What Are the 5 Different Types of Essays? A Complete Guide

For high school or college students, essays are unavoidable – worst of all, the essay types and essay writing topics assigned change throughout your academic career. As soon as you’ve mastered one of the many types of academic papers, you’re on to the next one.

This article by Custom Writing experts provides the tools you need to attack any essay. It describes the five current major types of essays and five additional types! The article includes some thesis statement examples and numerous useful links to resources with sample essay papers. Keep reading and good luck with your assignment!

📑 What Are the 5 Types of Essays?

The five main essay types are:

• Expository
• Argumentative
• Persuasive
• Descriptive
• Narrative

Expository Essay

An expository essay aims to present opinion-free information on a topic that may be broad or narrow. This essay type is often assigned as an in-class or an exam task. Please find below useful expository writing tips!

Argumentative Essay

An argumentative essay requires a profound investigation of a topic leading to the collection and evaluation of evidence. Such an in-depth study shall result in an established position on the topic, written down concisely.

As a rule, this type of writing presupposes extensive literature research. Sometimes, argumentative assignments may require empirical investigation through surveys, interviews, or observations. Detailed research ensures a clear understanding of the issue and the different points of view regarding it. Thanks to the preliminary study, you will be able to make an unbiased decision on which opinion to adhere to, and your argumentation will be more persuasive.

An argumentative essay shall follow the strict structure rules:

Difference between Expository and Argumentative Essay

Expository and argumentative essays abound in similarities and are often mistaken for one another. The principal difference is the amount of preliminary research. Argumentative essays are often assigned as final projects summing up the corpus of information mastered during a course. Expository essays are shorter and less based on research. They are used for in-class unprepared writing.

Persuasive Essay

Persuasive writing is the polar opposite of expository writing. For this style of essay, your opinion should be the focus. A persuasive essay attempts to persuade its reader to have a specific opinion.

Descriptive Essay

There is no more clearly-named essay than the descriptive one. Here, the goal is to describe something: a person, an object, a place, etc. The oil industry theme used to demonstrate an expository thesis statement would not be typical for a descriptive essay. Instead, descriptive writing would far more likely focus on an object associated with the oil industry, such as an oil drum, an oil tanker, or even the liquid oil itself.

Narrative Essay

The meaning of narrative writing is very similar to a story. It may be moving, emotional, anecdotal, or insightful. You are allowed to write using first-person pronouns, and creativity is appreciated. A narrative essay is subject to all the story rules and shall comprise an introduction, characters, plot, setting, climax, and conclusion. The only case when a narrative assignment does not have to comply with a story outline is a book report. This informative narration is impersonal and unemotional.

• The thesis is the purpose of your narrative essay. Although it doesn’t need to sound as formal as in other academic papers, make it clear why you decided to tell the story.
• First-person narration is not a must but is welcomed.
• Don’t switch between points of view. If you decide to write a third-person narrative, keep it consistent throughout the text.
• A narrative essay is closer to fiction than to a scientific document. Use artistic language that will have an emotional response in the reader.
• Although this is not a standard five-paragraph essay, it should have an introduction and a conclusion. An unfinished piece of writing is as bad as a too wordy one.

Difference between Narrative and Descriptive Essay

A narrative essay is aimed to tell the reader a complete story of personal experiences. A descriptive essay dwells upon a separate object, place, concept, or phenomenon. It does not have a climax or any development of action.

🎈 Other Essay Types

Cause and Effect Essay

In a cause and effect essay, the text should focus on the impact of some phenomenon or physical thing—in other words, a cause and its effect.

The simplicity of this essay allows you to explore any topic. All you need to do is consider its consequences and write. Again, the oil industry can be the focus of a cause and effect essay thesis statement:

“The oil industry has had a tremendous impact on our world, enabling the automotive industry, contributing to climate change, and generating great wealth.”

Reflective Essay

In this essay, the goal is simply to respond to or reflect upon a species person, place, thing, event, or phenomenon. You may be required to reflect upon a poem, a military battle, or perhaps even another essay. By its definition, reflective essays should be very subjective. You should use personal pronouns like “I” and “me” in these essays! This type of essay should be very personal. Check out some examples of reflective writing to see this yourself.

For example, this would be a great thesis statement for a reflective essay:

“The oil industry has provided many benefits to society, but I worry deeply about its potential costs to our planet and its species.”

Analytical Essay

In many ways, analytical writing is the objective cousin of reflective writing. Prior to attempting this style of essay, you should reflect. But you should also conduct research. The reflection is personal, while the analysis is rooted in facts and logic.

Compare the following example thesis statement with the one from the previous type of essay:

“As the oil industry has grown, the levels of greenhouse gases have increased along with temperatures and concentrations of particulate matter in the atmosphere.”

This statement outlines factors that will be analyzed in the body of the essay. It DOES NOT insert personal feelings, personal pronouns, or subjective language. You can even try and use an informative thesis statement generator and then compare the results to see it more clearly.

