Essay Writing Types of Essay Format of Essay Writing Tips for Writing Effective Essays By Ali Rehman

1. M. A. Rehman

2. ▪ The word ‘essay’ is derived from a Latin word “exagium” which
means ‘to present one’s case’.
▪ An essay is defined as "a short piece of writing that expresses
information as well as the writer's opinion.“
▪ It is often considered synonymous with a story or a paper or an
article.
▪ Essays can be formal as well as informal.
▪ Formal Essays are generally academic in nature and tackle serious
topics.
▪ The Informal Essay is written mainly for enjoyment. This is not to say
that it cannot be informative or persuasive; however, it contains a
relaxed expression of opinion, observation, humor or pleasure.

3. ▪ Effectively writing different types of essays has become critical to
academic success. Essay writing is a common school assignment, a
part of standardized tests, and a requirement on college applications.
▪ The type of essay will depend on what the writer wants to convey to
his reader.
▪ There are broadly four types of essays:
➢Narrative Essays
➢Descriptive Essays
➢Expository Essays
➢Persuasive Essays

4. 1. NARRATIVE ESSAYS
▪ When the writer is narrating an incident or story through the essay.
▪ The aim when writing narrative essays is to involve the reader in
them as if they were right there when it was happening.
▪ So make them as colorful and real as possible.
▪ One way to make this possible is to follow the principle of ‘show,
don’t tell’.
▪ So you must involve the reader in the story.

5. 2. DESCRIPTIVE ESSAYS
▪ The writer will describe a place, an object, an event or maybe even a
memory. But it is not just simply describing things.
▪ The writer must paint a picture through his words.
▪ One clever way to do that is to evoke the senses of the reader. Do not
only rely on sight but also involve the other senses of smell, touch,
sound etc.
▪ A descriptive essay when written well will make the reader feel the
emotions, the writer was feeling at the moment.

6. 3. EXPOSITORY ESSAYS
▪ The writer presents a balanced study of a topic.
▪ To write such an essay, the writer must have real and extensive
knowledge about the subject.
▪ There is no scope for the writer’s feelings or emotions in an
expository essay.
▪ It is completely based on facts, statistics, examples etc.

7. 4. PERSUASIVE ESSAYS
▪ The purpose of the essay is to get the reader to your side of the
argument.
▪ A persuasive essay is not just a presentation of facts but an attempt to
convince the reader of the writer’s point of view.
▪ Both sides of the argument have to be presented in these essays. But
the ultimate aim is to persuade the readers that the writer’s argument
carries more weight.

8. ▪ There is no rigid format of an essay.
▪ It is a creative process so it should not be confined within
boundaries.
▪ However, there is a basic structure that is generally followed while
writing essays.
▪ The general structure of an essay includes:
a. Introduction
b. Body
c. Conclusion

9. a. INTRODUCTION
▪ This is the first paragraph of your essay. This is where the writer
introduces his/her topic for the very first time.
▪ You can give a very brief outline of your essay in the introductory
paragraph.
▪ Generally, it is not very long, about 4-6 lines.
▪ A good introduction will ensure that you hook the reader, i.e. draw
and keep his attention.
▪ So to do so, you can start with a quote or a proverb. Sometimes you can even start
with a definition. Another interesting strategy to engage with your reader is to
start with a question.

10. b. BODY
▪ This is the main core of your essays.
▪ The body is the meat of your essay sandwiched between the
introduction and the conclusion.
▪ The most vital and important content of the essay will be written
here. This need not be confined to one paragraph. It can extend to
two or more paragraphs according to the content.
▪ Usually, we have a lot of information to provide in the body. And the
mistakes writers generally make is to go about it in a haphazard
manner which leaves the reader confused.
▪ So it is important to organize your thoughts and content. Write the
information in a systematic flow so that the reader can comprehend.
For example, you were narrating an incident. The best manner to do
this would be to go in a sequential order.

11. c. CONCLUSION
▪ This is the last paragraph of the essay.
▪ Sometimes a conclusion will just mirror the introductory paragraph
but make sure the words and composition are different.
▪ A conclusion is also a great place to sum up a story or an argument.
▪ You can round up your essay by providing some moral or wrapping
up a story.
▪ Make sure you complete your essays with the conclusion, leave no
hanging threads.

