Assignments are at the core of any college or university life regardless of the field or level of education, and for this reason, understanding the different types of essays for university students makes the difference, especially if you’re just getting started.
The deal here is;
As much as we help you address all your assignment needs, we also recommend that you have a succinct understanding of what these types of essays entail and what to expect of them.
This guide performs exactly that.
Simply put;
The guide explains briefly (in simple and easy-to-understand English) almost all the common types of essays you will encounter in colleges and universities. They include;
- Analytical Essay
- Argumentative Essay
- Deductive Essay
- Expository Essay
- Response Essay
- Informative Essay
- Compare and Contrast Essay
- Composition Essay
- Evaluation Essay
- Cause and Effect Essay
- Definition Essay
- Research Essay
- Classification Essay
- Narrative Essay
- Descriptive Essay
- Opinion Essay
- Persuasive Essay
- Scholarship Essay
- Exemplification Essay
- Admission Essay
- Extended Essay
- Personal Essay
- Reflective Essay
- Process Essay
Without wasting time, let’s dive into the details.
Analytical Essay
Analytical essays focus on using textual evidence to support specific claims/ points. This type of essay is founded on logical reasoning and factual information instead of sentimental or personal views.
Get this;
When writing an analytical essay, you must prove a specific side of an argument. Consequently, you have to understand the argument, present all sides, and discuss your position on whether you agree or disagree with the analysis.
Here’s an example of an analytical essay.
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Also Read: 6 Actionable Steps for Writing the Best Analytical Essays for Students
Argumentative Essay
Argumentative essays are anchored on a specific point of view and use a specific method of persuasion. Often, it is fact-based to convince readers or prove a thesis.
Here’s what you should know;
Argumentative essays are inclined toward the reader’s emotions by favoring quantitative support, unlike persuasive essays that are founded mostly on qualitative support.
In addition;
The thesis in argumentative essays is not obvious. In simple terms, the thesis can be strongly opposed to the perceived essay position to the extent that one will need to explain further why it is not wrong.
Here are some examples of argumentative essays.
Example One: Animal Rights Argumentative Essay
Example Two: Argumentative Essay on a Controversial Healthcare Issue-Euthanasia.
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Deductive Essay
Deductive essays are normally built on deductive reasoning. In brief, deductive reasoning is a logical technique that uses facts to achieve a certain conclusion.
Unlike other types of essays for university students, this one applies general rules to examine a topic or subject until a certain conclusion is reached.
Expository Essay
An expository essay reveals factual information on a specific topic/ subject based on structures to communicate the author’s position and process or even analyze cause and effect.
Look;
In this type of essay, students should position facts and the accompanying observations and let them justify a position in the simplest way possible.
Put in another way;
Expository essays define, elaborate, explain, or inform the writer’s ideas in a way the readers can easily understand concepts.
In most instances, students from different disciplines confuse argumentative essays with expository ones.
But, the bottom line is;
Expository essays are built on comprehensive (more detailed) fact-based research and related evidence.
Examples of Expository Essays
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Response Essay
A response essay (also identified as a reaction/ reflection paper) explains to readers how you feel or perceive a specific topic or text.
This means you may agree or disagree with the author in this type of essay. Either way, you must explain why you have taken a specific stand.
Take, for example, an essay that requires you to write on “Increasing Number of Fast Food Outlets are the Primary Cause of Higher Obesity Prevalance Rates”.
Based on this topic, you are expected to react by sharing your thoughts and justifying them with verifiable evidence, including supporting statistical data.
Note;
Whichever side you pick, you need to be;
- Specific and detailed
- Provide enough examples and explanations to justify your position
- Use clear textual references
Here are examples of response essays:
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Informative Essay
This type of essay educates readers on a specific topic, term, phenomenon, and event, among many other subjects.
The most distinctive factor about this type of essay is that it does not highlight an author’s analysis or evaluation in some instances. The essay focuses on describing a specific subject.
Here are some examples of informative essays;
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Compare and Contrast Essay
Compare and contrast essay highlights similarities and differences between two or more topics or events.
With this in mind;
This type of essay helps illustrate factors that separate and unite concepts or topics.
Here are some examples of compare and contrast essays.
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Composition Essay
Composition essays focus on arguing a specific point of view, providing details to support the view, and drawing a conclusion.
Composition essays follow a more generalized essay structure comprising of;
- Introduction
- Body Paragraphs
- Conclusion
Here are some examples of composition essays.
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Evaluation Essay
Evaluation essays focus on presenting an opinion on a topic or piece of work. To some extent, evaluation essays are similar to reviews.
For instance;
When writing such essays, you are expected to;
- First, provide a summary of the topic/ question/ piece of work
- Highlight both advantages and disadvantages of the topic
- Declare your stand or judgment.
A good example of an evaluation essay is “Heart Disease is the Leading Cause of Increased Mortality Eates Among The Elderly in America.”
Keep in mind that your judgment on a specific topic or piece of work should be based on a reasonable evaluation of strengths and weaknesses, not bias.
Example one: Assignment Two NU 525 (Analysis of a Technology/System Application Presentation)
Cause and Effect Essay
A cause-and-effect essay is an expository essay or, in some cases, an argumentative essay that explains the reasons for a certain problem while at the same time stating possible consequences.