By staying objective, an analytical essay is much more like a report. In fact, an outline for an analytical paper should be interchangeable with a section of an outline for a much longer research project. But most importantly, any analytical paper should avoid using personal pronouns.

Comparison and Contrast Essay

In a compare and contrast essay, you make a comparison of two or more issues. You may look at their similarities, differences, or both. The focus of your analysis should be reflected in your thesis statement. Consider this example:

“While both the oil industry and the solar-power industry will be major sources of energy in the future, oil has more environmental costs than green solar power.”

Exemplification Essay

An exemplification or illustration essay is one of the most flexible essays you might be assigned. In simple terms, this essay is all about picking vivid examples. In other words, you want to make points that exemplify or illustrate your thesis statement.

For an exemplification essay, you should focus on the examples that will make your point without serious effort. In other words, if you are trying too hard, you are missing the point of the essay. Consider the following example thesis statement:

“The oil industry has had serious effects on the environment as demonstrated by the impact of massive oil spill on wildlife, the uncontrolled fires and explosions caused by oil and oil derivatives, and the melting of the polar ice caps caused by climate change.”

In the body of this exemplification essay, the writer should devote a paragraph to each of these arguments. Descriptions of seagulls or penguins coated in oil would be perfect examples of the effect of the oil industry on wildlife. Similarly, descriptions of major oil refinery explosions will also grab the reader’s attention.

Once again, the conclusion should restate the introduction, providing less background, and reminding the reader of the examples one last time.

📚 Types of Essays: Middle School

Middle school essays are usually non-demanding academic tasks. Their main aim is to develop structured writing skills in students.

At this level, you are generally expected to do the following:

• Write on simple topics and prompts that require basic research and logical reasoning.
• Develop a short five-paragraph essay that follows a fixed structure.
• Create a paper with a clear focus, smooth transitions, appropriate word choice, and compelling evidence.

Here are four of the most popular essay types for middle school.

Descriptive Essay

A descriptive essay is meant to describe a selected subject in detail. It typically uses vivid language and specific information to “show” readers the place, thing, person, or event the author depicts.

Topics may be the following:

1. The scariest place I have ever attended.
2. My last overseas vacation.
3. My dream destination country for college studies.
4. The challenge I overcame the previous semester.
5. The sweetest childhood memory.

Narrative Essay

A narrative essay is a story-like piece of content. You can write it in the first person and be creative in the process. Such assignments aim to teach students to express themselves and their viewpoints in an emotionally engaging way.

Examples of topics to consider include:

1. The birthday party I will remember forever.
2. My use of digital technology in studies.
3. Write about the time you got lost in a strange city.
4. The cross-cultural encounter that taught me cultural literacy.
5. Describe the event that showed you the value of peer collaboration at school.

Definition Essay

This type of essay details a definition and relevant characteristics of an idea, phenomenon, term, or concept to create a complete understanding of the discussed subject. Choose a word with a complex, arguable meaning for your paper and include familiar examples to clarify it.

Some topic ideas you may pick are:

• What is community service and volunteering?
• My definition of digital literacy.
• How can you explain cultural diversity?
• Towards a new, inclusive definition of fairness.
• What does the term “multicultural society” mean?

Expository Essay

This type of essay presents an objective, unbiased introduction to a topic that should deepen the readers’ knowledge. Expository papers are often used for in-class writing and included in exams.

Here are some ideas you can explore:

1. Explain the impact of music on human life.
2. Racism in the USA.
3. Why is learning foreign languages beneficial?
4. The pace of global climate change.
5. Benefits of social media use.

🎊 Types of Essays: High School

Writing for high school is a bit different since students at this level engage more deeply with the study material.

Here’s what characterizes such essays:

• Structured and persuasive argumentation.
• Grounded and fact-based communication of the student’s impressions, ideas, and opinions on the assigned subject.
• Length exceeding the classical 5-paragraph essays.

Let’s take a closer look at the four major types of high school essays.

Response Paper

As its name suggests, a response paper communicates a student’s thoughtful and critical response to an assigned learning material, like an article, book, or video. Such papers usually consist of two parts: an overview of the work and the student’s opinion.

Topic suggestions for this writing type include:

1. Justice in To Kill a Mockingbird.
2. Mental illness in Hamlet.
3. On family relationships in Interstellar.
4. Ethics of biographical movies: House of Gucci.
5. Father-son relationship in The Kite Runner.

Argumentative Essay

This paper type tests your ability to examine an issue from different points of view and develop persuasive arguments for their ideas. Argumentative essays are often assigned as capstone projects or final papers.

Some possible themes to explore are:

1. Are mobile apps our helpers or timewasters?
2. Is fasting healthy for everyone?
3. Should unpaid internships be restricted?
4. Should the US Constitution be updated to meet the needs of the modern population?
5. Is the US taxation system fair?

Persuasive Essay

Like argumentative assignments, a good persuasive essay should demonstrate your ability to convince the audience. The texts are usually based on more emotionally evoking topics and arguments and persuade readers to take the author’s point of view.

