How many types of academic writing there are? There are 4 of them and each one is completely unique and used for different purposes. Chances are high that during your education, you will have to complete all types and you will have to write dozens of them. Now is the time to see something more about the 4 main types.
Descriptive: Used to provide a summary
The most common and for students, one of the easiest types of academic writing is descriptive. It is used to provide a summary of an article, to identify or to provide a report. These papers are common in all colleges across the world and they are considered to be the simplest of them all.
One reason why they are simple is the obvious fact. You will use facts and obvious reasons to write a paper. This is much easier because it doesn’t require you to use your emotions or to go extremely deep into the analysis.
Analytical: You will analyze something
Most essays you will have to write while in college are analytical. This type is basically a descriptive paper with a separate touch that must be included. In this case scenario, you will also have to describe something, but you will have to analyze two things and to provide accurate information.
Analytical papers usually examine, compare, or contrast two or more things. When writing a paper of this kind, you need plenty of ideas and you need to use strong arguments. For example, you may have to compare two things or two theories. You will use strong arguments for each one and you will provide a detailed paper.
Yes, as you may expect, this is one of the more complicated types of academic writing and it requires plenty of research. In order to examine something or to compare, you must know it deeply and you must understand it.
Students who write these papers without understanding a topic usually fail. The reason is obvious. You can’t analyze something and not understand it. As such, we recommend you investing a huge amount of time to analyze all the pros, cons, benefits of a theory, and to provide them into the paper.
Another thing you will have to include is to provide a clear format for your essay. What this means is that introduction and the sentences must be clear as possible and they must be obvious to the readers. By doing this, readers are more interested in reading your paper.
Persuasive: Your paper must convince readers
The third type is linked to the analytic paper. What this means is that you still have to analyze something, but you must provide arguments that will convince your readers. You are telling them that your opinion is right and they should use it.
It is very difficult to write a paper of this kind. After all, you must choose the best possible arguments and you must prove to your readers why your opinion is the one to trust.
Critical: Provide two points of view
A critical paper is similar to persuasive. You still need to provide one point of view which is based on research or on a specific topic. But, the second part is to provide your point of view. In addition, you need to use arguments that support both claims.
When writing a paper of this kind, you must use evidence that supports the claims and organize them properly. In most cases, you will need to write about the generic point of view and then move to your own one.
Place yourself in the shoes of a critic and take a closer look at the topic. Now write like you are analyzing the topic and you want to persuade your readers that your view is the correct one.
These are 4 types of academic writing you need to know about. They will be a part of your education from the beginning to the end and they will have a huge effect on your life and your career. The best way to make sure you are always providing the best paper is to fully understand each type.
