How to write an argumentative essay and other types of essay?

If you study the humanities, then during your studies you will write many different essays that require certain skills and methods of presenting the information. Some texts fit in just a few paragraphs, others should take up a couple of pages. To prepare high-quality material, it is important to understand what task you are facing. As a student I struggled with academic writing, so most of the time I chose to write my paper with WritingAPaper writers online. Their writer can support in writing any type of essay.

We suggest you familiarize yourself with 7 popular types of essays before you are asked to write them.

Four main types of speech

When searching for information on different types of essays, you will find that many online resources talk about four types of speech:

 

• conviction;


• description;


• narration;

 

These are the most common rhetorical techniques that are used to convey information to the reader. These techniques are the tools that the author uses when preparing a particular type of speech

Types of essay

If you have received a task to prepare an essay, using one of the 4 types of speech may be part of the task. For example, you may be asked to write an argumentative text about the new policy at the university (should it be implemented or not). In your essay, you should express your personal opinion about this policy, reflect on its benefits and negative aspects. Convincing techniques in this case are more useful than ever.

Knowing the features of the 4 main types of speech helps to better understand the texts you are working with. When reading an essay, try to determine what type of writing the author uses. To do this, study the structure of the material, its tone, the words used, and how the topic is presented. This will help to analyze the work at a deeper level, as well as to write a stronger author's project.

7 types of essays

Argumentative

In this paper, you are for or against a certain position. For example, the task may be to speak out about the policy of the educational institution.

A good argumentative essay is not based on emotions. Rather, it convinces the reader of the merits of the author's position with the help of statistics, facts, and logic. In most cases, reasoned essays contain fragments of convincing writing.

 

 

Personal

When preparing a personal essay, you need to think about what has shaped you as a person. Tell us about events, people, or social phenomena that have had a strong influence on you. Perhaps you have read some works that have radically changed your idea of values, norms of morality? Or, in adolescence, you met a wise person who helped you decide who you are.

In a personal essay, authors often use narrative to correctly describe events. However, the text can be descriptive or explanatory, it all depends on the content.

Political

This work is a reflection on the topic of politics, modern social foundations. Students have known many authors of political essays since school: Thomas Hobbes, John Rawls, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

The peculiarity of these works is that the author not only analyzes the situation but also suggests the best way to solve the existing problem. As a rule, an explanatory or persuasive type of writing is used in a political essay.

Comparative

Students write this type of work most often. In such an essay, it is necessary to present the main differences and similarities between two objects/phenomena, comparing them and contrasting each other.

You may be asked to compare two works of art, the ideas of two thinkers, two methods that are used to achieve the same result, and so on. A comparative essay more often touches on two objects of comparison, but sometimes there may be 3-4 of them.

Most often in such texts, the method of explanation is used. If the author needs to persuade the reader to a certain position (in favor of one or another object of comparison), persuasion can be used.

Essay for admission to the university

Many prestigious educational institutions require such work from applicants, otherwise, it is called a "motivation letter". It helps the commission to weed out freeloaders who do not intend to study hard and to accept only responsible students into the circle of students.

In the essay for admission to the university, you need to tell about yourself: to reveal those qualities and skills that make you an ideal student. Describe why you chose this particular university among others, what attracts the course, how you plan to use the acquired knowledge in the future.

Analytical

In this work, it is necessary to present the main characteristics of the subject/phenomenon/event, analyze them and summarize. Students often write analytical essays based on works of fiction (the ideas presented in them, the behavior of the characters).

At the same time, the author does not try to persuade the reader to take a certain position. He analyzes a specific topic and states the facts. In some works, the author considers two or more topics. When a comparison is made, the work can be attributed to both comparative and analytical.

Humorous

Another type of essay that can be asked at the university is humorous. Its purpose is to cause laughter and entertain the reader. A humorous essay can be personal, in which the author tells about a funny life event. But it can also be a political essay in which satire is used to comment on current events.

Such texts usually use the same methods as in other types of essays, but most often - narration and description. Often hyperbole or other stylistic techniques are used in the works to present the event from the humorous side.

Regardless of what you are writing about, grammatical and spelling mistakes can undermine the impression of the content of the text. If you have any problems with this, please contact the best writing service now.

Bonus: TOEFL and IELTS - what are these exams

Several types of exams determine the level of knowledge of a foreign language. Each of them has its assessment system, a block of tasks. The most popular are TOEFL and IELTS.

They are not identical and do not replace each other. The choice in favor of one or another test depends on the goals of the trip abroad, the country, and the requirements of the university.

Let's take a closer look at the main differences between TOEFL and IELTS:

Language and country. TOEFL is recognized by 7,000 educational institutions in 130 countries around the world. 6,000 universities in 135 countries accept applicants with IELTS results. TOEFL focuses on checking American English, so it is necessary to study in the USA or Canada. IELTS tests the knowledge of British English and is preferred in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.

Purpose. When passing IELTS, you can choose one of the options: General (checking general language knowledge) or Academic (checking academic language). A general exam will be enough for living. An academic IELTS certificate is required for studying. TOEFL exists in one variant. In terms of complexity, it is comparable to academic IELTS.

Format. TOEFL can be passed in a written (Paper-based Test) or electronic version (Internet-based Test). Taking IELTS is only possible in writing.