Types of essays
Essay
- a short form of writing on a topic
- from French"essai" meaning "trial, attempt"
- and Latin exagium for "weighing, or a weight"
- ex- out or from + agere "to set in motion"
- and Latin exagium for "weighing, or a weight"
- "essay" also relates to "trying" or "effort"
- the verb "essay" means "to put to test or experiment"
Academic
Argumentative
takes a position for or against something
Expository
- from Latin exponere for "set forth"
- in the sense of explaining
- also called "commentary"
- takes non-argumentative approach
- but necessarily takes a position on a topic
Journalistic
- explains or describes an issue, situation, event, etc. from a third-party point of view
- IOW, it describes another experience, perspective, or point of view
Narrative
- tells a story
Personal
Persuasive
Polemic/ polemical
- a form of argumentative that focuses on opposing another or alternative points of view
- generally addresses controversial topics
- "polemic" is from Greek polemikos for "war"