Here are a couple of possible ideas:

1. It is necessary to curb bullying at schools.
2. Ineffective gun control is the main reason for school shootings.
3. Each of us is responsible for climate change.
4. We need to protect children from cyber threats.
5. Combating the menace of antibiotic resistance is an urgent issue.

Compare & Contrast Essay

In writing a compare and contrast essay, students usually find two or more subjects with comparable characteristics and discuss their similarities and differences. Try to find subtle, unexpected aspects of compared subjects rather than state the obvious to get high grades.

Some topics to consider are as follows:

1. Aspects of in-class vs. online learning.
2. Compare paper and digital books.
3. College education at home vs. abroad.
4. Discuss the benefits of cat vs. dog ownership.
5. Text vs. audio learning materials.

🎓 Types of Academic Essays for College and University

In college and university, students should typically write complex, research-based works that differ significantly from high school essays.

These are the primary specifics of the papers at this level of study:

• Essays can have as many paragraphs as needed to explore the topic thoroughly.
• College-level papers usually include an arguable claim.
• The argumentation is built upon independent, critical thinking.
• Writings for colleges and universities should develop new ideas rather than just report facts.

Check out the academic essay types you may come across at this level of study.

Critical Essay

This type of essay requires a student’s critical engagement with the assigned topic and an in-depth analysis of the issue from multiple perspectives. It is not enough to follow where the literature leads you. You should formulate your standpoint and back it up with carefully selected evidence.

Some topics you can use are:

1. Adverse effects of social media on communication.
2. The present-day commodification of culture.
3. The evolving concept of privacy in the digital era.
4. Imagery and symbolism in Green Book.
5. Discuss the ethical side of drone warfare.

Reflective Essay

Reflections represent a student’s analysis of the assigned topic through the prism of their personal experiences and values. It is okay to sound subjective and present arguments from the first-person viewpoint.

Here are a few examples of reflective essay topics:

1. The effect of globalization on my local community.
2. Consider the changing standards of female portrayal.
3. Environmental impacts on community health.
4. My experience with unequal access to education.
5. Does alternative medicine work?

Analytical Essay

Analytical essays invite students to research the topic with the help of different academic publications and form an unbiased, data-backed analytical position on the subject. Here, you should stick to facts and logic only and don’t try to persuade your readers with emotional appeal.

Try to examine one of these ideas:

1. How is race presented in Oscar-winning films?
2. Analyze the ethics of animal testing.
3. Study the changing global security context.
4. How do cultural values affect national development?
5. Impact of deepfakes on public trust in politicians.

Research Essay

As its name suggests, students should examine the subject extensively and synthesize the identified material for a detailed, structured piece when writing a research paper. This type of essay is typically longer than any other academic paper and assesses not just your writing skills but also your ability to conduct scholarly research.

Check out a few samples of research essay topics:

1. Does consumerism erode modern cultures?
2. Impact of social media on heavy users’ mental health.
3. AI usage ethics in professional activities.
4. Does gentrification kill social cohesion?
5. Research the actual effects of deforestation.

👌 Remember These Important Essay Tips

Now, it’s time for practical advice you can apply when writing any kind of essay. These tips and tricks are just the basics of essay writing. Yet, keeping them in mind can facilitate your work and ensure a high grade.

Here they are:

• Read the task carefully. When working on any assignment, always pay close attention to the instructions. The standard interpretation of any particular essay style is never as important as your teacher’s definition of the assignment.
• When in doubt, ask questions. No teacher will be upset with you asking for reasonable clarifications. It is better to meet your professor’s expectations than to surprise them with a creative effort and, subsequently, get a poor grade.
• Learn from the example. Reading other papers on the topic can give you many valuable ideas. If you can’t access other students’ works, you can generate a sample with our ChatGPT essay writer. It’ll illustrate the writing tips you’ve read and showcase what a good essay looks like.
• Stick to the classic 5-paragraph format at first. Have you noticed that most of the examples described above fit into the 5-paragraph essay format? This structure is a powerful way to organize your thoughts. Master it, and you’ll write shorter and longer essays with ease, too. Try our outline maker to get more ideas for organizing your paper. If you’re still confused, watch one of the many helpful videos on essay writing.
• Start writing your essay early. No matter the essay type, your revisions will be better than your first drafts. If you have time for second, third, and fourth drafts, you will be much happier with your final grade. To ensure consistency of the text, have each draft read to you by an essay reader.
• Use our free online tools. AI can make your student’s life much easier if you use it ethically and wisely. For example, an attention grabber generator can formulate a catchy hook for your paper, a transition word adder will improve the flow of your text, and a conclusion maker may help you write an impressive final paragraph.

We hope our explanations and tips show you that writing an essay is less painful than you may think. Actually, it can be pretty exciting. Just give it a try!

🔗 References

1. Essay Structure | – Harvard College Writing Center
2. Writing: Types of Essays – Smith College
3. Essay Writing // Purdue Writing Lab
4. Types of academic writing – The University of Sydney
5. Guide to Different Kinds of Essays – Gallaudet University
6. What are the types of essays? – Quora