essay nounes/

1.a short piece of writing on a particular subject.

: to try to do, perform, or deal with (something)

2.formal an attempt or effort. "a misjudged essay"

synonyms: attempt, effort, endeavor, try, venture, trial, experiment, undertaking
"his first essay in telecommunications"

Four Major Types of Essays

Distinguishing between types of essays is simply a matter of determining the writers
goal. Does the writer want to tell about a personal experience, describe something,
explain an issue, or convince the reader to accept a certain viewpoint? The four major
types of essays address these purposes:
1. Narrative Essays: Telling a Story
In a narrative essay, the writer tells a story about a real-life experience. While telling a

story may sound easy to do, the narrative essay challenges students to think and write
about themselves. When writing a narrative essay, writers should try to involve the
reader by making the story as vivid as possible. The fact that narrative essays are
usually written in the first person helps engage the reader. I sentences give readers a
feeling of being part of the story. A well-crafted narrative essay will also build towards
drawing a conclusion or making a personal statement.
2. Descriptive Essays: Painting a Picture
A cousin of the narrative essay, a descriptive essay paints a picture with words. A writer
might describe a person, place, object, or even memory of special significance.
However, this type of essay is not description for descriptions sake. The descriptive
essay strives to communicate a deeper meaning through the description. In a
descriptive essay, the writer should show, not tell, through the use of colorful words and
sensory details. The best descriptive essays appeal to the readers emotions, with a
result that is highly evocative.
3. Expository Essays: Just the Facts
The expository essay is an informative piece of writing that presents a balanced
analysis of a topic. In an expository essay, the writer explains or defines a topic, using
facts, statistics, and examples. Expository writing encompasses a wide range of essay
variations, such as the comparison and contrast essay, the cause and effect essay, and
the how to or process essay. Because expository essays are based on facts and not
personal feelings, writers dont reveal their emotions or write in the first person.
4. Persuasive Essays: Convince Me
While like an expository essay in its presentation of facts, the goal of the persuasive
essay is to convince the reader to accept the writers point of view or recommendation.
The writer must build a case using facts and logic, as well as examples, expert opinion,
and sound reasoning. The writer should present all sides of the argument, but must be
able to communicate clearly and without equivocation why a certain position is correct.

read an essay *

Note: this excellent process can be applied to

books, chapters in books, articles, and all manner of reading.
What is the title?
What does it tell you about what the essay is about?
What do you already know about the subject?
What do you expect the essay to say about it--especially given when it was written and who the
author was (see next questions)?
When was the essay written?
Do you know anything about the state of the historical literature on the subject at that time?
If so, what do you expect the essay to say?
Who wrote it? What do you expect him or her to say?
What are the author's credentials, or affiliations?
What are his/her prejudices?
Are you familiar with the authors' other work related to the subject?
Read the essay, marking the information that is crucial to you.
When the text gives you crucial information, mark and note it:
What exactly is the subject?
How does it correspond to the title?
What are the main points--the theses?
What is the evidence that the author gives to sustain the thesis or theses?
What is the factual information that you want to retain?
Is there a good description of something you knew, or did not know, that you want to remember
its location. If so, mark it. If for research, make out a research note on it.
Does the author cite some important source that you want to retain for future reference?
If so, mark it. If for research, make out a bibliographic note either now or on reviewing the
article for such citations.
Once you have finished the article, reflect on:
What have you learned?
How does it relate to what you already know?
Did you find the argument convincing on its own terms?
Given what you know about the subject, do you think the main point(s) might be correct even if
the argument was not convincing?
Can you think of information that makes you doubt the main point(s), even if the essay argued it
well?
How does the essay relate to other things you have read--that is, how does it fit in the historical
literature?

GOOD LUCK PANDAK !