Essay Types: R–St

Essay Types: R–St

by Owen Fourie

What is involved in each of these kinds of essays?

(If you are a new reader of this blog, the introduction to this particular category will help you to understand how this post fits into the bigger picture.)

Reaction

Sometimes this term is used synonymously for a response to literature, but it is better applied to personal reactions to current events and your personal, reasoned opinion about these events and issues or anything of interest at the moment.

Look under Analysis or Analytical.

Reflective

Reveal your thoughts and feelings about a particular topic. Share your insight as you reflect deeply on a matter.

This can be an exercise required on completion of a course of study or a project. It can serve as a record of your observations and your evaluation of the experience.

A reflective essay may be written to fulfill the requirements of a college application.

Research Report

Choose a topic narrowed down to a particular point or question that leads to a thesis statement that demands specific, detailed research to support the thesis.

Write a thoroughly documented report based on your findings.

The report is either informative, especially if it tends to open up a new aspect of the subject, or it can be both informative and persuasive if it is proposing a solution to a problem.

Response

Look under Analysis or Analytical.

Response-to-Literature

Look under Analysis or Analytical.

Review

Look under Analysis or Analytical.

Rhetorical

Use language effectively and persuasively to communicate the substance of your chosen topic.

This is what rhetoric is. It is the art of using language to communicate effectively and persuasively to move an audience or a readership to accept the orator’s point of view or the author’s position.

The rhetoric essay is a test of one’s use of language.

Scholarship

Follow closely the directions given by a scholarship committee for the required essay.

Write in standard format in your own style, formally and from the heart using correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Give compelling reasons for your eligibility. Be creative, honest, and relevant.

The persuasiveness in the scholarship essay is conveyed by its quality and its adherence to instructions.

Short Story

Write a short story that has a clear plotline: exposition, rising action, conflict, climax, falling action, and resolution.

Create characters that come to life, not cardboard characters.

Make the reader see, hear, feel, and even smell and taste the setting and the action by descriptive writing. Surprise the reader with a twist at the end of the story.

Statistical

Analyze reliable statistical data obtained in research of a particular topic to formulate a testable hypothesis.

Use tables, charts, and graphs and a well-written analysis and interpretation of the data to arrive at a conclusion that either persuades your readers that your research can lead to a solution of a problem or leaves the door open for further observation and analysis.

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What good or bad experiences have you had with any of the kinds of essays mentioned in this post? Under any of the types in this post, are there points about them that you feel are missing and should be included? Do you have any useful insights? What are your particular struggles? Your comments, observations, and questions are welcome.

Here are more articles to help you with English words, grammar, and essay writing.

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