An essay is an extended piece of writing that takes a main idea or thesis and fully explores and supports it with reasons and supporting details. The goal of an essay is to persuade or convince the reader of the validity or truth of the thesis. There are many different styles of essays.
Formal Essays
These essays are usually written to inform, persuade or educate. Formal or Academic essays are effective when they use research, data, and logical arguments to prove their theses. Argumentative or Opinion Essays, Compare and Contrast Essays, and Definition Essays are types of Formal Essays.
Informal Essays
These kinds of essays are usually more personal and their intention is to entertain or inform. Informal essays are often humorous or written in a casual way. They may be less focused on making a point and more focused on telling a story or making observations about people and life. Narrative Essays or Columns in newspapers and magazines are probably the most common type of informal essay.
Essay Structure
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