Some essays we read with pleasure in the next magazine or collection. Others we run through with our eyes and do not remember. Others become literary monuments. And it's not just the talent of the author. Much depends on what topic you reveal and to whom you write.
There are many kinds of essays. For example, there are philosophical, artistic, historical, spiritual-religious, literary-critical essays. According to the form they are divided into notes, letters, lyrical miniatures, reviews. According to the method of presentation - descriptive and narrative, analytical and critical, essays-illustrations, classifications and others.
Let's start with the simplest - the mode of presentation. Descriptive essay In such an essay we describe some object. It can be a flower, some product, a person or an animal, a work of an artist or a movie - in a word, anything. In the description it is important not just to convey the main characteristics of the object - appearance, smell, texture, but to reflect your feelings. In the essay-description there is no place for criticism and analysis, but subjectivity is still present - in the features that you pay attention to, in the wording, in the emotional coloring.
You can put the description of the process into a subtype. In some ways, it's akin to a narrative: you describe some actions in chronological order, but there's no room in the text for conflict.
Narrative essay Action, action and only action! A narrative is a first- or third-person account of events in chronological order. It can be a brief biography, or an account of some important event. The main components of such an essay are the plot, the climax, and the denouement. Accordingly, there should also be a conflict.
Definition Essay The definition essay has one goal - to reveal a particular concept. To do this, elements of narrative, description, illustration, and analysis can be used.
Essay-Classification The text you are reading can hardly be called an essay-classification. We take a concept, single out some principle, create a classification. In this way we look at the topic in a deeper way.
Essay-Comparison In a classification, you dissect a concept. In a comparison, you take another, related concept, draw parallels, look for similarities and differences.
Essay-illustration Here it's simple: your goal is to prove a statement. To do this, you select and give examples. It is important that these examples really prove your words.
Essay Argumentation Whereas in the illustration you give examples, in the essay-argumentation you give facts that support your claim. It is important to structure these facts logically. Unlike an illustration, here the author stresses the rational link rather than emotion.
Causal analysis Cause → Effect. This can be the basis of your essay. You are no longer simply giving the facts, but analyzing and building them into a logical chain.
As you can see, a text can have a different structure and different goals. It is the goals that determine the choice in favor of a particular genre or method of presentation. After getting acquainted with different ways and genres, you can already understand how to write an essay correctly in your case.
