue, then give two or more sides of the issue and any implications
Evaluate
If asked to evaluate, you are expected to make an appraisal of the worth or validity or effectiveness of perhaps an issue, statement or piece of evidence in the light of its truth or usefulness (similar to assess).
Explain
When required to explain something, you need to make the meaning of it plain, interpret what is set out for you and account for it, i.e. give reasons why something is the case.
How far..?
Some essay questions begin ‘How far…?’. These require that you determine to what extent something is true. Usually this requires looking at evidence or arguments for or against, and weighing them up.
Illustrate
If your tutor asks you to illustrate something, you need to make the particular issue or point clear and explicit. It is a good idea to use carefully chosen examples.
Interpret
When required to interpret a particular statement, fact or issue, you need to explain the meaning of it, make everything clear and explicit, and usually giving a judgment or opinion on the issue in question.
Justify
When asked to justify something, you need to show adequate grounds for decisions or conclusions, and to answer the main objection likely to be made about them.
Outline
Students are often required to outline a particular issue. This type of essay requires you to give the main features or general principles of the subject, omitting minor details and emphasising structure and argument (similar to summarise).
State…
This type of essay simply requires you to present a particular issue or fact in a brief, clear form.
Summarise…
An essay requiring you to summarise something needs to give a concise, clear explanation or account of the issue in hand, presenting the main factors and omitting any minor details and examples (similar to outline).