In simple terms, it details an effective relationship between two subjects.
Unlike other types of essays for university students, for this one, you need to understand that the author is trying to illustrate how an individual, idea, subject, or event directly influences another subject, event, idea, or person.
Here’s an example of a cause and effect essay.
ENG 102 Composition II: Sample Cause and Effect Essay on Personal Debt
Definition Essay
Definition essay provides everything you need about a specific topic or word. Writing such an essay demands comprehensive research.
When writing a definition essay, ensure that you address common structures such as:
- Topic analysis
- Possible topic classifications
- Emerging details and ideas
- Possible topic comparisons
A perfect example of a definition essay would be “What is Nursing shortage?”
Based on this topic, you are expected to define ‘Nursing shortage‘ and provide more information relating to the topic.
Research Essay
Research essays are founded on the interpretation and analysis of selected topics based on comprehensive research.
As one of the common types of academic writing assignments, a research essay is associated with in-depth analysis and interpretation of a topic based on scholar-based or verifiable evidence.
You can notice some similarities between analytical and research essays in some situations. However, the most relevant difference between the two is based on the fact that most research essays or papers are built on existing statistical data and research.
Here’s an example of a research essay.
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Also Read: A Complete Guide to Writing Comprehensive Research Paper
Classification Essay
A classification essay serves as a composition that highlights your abilities in generalizing and categorizing topics or concepts.
In most instances, classification essays come with guidelines for writing the essay. However, there are situations whereby you get to decide on a preferred way to approach the classification process.
A perfect example of a classification essay would be “Exporing Types of Assessments for Nursing Students.”
Narrative Essay
A narrative essay tells stories that, in most instances, are attached to personal experiences.
You should know that this type of essay requires creative expression of experiences based on an appropriate structure.
Narrative essays vary, especially when it comes to the direction that a specific topic takes.
An example of the essay would be the one where you are asked to ‘write a story about your first air travel experience.’
Example Narrative Essay: Growing Up Family Narrative Assessment Essay
Descriptive Essay
Descriptive essay gives a written account of a person, situation, experience, or place. This essay comes along with provisions for artistic freedom.
This means that you are free to create a vivid image of the item you describe in the reader’s mind.
An example of a descriptive essay is one where you are asked to describe a place you love or a memorable event.
More Examples;
Opinion Essay
When it comes to an opinion essay, you are expected to describe or reflect on your thoughts regarding a specific subject matter.
Most opinion-based assignments contain questions; students are expected to share their perspectives (point-of-view) on the subject.
A perfect example of an opinion essay would be the one where you are asked to “Smartphones are a Killer of Productivity in Modern World.”
Persuasive Essay
Persuasive essay (also known as persuasive writing) promotes a clear stance on a specific subject or cause based on compelling argument/s to convince readers.
To persuade readers on a specific point of view, you should research the subject/topic, analyze possible arguments for and against it, and take a stand.
Here’s an example of a persuasive essay.
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Scholarship Essay
Scholarship essay is a critical part of the scholarship application process and is commonly submitted with other application documents.
In this type of essay, you are expected to professionally highlight your passion and beliefs based on how they align with the interests of the organization offering the scholarship.
Admission Essay
Admission essays focus on examining the strengths and weaknesses of students.
Ideally, students are given a meaningful topic that they should describe alongside other factors, such as:
- Academic achievements
- Strengths and weaknesses
- Beliefs, values and other personal aspects that make one unique
Exemplification Essay
Exemplification essay provides examples about a topic. In this case, provided examples support the topic or clarify a generalized idea in some circumstances.
To write a perfect exemplification essay, you should be detailed while at the same time providing enough examples that would help get the point across.
Extended Essay
Extended essay (also known as EE) is a structured 4000-word essay based on a specific topic that can emulate forms.
The final outlook of the essay varies based on the chosen topic. For instance, you can write an extended essay about history (a more traditional essay), an arithmetic problem, or an experiment.
A perfect example of an Extended Essay (EE) would be “Effect of the Dollar on the Tourism Industry“
Personal Essay
Personal essays are non-fictional narrative stories that reflect on experiences, mistakes, and any other related topic at a personal level.
Personal essays have an almost similar format to other academic writings; in most instances, they tell personal stories.
Reflective Essay
Reflective essays are founded on using thoughts and emotions to reveal more information about personality traits, mindset, character, and in some instances, background.
Reflective essays can describe literature or experiences while at the same time highlighting thoughts, reactions, and feelings.
Here are some examples of reflective essays:
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Process Essay
Process essay (also identified as ‘how to essay’) uses a step-by-step approach to teach or instruct.
Each step should clearly and efficiently explain the procedure, process, or mechanism.
Take note that process essays range from simple to complex essays depending on the topic at hand.
An example of a process essay would be the one on “How to bake vanilla cake”.
Final Thoughts
Up to that point, we have discussed the different types of essays for university students. We believe the provided information will act as a roadmap to the abovementioned essays. Remember, we can help you save time and improve your grades through Prime Nursing Paper’s timely Academic Assistance Services. Just click the link to get started.