This document defines and provides examples of seven common types of essays: descriptive, narrative, cause and effect, compare and contrast, process, expository, and persuasive/argumentative. A descriptive essay provides sensory details about a person, place, or thing. A narrative essay tells a story, often from a first-person perspective. A cause and effect essay examines how various factors influence an outcome or event. A compare and contrast essay analyzes the similarities and differences between two or more subjects. A process essay outlines the steps to complete a task or achieve a goal. An expository essay explains or informs on a topic. A persuasive essay aims to convince the reader of a particular opinion or argument.

1. Types
of
Essay
•Descriptive
•Narrative
•Cause and Effect
•Compare and Contrast
•Process
•Expository
•Persuasive/Argumentative

2. Descriptive Essay
o provides details about how something looks, feels,
tastes, smells, makes one feel, or sounds
o describe what something is, or how something
happened
o could be a list-like description that provides point
by point details

4. Narrative Essay
o tells a story
o conversational in style, and tells of a personal
experience
o commonly written in the first person (uses I)
o tell of a single, life-shaping event, or simply a
mundane daily experience

5. Narrative Essay
Some popular narrative essay topic examples:
• First Day at College
• The Moment of Success
• A Memorable Journey
• The Biggest Misunderstanding
• The Difficult Decision
• The Trip of Your Dreams
• The Day You Decided to Change Your Life

6. Cause and Effect Essay
o explains why or how some event happened, and what
resulted from the event
o a study of the relationship between two or more events or
experiences
o discuss both causes and effects, or it could simply address
one or the other
o discuss the reasons why something happened
o discuss what happens after a specific event or circumstance

9. Compare and Contrast Essay
o discusses the similarities and differences between two
things, people, concepts, places, etc
o be written simply to entertain the reader, or to arrive at an
insight into human nature
o could discuss both similarities and differences, or it could
just focus on one or the other
o A comparison essay usually discusses the similarities
between two things, while the contrast essay discusses the
differences

10. Compare and Contrast Essay
compare/contrast essay may discuss . . .
• the likenesses and differences between two
places, like Bandung and Jakarta;
• the similarities and differences between two
religions, like Christianity and Islam;
• two people, like my brother and myself.

11. Process Essay
• describes how something is done
• explains actions that should be performed in a
series
• explain in detail how to accomplish a specific task
• could be in the form of step-by-step instructions,

12. Expository Essay
• explanation of a short theme, idea or issue
• try to pin down the meaning of a specific word, or
define an abstract concept
• to present, completely and fairly, other people's
views or to report about an event or a situation
• presents a subject in detail, apart from criticism,
argument, or development

14. Persuasive/Argumentative Essay
•
to persuade the reader to the writer's point of view
•
try to convince others to agree with the writer's
opinion
•
may argue openly, or it may attempt to subtly
persuade the reader by using irony or sarcasm