APA style and citations for dummies - Joe Giampalmi 2021

Implementing essay variations: common college essays
Understanding first year writing: APA essays and reaction papers
Perfecting presentation: beginnings, endings, and other writings

College writing programs are designed to introduce you to the writing experiences you’ll need to succeed in college. You’ll be required to write a variety of essay structures (called essay styles or modes). Each of the essay styles that follow represent an independent essay or a strategy used in other essays. For example, comparison and contrast can be an essay in itself, as well as a technique in an expository or persuasive essay. These essay genres are representative of essays required in almost all college writing programs. The explanation of each essay genre is followed by a description of what that type of essay looks like.

Narrative

Narrative writing is a style of essay writing that tells a story, usually chronological, exemplifying a single theme. Narratives can be a self-sustaining essay or part of another essay. Characteristics of narrative essays include plot, setting, characterization, dialogue, and conflict. Novels and most fiction are examples of a narrative. When you tell someone about your weekend, you are usually telling a narrative.

Narratives are frequently written in the first person, and first-year writing programs usually include a narrative requirement because of its application to other types of writing. Here are a few examples:

· Children who grow up too fast

· Lessons learned at the beach

· Is crying allowed at college?

· Expensive life lessons

An example of a narrative essay is a story about a visit to the September 11 memorial, 15 years after the attack on the World Trade Center. Written in the first person, the essay opens with a description of the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963 and the death of teacher Christa McAuliffe aboard the Challenger spacecraft in 1986. The essay chronicles the events of September 11 and a description of the memorial reflection pool with names of victims etched in the bronze perimeter of the pool. The essay tells the story of victims’ photographs in the memorial and artifacts from the attack, such as a pair of blood-stained pink high heels, a ripped airplane window, and a 19-foot fragment of a transmission tower. The theme is revealed at the end, when the author describes current differences between Americans and recalls the compassion and serenity Americans shared with each other in the days after the attacks.

In addition to narration, the essay uses comparison to show differences between September 11 and other American tragedies. Cause and effect (see the next section) is used to show the effects of the attacks on the lives of American people. Persuasion (refer to the section, “Persuasion,” later in this chapter) is used to convince readers of the importance of showing compassion. Author engagement includes sources related to the United Airlines Flight 93 crash in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, psychological effects on people following September 11, and television news accounts of September 11.

Cause and effect

Cause and effect essays identify relationships between events and the results of those events. They also include consequences, analysis, and implications of the events. Cause and effect essays explain how and why events happen. Here are examples of cause-and-effect topics:

· Why saving is fundamental to financial security

· How exercise improves academics

· Benefits of fitness centers on college campuses

An example of cause and effect is an essay comparing taxation in major cities across the country. The essay opens by referencing newspaper headlines proclaiming tax increases in a number of major cities. Residents are quoted explaining the effects of increased taxes on their lives, such as reducing their spending power for housing, food, and transportation. The essay explains the city’s point of view by saying the tax increase is a result of rising costs of many city services and healthcare and other benefits for city employees. The essay ends by offering a compromise solution of reducing tax increases and reducing city spending. Author engagement includes sources related to taxes and services common to major cities.

Comparison and contrast

Comparison and contrast essays show similarities and differences between events, objects, beliefs, people, and so forth. The information provides decision-making criteria. Examples of comparison-and-contrast topics include the following:

· Big cities and big corruption

· Life adaptations in Alaska and Hawaii

· Differences among economic systems

An example of comparison and contrast is an essay comparing and contrasting career salaries of people who finish high school, college, and graduate school. The essay opens with research comparing the average salary of each, and statistics showing how over a lifetime, college graduates earn almost two million dollars more than high school graduates, and graduate school graduates earn almost five million dollars more than high school graduates. The three levels of graduates are compared and contrasted according to health, savings, and quality of life. Many statistical comparisons are made throughout the essay. The essay ends with an argument for increased levels of education.

In addition to comparison and contrast strategies, the essay uses narration to tell the stories of different-level graduates, cause and effect to show results of various levels of education, and persuasion to convince readers of the importance of more levels of education. Author engagement includes sources related to education levels, and comparisons of health and income.

Expository

Expository essays provide an explanation of a process and how things work. They emphasize how rather than why. Take a look at these examples:

· How children train parents

· Animals that domesticate humans

An example of an expository essay is an explanation of the process of baking banana nut bread, including an explanation of the chemical process in baking, and the effect of baking on reducing stress. The essay begins with a narrative explaining the increase in home baking in recent years and the popularity of baking banana nut bread. The baking process is explained, which includes heating the oven to 350 degrees, mixing dry ingredients, observing the chemical effect of baking soda on the bread, and combining dry and wet ingredients. The essay explains the importance of mixing a half-teaspoon of flour with the nuts, which prevents the nuts from settling to the bottom of the batter during baking. The essay ends with a description of the comfort value of foods as a stress reducer and a reference to a study showing that people who bake are often happier than people who don’t bake.

In addition to expository techniques, the essay uses narration (refer to the section, “Narrative,” earlier in this chapter) to tell the story of people who bake, cause and effect (see the section, “Cause and effect,” earlier in this chapter) to show the effect of the chemical process in baking, and a comparison of happiness levels between bakers and non-bakers. The essay also uses persuasion (see the next section) to convince readers to occasionally bake to reduce stress. Author engagement includes sources related to causes of stress, and strategies for reducing stress.

Persuasive

Persuasive essays convince the reader to take action on issues such as environmental protections, river management, and Internet accessibility. Take a look at a couple of persuasive topics:

· Should military service be mandatory?

· Is the Electoral College headed for failure?

An example of a persuasive style is an essay convincing readers of the benefits of stronger support for K—12 education, especially public education. The essay begins with the snowball effect of more people working at higher-paying jobs, resulting in more buying power, more tax money collected, and fewer people needing public assistance. The essay makes a convincing argument that increased levels of education result in increased earning power. The essay also convinces readers of the economic benefit of taxpayer-supported, tuition-free two-year colleges. The essay’s supporting evidence includes anecdotes of first-generation college graduates who influenced younger siblings to attend college.

In addition to persuasive strategies, the essay uses comparison and contrast (refer to the section, “Comparison and contrast,” earlier in this chapter) to show income variations among people with different education levels, cause and effect (refer to the section, “Cause and effect,” earlier in this chapter) to show the results of more education, and narration (refer to the section, “Narrative,” earlier in this chapter) to tell stories of first-generation college graduates who influence younger siblings. Author engagement includes sources related to how education is funded across the globe.

Descriptive

Descriptive essays describe people, places, objects, and experiences using the senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. They’re infrequently assigned as standalone essays in college because they are supported primarily by opinion. But describing experiences plays a major role in other forms of essay writing. The key to successful descriptive writing is the creative use of sensory description, as in, “The food tasted free.” Similar to all essay structures, a descriptive essay contains a beginning, middle, and ending — and focuses on a central theme.

An example of a descriptive essay is a description of my favorite beach location. The essay begins with a brief narrative of my arrival that includes driving to the beach shortly after sunrise and parking my turquoise convertible under the shade of palm trees and within the sound of waves lapping at the shoreline. I describe the short walk through the white, sugary sand to the water’s edge, where I’ll homestead. I park my chair under the shade of my three-piece, green-and-white-striped beach umbrella and prepare for three hours of reading and writing. Author engagement includes sources related to the sound of water reducing stress.