12. ▪ Writing an essay often seems to be a dreaded task among students. Whether the
essay is for a scholarship, a class, or maybe even a contest, many students often
find the task devastating. While an essay is a large project, there are many steps a
student can take that will help break down the task into manageable parts.
Following this process, is the easiest way to draft a successful essay, whatever its
purpose might be.
i. Choose a Topic
ii. Prepare an Outline of Ideas
iii. Write your Thesis Statement
iv. Write the Body
v. Write the Introduction
vi. Write the Conclusion
vii. Finishing Touches

13. i. CHOOSE A TOPIC
▪ You may have your topic assigned, or you may be given choice to write on
the subject of your interest.
▪ If you are given the topic, you should think about the kind of essay that you
want to produce. Should it be a general overview of the subject or a specific
analysis?
▪ Narrowing your focus if necessary.
▪ If you have not been assigned a topic, this gives you the advantage to
choose a subject that is interesting or relevant to you.
▪ First, define your purpose.
▪ Knowing what kind of essay you are trying to write can help you decide on
a topic and structure your essay in the best way possible.

14. ii. PREPARE AN OUTLINE OF IDEAS
▪ In order to write a successful essay, you must organize your thoughts.
▪ By taking what’s already in your head and putting it to paper, you are able to
see connections and links between ideas more clearly.
▪ This structure serves as a foundation for your essay.
▪ Use either an outline or a diagram to note down your ideas and organize
them.
▪ To create a diagram, write your topic in the middle of your page. Draw three
to five lines branching off from this topic and write down your main ideas at
the ends of these lines.
▪ If you prefer to create an outline, write your topic at the top of the page.
From there, begin to list your main ideas.
▪ Doing this will allow you to see connections and will help you to write a
more organized essay.

15. iii. WRITE YOUR THESIS STATEMENT
▪ Your thesis statement is the main point of your essay.
▪ It tells the reader the main theme of your essay. It is essentially one
sentence that says what the essay is about.
▪ Your thesis statement will have two parts. The first part states the topic, and
the second part states the point of the essay.
▪ For example, if you were writing about Nawaz Sharif and his impact on the
Pakistan, an appropriate thesis statement would be, “Nawaz Sharif has
impacted the future of our country through his three terms as Prime
Minister of Pakistan.”

16. iv. WRITE THE BODY
▪ The body of your essay argues, explains or describes your topic.
▪ Each main idea that you wrote in your diagram or outline will become a
separate section within the body of your essay.
▪ Each body paragraph will have the same basic structure. Begin by writing
one of your main ideas as the introductory sentence. Next, write each of
your supporting ideas in sentence format.

17. v. WRITE THE INTRODUCTION
▪ Now that you have developed your thesis and the overall body of your
essay, you must write an introduction.
▪ The introduction should attract the reader’s attention and show the focus of
your essay.
▪ Begin with an attention grabber. You can use shocking information,
dialogue, a story, a quote, or a simple summary of your topic.
▪ Whichever angle you choose, make sure that it ties in with your thesis
statement, which will be included as the last sentence of your introduction.

18. vi. WRITE CONCLUSION
▪ The conclusion brings closure of the topic and sums up your overall ideas
while providing a final perspective on your topic.
▪ Your conclusion should consist of three to five strong sentences. Simply
review your main points and provide reinforcement of your thesis.

19. vii. FINISHING TOUCHES
▪ After writing your conclusion, you might think that you have completed your essay.
Wrong.
▪ Before you consider this a finished work, you must pay attention to all the small
details. Check the order of your paragraphs.
▪ Your strongest points should be the first and last paragraphs within the body, with
the others falling in the middle. Also, make sure that your paragraph order makes
sense.
▪ You must double check instructions (if provided) to ensure that your essay is in the
desired format.
▪ Finally, review what you have written. Reread your essay and check to see if it
makes sense. Make sure that sentence flow is smooth and add phrases to help
connect thoughts or ideas. Check your essay for grammar and spelling mistakes.

20. Congratulations!
You have just learnt to write a great essay.