Don’t know which type of writing style will suit your essay best? Wondering what strategy can transform an average piece into something truly impactful? You’re not alone. Many students struggle with choosing the right topic and writing style for their essays.
This confusion at the early stages can weaken your message and reduce your chances of scoring well. Selecting the appropriate writing style is key to writing an engaging, well-structured, and high-scoring paper. According to the University of Rhode Island, your targeted audience and writing purpose are the key factors in determining the writing style for your essay.
Since your audience is your instructor and you are writing an essay to achieve higher marks in any subject, it is clear that your selection choices are limited. You can’t choose a writing technique based on your liking or disliking.
This comprehensive article will explore the eight best writing styles to write winning essays to easily impress your instructor without a neck-breaking effort.
5 Powerful Types of Writing Styles Students Can Use to Write Impactful Essays
Imagine a group of students who have been writing an essay for a week. They gathered data from trusted sources and explored online journals to find information to support their arguments. From the introduction to the bibliography, they didn’t leave room for errors or mistakes. However, when they submitted and got the reviews of their instructor, they were appalled. The instructor returned their essay with a red note: Please revise the writing style of your essay.
This is a common problem for students as they don’t know which writing technique is appropriate for their paper. From the topic selection to the nature of a subject, they need to consider multiple factors when choosing a writing style. A wrong move here can irritate your instructor and lead to repetitive revisions. That’s why it’s wise for students to collaborate with professional essay writing services in the UK to explore various types of writing styles and select the most effective one for their academic goals.
Professional assistance always allows you to submit a paper that will help you leapfrog your classmates and earn higher grades. Usually, they pick a writing style from the most common types. You may ask them to specify any technique for your topic. What are the types of writing styles? Let’s explore them one by one so that you can submit a winning essay!
1. Narrative Writing
As per Grammarly, narrative writing is the best way to tell a story, whether it is real or imaginary. This writing style requires you to create synchronisation between your essay and introduce and explain all the characters engagingly. If you have written a narrative essay, and the element of storytelling is missing, the chances are high that it will not impress the readers.
Through narrative writing, you will present different events in a structured sequence. It empowers your readers to navigate through your whole essay without any complexities. Due to its engaging power, it is the most common style to write papers and assignments.
Here is a list of features that make it a final choice for essays:
- Chronological Structure: This enables you to organise information or events in a sequence.
- Characters & Setting: You must create a logical relationship between the characters of your essay.
- Conflict & Resolution: These are the two sides of a coin, and you must follow a balanced approach for both sides.
Usually, the admission committee of a college or university ask you to write a personal essay. You can follow the guidelines of narrative writing for it. For instance, you can explain the way you selected to overcome a challenge. This will be an ideal choice for memoirs and creative writing assignments.
2. Descriptive Writing
According to Open Oregon Educational Resources, descriptive writing usually appears in fiction; however, it can also be a part of non-fiction writing, such as memoirs or travel guides. Through descriptive writing, the author tries to paint a picture of a person, place, or event. Words themselves are not boring or engaging. The way you adopt them can make them mundane or interesting.
Descriptive writingis a popular choice for students, especially when they are asked to explain an event. In descriptive writing, a student has more artistic freedom than in other types of styles in writing. These are the strengths of descriptive writing that make students adopt it:
- Sensory Details: These are descriptive words that engage the senses of a reader, including smell, sight, taste, touch, and sound.
- Figurative Language: This is a descriptive method of conveying the meaning in a way that differs from the literal meaning.
- Strong Imagery: Have you read a novel or any fiction-based book? Strong imagery is the use of powerful wording that makes a piece of writing engaging and impressive.
Let’s say you get an assignment to describe the bustling environment of a local market. Descriptive writing must be your preferred choice to explain it because it will empower you to explore every object comprehensively. With descriptive writing, you will be able to create immersive experiences in narratives.
3. Critical Writing
Critical writing is also a common type of writing style among students when curating their dissertations, assignments, or essays. As the name suggests, the writer will critically evaluate a topic or event. The University of Sydney states that a student or author must have two points of view for their writing, including their own. This approach will empower them to evaluate a topic based on logical merits and demerits.
For instance, you get an assignment to write an essay on the topic of “Why is solar energy our future?” Here, you will have two options. You can either support the argument or go against it. You will comprehensively explain the point of view of those who are not in favour of solar energy. After that, you will mention why their arguments don’t stand on a logical ground.
Thirdly, you will state your arguments on why we must adopt solar energy to save the environment. The essay will not conclude here because you will also state the questions that may arise about your opinion. Finally, you will address them one by one. This strategy will make your essay engaging.
