Essay writing has become a regular school work, an essential part of standardized tests, and a necessity in college scholarship applications. Knowing the right type of essay to apply to any criteria that comes your way is vital, as it can determine if your response to a writing prompt is right or wrong.
So it is unarguably essential not to be confused about the types of essays and how to choose the one you need.
We have over a dozen types of essays, which kind-of makes it easy for some people to get confused. But rest assured there are five major categories that we will be telling you here.
Deciding between the types of essays to write can be a problem for students or applicants who don’t have much information about the types of essays. However, choosing the right piece to write is determined by the writer’s goal.
After reading this article, you will be able to know which of the types of essays will be good for telling a personal experience, explanation of an issue, describing or to convince the reader to buy your ideology.
Below are the five major categories of educational essays:
Table of Contents
A narrative essay, which is a storytelling essay, allows the writer to tell a story about real-life events. Too many novices, this type of essay looks simple to do, but the truth is that it challenges you to think and about yourself, letting you look deep into your life. One mistake all writers must avoid in this type of essay is not having the reader in mind.
Having the reader in mind makes it easier for the reader to know you better and to connect instantly with what you are narrating. A critical fact in this type of essay is that, is written in the first person, e.g., “I,” which gives the audience a feeling that they are part of the story.
A correctly writing narrative essay will be built in the direction of making a personal statement. E.g. The YouTube videos that we watch online are good examples of a narrative essay, only that they are in video formats.
Close to the first type of essay on the list, the descriptive essay is used by a writer to describe a person, object, place, and memory of particular importance. However, anyone using this essay will work with adjectives, adverbs, etc.
Read More: Descriptive Essay Examples
Writers mostly use analogies, metaphors, similes, allegories, and personifications to visualize things in this type of essay. A student can decide to share their emotions, tell a personal experience in details, or explaining different ways to make spaghetti, etc.
This type of essay can be time-consuming. In a descriptive essay, the writer defines, interprets, or analysis a topic, makes use of reliable facts, and examples. The expository essay encloses a wide area of essay variations, like the explanation, definition, reflection cause and effect, analytic essay. A writer must make sure not to write about his/her personal opinion.
The compare and contrast essay belongs to the expository essay category. The purpose is to analyze two subjects by comparing them, contrasting them, or by doing both. E.g. the writer can compare and contrast two types of oranges, mangos, cars, or compare your previous job to the current one.
To write a fantastic compare and contrast essay, the writer must choose two or more subjects that connect reasonably. Keep in mind that this type of article is not just to state the obvious but to instead show the differences or unpredicted resemblance.
The compelling essay deals with facts to convince the reader, tries to force on the readers to accept the writer’s point of view. The writer has to convince the reader and must state the theory and defend it with evidence, and If possible, with other arguments.
Writing this essay can be challenging; it is advisable to learn how to write an argumentative essay first.
Read More: Best Examples of Persuasive Essays
In case you are curious about the other types of essays not listed! Below are four different types of essays that every student should know:
Considered as the most popular type of academic essay, it is a ticket to college. To write a winning scholarship essay, applicants must explain why they picked the specific field of study, why they need a particular degree, reflect on personal strengths and weaknesses, stress on how they can contribute to the growth of the college.
The writer’s main aim here is to persuade the College Board that he/she deserves a scholarship.
The idea behind this type of essay is to initiate activities that will unite various nations. This type of essay is practised in most developed countries like the United States.
The primary purpose of the cultural identity essay is to give more information about the cultural backgrounds of international students to their peers who are the natives of the country school location.
This is a type of expository essay aimed at describing some actions or processes. The writer uses this essay to explain how to do something but also to list out the steps to achieve them. The most frequent question asked in this essay is “How to.”
An informative essay is one of the prevalent types of essays. This type of essay educates the reader on a particular topic. Therefore, they do not present an opinion or persuade the reader. An informative article is written to define a term, compare and contrast, or analyze data.
There are so many examples of the types of essay one can write when applying for college, remember always to check out your college’s requirements before you start writing. Then follow our list of types and pick what you can do best.
Below we’ve listed some of the “Best Essay Writing Scholarships” which will be a great way to pay for your financial needs.
Highly motivated aspirants from all over the globe are invited to apply for the Student Scholarship Essay Contest in Canada. Organized by Fraser Institute, the program is designated just for high school students. Winning essays may be published in Fraser Institute journals and authors will have the opportunity to experience the peer-review process.
Provided By: Fraser Institute
Course: Any degree
Award: $9,000-$3,000
Application Deadline: June 1, 2020
Apply Now
The Royal Commonwealth Society is inviting applicants to take part in the scholarship essay competition. The QCEC is open to all citizens and residents of the Commonwealth aged 18 and under. Entries can be submitted in a number of different formats: for example, a poem, letter, article, story, essay or a short play/script.
Provided By: Royal Commonwealth Society
Course: Any degree
Award: Varies
Application Deadline: June 30, 2020
Apply Now
The Ayn Rand Institute (ARI) have open entries for Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest for the year 2020 from grade 12, college undergraduate and graduate students from all over the world. It offers various educational programs to enable students at all levels of knowledge. Candidates will get 1 winner receives $ 3,000, 2nd place: 2 winners receive $ 1,000 and 3rd place: 10 winners receive $ 500.
Provided By: Ayn Rand Institute (ARI)
Course: Undergraduate and graduate
Award: $ 3,000, $ 1,000 and $ 500
Application Deadline: April 30, 2020
Apply Now
Waiting for an opportunity to get a scholarship? If yes, then go ahead and apply for the EssayPro Writing Contest Scholarship for international aspirants having excellent writing skills. To apply for this opportunity, applicants need to demonstrate academic excellence. Top three winners will get the cash prizes. The first place holding applicant will receive $500, and the second and third place, winning candidates will receive $250 each!
Provided By: Essaypro
Course: Any degree
Award: $500, $250
Application Deadline: June 1, 2020
Apply Now
The American Indian College Fund is providing scholarships to American Indian and Alaska Native college students seeking undergraduate and graduate degrees at tribal colleges, nonprofit, and accredited schools. U.S. citizen or Canadian citizens are eligible to attend college in the U.S. under provisions of the Jay Treaty.
Provided By: The American Indian College Fund
Course: Undergraduate and graduate
Award: Fund
Application Deadline: August 1, 2020
Apply Now
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