Types of academic writing - The University of Sydney.
This is because there is really on ONE type of essay in Task 2 of the IELTS Writing Test: the discursive essay. In a discursive essay, you are asked to present and support your views on a particular issue. All IELTS essays ask you to do this. The question types are simply different ways to get you to do this.
This type of essay is designed for describing details of the subject. It can be written about any object and its features. You are to describe the way it looks, smells or works. It can be compared with a detailed overview of the things you write about.
Writing an academic essay means fashioning a coherent set of ideas into an argument. Because essays are essentially linear—they offer one idea at a time—they must present their ideas in the order that makes most sense to a reader. Successfully structuring an essay means attending to a reader's logic.
There are four general types of essay: expository, persuasive, analytical, and argumentative. Different types of essay assume different approaches to writing. Like a narrative, an expository essay is a simple author’s vision of a particular issue. Pretend you are Wikipedia and explain a topic in own words.
An essay is generally a short piece of writing outlining the writer’s perspective or story. 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.
Essays can be a complicated business even for a seasoned college student. There’s rules to follow for each different type of essay, and it can be difficult to keep them all in order. If there is an essay in your future, take a look at these four types of essays and remind yourself of what the rules are for each.
In IELTS Writing Task 2 (both General and Academic), there are 5 different types of essays you may be asked to write. See the questions and essay samples of each essay type!