What are essays? Narrative essays Definition Essay Structure Example

Definition Essay Structure Example
Definition essays have straightforward outlines that make it easy for the reader to understand your meaning.
Introduction - State the word or concept you’re defining in the first sentence, and provide a general definition in the thesis
Body - Elaborate on the thesis statement with support, alternate definitions, and implications of the word or concept
Conclusion - Restate the definition along with the ways you elaborated on it
11. Analytical Essays
Analytical essays analyze a topic with strong detail and critical thinking. Also known as critical analysis essays, they use a balanced approach to thoroughly analyze something, whether it’s a passage in a piece of writing (known as literary analysis or rhetorical analysis), a an element from a scientific discovery, or an important historical event. Like reflective writing, analytical writing is very detailed and focused on a single topic. While that topic may have larger implications in the essay (and it should), each sentence should connect back to the core of the analytical essay.
Analytical Essay Structure Example
Analytical essays should follow a strict outline that doesn’t detract from its thesis statement.
Introduction - Introduce the topic and refer to the levels of analysis you’ve done on it
Body - Start with your lowest level of analysis and build up to the highest level (preferably in your last body paragraph), tying every sentence back to the thesis
Conclusion - Restate your thesis and levels of analysis
12. Compare and Contrast Essays
Compare and contrast essays are analytical essays that examine how two subjects are similar and different. These subjects can be two characters, two historical events, two concepts — any two topics that have similarities (compare) and differences (contrast). Compare and contrast essays often use expository writing to present the information in a thoughtful way.
When writing a compare and contrast essay, structure can be just as important as the essay’s thesis statement. Structuring your compare and contrast essay can highlight the ways your topics resemble and differ from each other. Thanks to the many compare and contrast essay topics available, you’ll never run out of things to compare (or contrast).
Compare and Contrast Essay Structure Example
Compare and contrast essays rely on a tight structure to analyze topics — but that structure may differ, depending on your topics.
Introduction - Introduce the topic you’re comparing; find a creative and engaging way to state that they are similar but different in your thesis statement
Body - Either analyze each characteristic in a body paragraph (Characteristic 1 of Topic 1 is different from Characteristic 1 of Topic 2), or analyze one entire topic before comparing and contrasting it with the second entire topic (Here are Characteristics 1, 2, and 3 of Topic 1; now, here are Characteristics 1, 2, and 3 of Topic 2)
Conclusion - Restate your thesis and summarize your points
13. Cause and Effect Essays
Cause and effect essays, another type of analytical essay, use structure to show the relationship between an event and its consequences. These essays often explore historical events or plot points in a story, though cause and effect topics can vary by subject.
Depending on how you write your cause and effect essay, you can use expository writing to explain how one thing led to another, or you can argue a little-known element of the cause and effect relationship (such as a surprising event, or a seemingly unrelated consequence).
Cause and Effect Essay Structure Example
Like compare and contrast essays, the structure of cause and effect essays depend on the topic you’re writing about and how you want to analyze it.
Introduction - Introduce the topic and make your claim about how the event caused the effects in your thesis statement
Body - Discuss the event in a paragraph before you discuss the effect, then defend your claim about how they’re related (or, you can spend the entire body section defending the claim, if that’s more reasonable for your topic)
Conclusion - Restate the thesis and assert how you’ve proven your claim about the relationship between the cause and effect
14. Evaluation Essays
Evaluation essays use a measured, unbiased approach to evaluating a work, topic, product, or another subject. With sound evidence and reasoning, evaluation essays present the writer’s opinion about the subject. Movie reviews, book reviews, and sports columns are all types of evaluation essays.
Though evaluation essays do thoroughly analyze their subject (think of the detail included in a movie review), they go beyond analysis. You would write an evaluation essay to present an educated and considered viewpoint, which should influence the reader when making up their own mind.
Evaluation Essay Structure Example
Your opinion is the claim in an evaluation essay, and just like any other claim, you need to defend it.
Introduction - Introduce what you’re evaluating and state your evaluation in the thesis statement
Body - Give an overview of what you’re evaluating (such as a summary), then defend your opinion with criteria, reasons, and evidence
Conclusion - Restate your opinion and final impressions