Persuasive Writing The aim of persuasive writing, or argumentation, is to influence the reader to assume the author's point of view. The author will express personal opinions in the piece and arm him- or herself with evidence so that the reader will agree with him or her. Persuasive writing can be found in: Opinion and editorial pieces Reviews Job applications A number of statements in this paragraph are opinion rather than fact: that the bike trail is a glittering gem, that the facilities are clean and convenient, and that life in Happyville is idyllic. Clearly, the author's aim here is to use these depictions to persuade readers to use the bike trail. Narrative Writing The purpose of narrative writing is to tell a story, whether that story is real or imaginary. Pieces in a narrative style will have characters, and through the narrative, the reader learns what happens to them. Narrative writing can also include dialogue. Narrative writing can be found in: All types of fiction (e. g., novels, short stories, novellas) Biographies Human interest stories Anecdotes In this passage, the author sets the scene on the bike trail from his or her own point of view (which is referred to as narrating in the first person).
It is probably the most common writing genre you will come across throughout your day. In an expository piece, a topic will be introduced and laid out in a logical order without reference to the author's personal opinions. Expository writing can be found in: Textbooks Journalism (except for opinion and editorial articles) Business writing Technical writing Essays Instructions All of these kinds of writing are expository because they aim to explain and inform. Because this paragraph supplies the reader with facts and figures about its topic, the new bike trails, without offering the author's opinion on it, it is expository. Descriptive Writing The aim of descriptive writing is to help the reader visualize, in detail, a character, event, place, or all of these things at once. The author might describe the scene in terms of all five senses. Descriptive writing allows the writer a great deal more artistic freedom than expository writing does. Descriptive writing can be found in: Fiction Poetry Advertising Journal and diary writing Through description, this passage paints a vivid picture of a scene on the new bike trail.
Now, a lot of your characters' thoughts and feelings will be expressed through talk and action. If a man punches a hole in the wall, for example, the audience will know that he is not having the best of days. But the thoughts and feelings I'm talking about here are those of your viewpoint character. As you will know from the sections looking at Point of View, every scene in a novel is told through the eyes of a viewpoint character, and your job is to make the most of this access to the character's innermost thoughts. In other words, don't forget to have the viewpoint character in any given scene express what they are feeling and thinking. Why? Because the ability, as a reader, to get inside another human being's mind is one of fiction's greatest strengths. (A character's thoughts are known as Interior Monologue. ) And that is it… I didn't present these types of writing in any particular order of importance. All five of them have their place in a well-constructed chapter, and it is really just a question of… Making sure you don't leave any of them out (unless you do so deliberately).
For writers that are working on their own, however, the specific elements of each writing format will help to add a level of professionalism to the work being offered for review and remove the threat of a plagiarism accusation.
For these essays, you'll want to follow a structure with an introduction and thesis statement, supporting paragraphs in the body of the essay to back up your thesis, and a conclusion. This doesn't mean you can't use any creativity, but the main point of expository writing is to explain the facts at hand. College Writing Type #2: Persuasive Essay With this type of writing, your goal is to convince the reader of your point of view. This can take many forms—for example, you may be arguing in favor of a political stance or trying to explain the consequences of a historical event. While you'll still need to base your argument on facts and research, this is different from expository writing because it aligns with a specific viewpoint or position. Typically, a persuasive essay will follow a similar format to an expository essay—an introduction, thesis statement, body, and conclusion—but you'll craft your thesis statement with the intention of convincing the readers of your argument, rather than just informing them.