essay styles

Essay Styles

by

Piet van der Laan

Common Essay Styles

Logical division of ideas essays

Process essays

Cause/effect essays

Comparison/contrast essays

Process Essays

Chronological Order is:

A way of organizing ideas in the order of

their occurrence in time.

Process Essays

This type of essay is used to:

Explain processes

Explain procedures

Process Essays

How to organize this essay

Discuss the steps in your process in the order inwhich they occur. Divide the steps into separateparagraphs where natural breaks or groups ofsteps occur.

Process Essays


Example: Making a ceramic vase.I Introductory paragraphII Body

A. Shaping the vaseB. First firingC. GlazingD. Second firing

III Concluding paragraph

Process Essays

The Thesis Statement:Needs to indicate the time order

the process of …, the procedure for …, etc

Sometimes tells the number of steps in the processFollow these steps to…., …. involves three steps.

May name the steps The main steps in the process of heating water by

solar radiation are (1) trapping the sun’s energy, (2) heating and storing the hot water and (3) distributing the water.

Cause/Effect Essays


Discuss the causes (reasons) for something.Discuss the effects (results) of something.Discuss both causes and effects.

Note: This type of essay is often used for answering test questions. For example: Discuss the effects of global warming on the environment.

Cause/Effect Essays

How to organize this essay:

Block organizationChain organization

Cause/Effect EssaysBlock Organization

Discuss all the causes as a block. (oneparagraph for each cause)Discuss all the effects as a block. You can also discuss only effects or onlycauses.Sometimes you need a transition paragraph toconclude a section and introduce anothersection.

Cause/Effect EssaysBlock Organization Example

INTRODUCTION 1st cause 2nd cause 3rd causeTRANSTION PARAGRAPH 1st effect 2nd effectCONCLUSION

Note: There are many different patterns and this is just one of the possibilities. For instance, it’s also possible to start with the effects instead of the causes.

Cause/Effect EssaysChain Organization

The causes and effects are linked to each otherin a chain.One event causes a second event, which leadsto a third event, and so on.Each cause and its effect are links in the chainYou can devote either one or more links to oneparagraph.

Cause/Effect EssaysChain Organization Example

Comparison/Contrast Essays


Explain the similarities and differences betweentwo items.

Note: This type of essay is often used for answering test questions. For example: Compare the forms of government of Great Britain and the United States.


How to organize this essay:

Point-by-Point organizationBlock organization


Point-by-Point Organization

Make a list of what is important to youEach point on your list will be a point ofcomparison.Each point of comparison becomes a topic of aparagraph.You can put the paragraphs in any order youwish.



Example: Deciding between two jobsI Introductory paragraph

Thesis Statement: One way to decide between job offers is to compare them on important points.

II BodyA. SalaryB. BenefitsC. Opportunities for advancement



Block Organization

Arrange all the similarities together in a block.Arrange all the differences together in a block.You could discuss either the differences or thesimilarities firstYou often insert a transition paragraph or atransition sentence between two blocks.

Comparison/Contrast EssaysHow to organize this essayExample: Deciding between two jobsI Introductory paragraph

Thesis Statement: One way to decide between job offers is to compare them on important points.

II BodyA. Similarities

Benefits

B. DifferencesSalaryOpportunity for advancement


Questions?

This presentation was largely based on information taken from

“Writing Academic English” by

Alice Oshima and Ann Hogue

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