Here are some key features of critical writing:
- Analytical Depth: Students explain a topic based on its merits and demerits. The analytical depth in your essay makes it a trusted source of information.
- Balanced Argumentation: If you give arguments in support of your narrative, you will also mention the opposite opinion. This balanced approach does not let a writer become biased.
- Evidence-Based Conclusions: You don’t have the freedom to conclude an essay with baseless opinion. Instead, you will always write a conclusion with logical reasoning.
4. Expository Writing
Expository writing is also a common type of writing style. The purpose of this writing method is to inform a reader about a topic. As per Study.com, a writer or student uses evidence or facts to explain a topic. Here, the author does not have the freedom to include their opinion. Their focus must be on conveying the information as is. They will not be able to compare arguments or give reasoning in favour of something or someone.
This writing method is beneficial for college and university students because it does not require them to critically evaluate a topic. By collecting data through online libraries and research journals, they can simply explain a topic.
Here is how expository writing is different from other styles or techniques:
- Clear Thesis Statement: In the Introduction, you clearly state the thesis statement. This statement explains what you are going to describe or cover in your essay or assignment.
- Logical Organisation: There is always a rational organisation within your essay. For instance, you will first include the introduction, then the body paragraphs, and the conclusion. Your instructor may ask you to add a bibliography at the end.
- Evidence: You always provide evidence for every stat or argument you mention in your essay. Evidence can significantly increase the impact of your writing.
Before submitting the final draft of your expository writing, you can ask your classmates or instructor to review it. You may have added opinions unintentionally. A good editor or reader will detect them. Based on their suggestions, you will have the option and time to remove biased arguments or opinions.
5. Persuasive Writing
Persuasive writing is a type of biased writing style. However, it does not mean that you will try to convince a reader with mundane arguments. Instead, you will quote trusted sources from books and research articles to support your assertions. Let’s say your instructor asks you to write an essay on “The positive effects of social media on political awareness”. You will have to convince your reader about it logically.
Instead of adding baseless arguments, you can include real-world examples to support your statements. Furthermore, you will have the option to add references from previously published articles or books that can increase the impact of your essay. Persuasive writing has some strong features that make it a popular choice among academia.
These features are:
- Strong Arguments: The author always includes strong and scientific arguments in their essays because they have a great significance in convincing a reader.
- Emotional Appeal: It is also known as pathos. A student or writer may evoke the feelings of a reader to accept a particular viewpoint.
- Call to Action: Usually, a persuasive piece of writing has a strong call to action. It encourages the reader to accept arguments. A call to action can be both direct and indirect.
What Are the 4 Types of Writing Styles?
Narrative, descriptive, expository, and persuasive are the common types of writing styles. Students and academic professionals usually follow them to write their essays or research papers. Here is a brief description of every style:
- Narrative: It usually tells a story and uses characters to engage the interest of the readers.
- Descriptive: The author uses imagery or sensory details to describe emotions. It is a common writing style in academia.
- Expository: This writing style clearly explains facts or processes logically.
- Persuasive: The basic purpose of this writing is to convince the reader through solid evidence and arguments.
Each style has unique properties, and academic professionals use it for various writing tasks. They can adopt a specific style based on the nature of their topic and the type of their audience.
What Are the 4 Academic Writing Styles?
These are four academic writing styles: descriptive, analytical, persuasive, and critical. All these styles are acceptable in academia, and you can choose any of them after discussing with your instructor or supervisor.
This brief description will help you understand them effectively:
- Descriptive: It presents facts and data without opinions. The perfect example of this writing style is surveys.
- Analytical: This writing technique breaks data or information into categories and evaluates their relationship.
- Persuasive: It is a perfect combination of analysis and arguments and aims to convince the readers.
- Critical: This style includes a detailed evaluation of theories or ideas. Its purpose is to explain the weaknesses and strengths of a book, research paper, or topic.
Wrapping Up
Writing an essay always remains challenging for students because they don’t know which style is best for their writing. From the guidelines of an instructor to the nature of a topic, they need to consider several factors before choosing a writing style. This process demands the highest level of carefulness, and a minor mistake here can decrease the impact of your writing.
However, British essay writing agencies don’t let you face this problem because they know perfectly how to choose a writing style while considering multiple factors. To avoid mistakes in your paper, you can contact them, and they will provide you with assistance without breaking the bank. As a result, you will free up your time so that you can spend it on other educational activities.
Author Bio
Lori Vallow is an expert essay writerwho currently resides in London and offers academic writing services to international students. She has been writing essays since her days at the University of Manchester. Now, she is a full-time writer and also delivers lectures in various colleges and universities.
