Types of Essays

You may be compelled or required to write an essay that is based on your own personal opinion about a controversial topic. Depending on your objective, your composition could be any length, from a short letter to the editor, to a medium-sized speech, or a long research paper. But every piece should contain some basic steps and elements.

How-to essays are like recipes; they provide instruction for carrying out a procedure or task. You can write a how-to essay about any procedure that you find interesting—as long as your topic fits the teacher’s assignment.

Compare and contrast essays may be constructed in one of two ways. You can focus on one topic at a time, describing the pro’s and cons of one topic first and then moving on to the next topic. Before you begin to draft a compare and contrast essay, you should brainstorm to list similarities and differences.

For an argument essay to be effective, it must contain certain elements. For this reason, you'll have to plan ahead a little. Take a few minutes to prepare before you jump into writing an argument essay.

Expository essays are simply essays that explain something with facts, as opposed to opinion. An expository essay should have the same basic structure as any typical essay.

What type of essay should you write? That can depend on your interests and strengths. Are you persuasive, or are you gifted with great descriptive powers? Find an essay type to fit your own special personality.

A response paper, sometimes called a reaction paper, is much like a formal article or review, but this type of assignment calls for more of the writer's personal reaction and feeling.

The film review should include several standard components. The order and composition of your review will depend on the class and your instructor.