What Is Narrative Writing
What Is Narrative Writing
What Is Narrative Writing
Lindsay Kramer
Lindsay Kramer
Updated on
August 4, 2021
WRITING TIPS
Narrative writing is, essentially, story writing. A narrative can be fiction or nonfiction, and it can also
occupy the space between these as a semi-autobiographical story, historical fiction, or a dramatized
retelling of actual events. As long as a piece tells a story through a narrative structure, it’s narrative
writing.
There are multiple ways to write a narrative. The right kind of narrative for your story or essay
depends on your goals for the piece you’re writing.
Linear narrative
With a linear narrative, a story’s events are told in chronological order. Most books, movies, TV
shows, and other pieces of media are linear narratives. With a linear narrative, each scene is followed
by the next logical scene. There can be gaps between scenes, such as a book’s third chapter taking
place two years after its second chapter’s events.
One specific type of linear narrative you may be familiar with is the quest narrative. This kind of
narrative tells the story of a character’s quest to reach a goal. Often, this quest involves traveling to a
far-off location and overcoming obstacles to achieve the goal. Shrek is an example of a quest
narrative. In addition to following the standard quest narrative structure, Shrek also satirizes many of
the tropes associated with this kind of story, like a princess locked in a tower guarded by a dragon.
Another specific type of linear narrative you may have encountered is the historical narrative. A
historical narrative follows a linear timeline to tell the story of an actual event or series of events.
Nonlinear narrative
In contrast to a linear narrative, a nonlinear narrative presents its story’s events in nonchronological
order. A well-known example of a nonlinear narrative is House of Leaves, a novel told through first-
person narration, recovered documents, and footnotes throughout the book.
By choosing a nonlinear narrative for your writing, you can emphasize your characters’ emotions and
perspectives on the events in the story. You can also highlight key events and include scenes that
provide necessary details that wouldn’t fit into your story’s timeline otherwise.
Viewpoint narrative
A viewpoint narrative focuses on the narrator’s perspective of the story’s events. Generally, these
kinds of stories are more character driven than plot driven. The Catcher in the Rye is one of the most
popular examples of a viewpoint narrative. By putting the reader in protagonist Holden Caulfield’s
head, author J. D. Salinger created a unique perspective that allows the reader to experience Holden’s
romp through New York City firsthand and feel what he feels as the narrative unfolds. Imagine if the
novel was a linear narrative told through a third-person point of view—reading it would be a very
different experience, wouldn’t it?
Through a narrative viewpoint, you can explore facets of your protagonist’s personality and expose
your readers to their thoughts. This kind of narrative is an effective choice for personal essays and
stories with perspective and personal growth themes.
Descriptive narrative
In a descriptive narrative, the focus is on how the story’s setting, characters, and objects look and feel.
The goal here is total immersion in the world of the story; this is different from how a viewpoint
narrative strives to create immersion in a character’s inner world, a limited perspective on the world
of the story. A well-known example of a descriptive narrative is Edgar Allan Poe’s short story The Tell-
Tale Heart. After murdering a victim and hiding his heart beneath a floorboard, the narrator hears a
heartbeat-like thumping, which gets louder and louder until they confess to their crime. The narrative
is structured like a conversation between the reader and the narrator, with the narrator’s distressed
mental state and strong emotions expressed through Poe’s word choice, sentence structure, and
manner of addressing the reader.
If you’re assigned to write a descriptive essay, you’ll use descriptive narrative techniques to discuss
the topic you’re covering. These include using vivid imagery to introduce specific objects and ideas,
personification, and similes.
Each type of writing has its own unique characteristics, and narrative writing is no different. Here are
key characteristics you’ll find in most narratives:
Descriptive language: This type of language evokes feelings rather than directly stating facts.
Descriptive language techniques include metaphors, similes, personification, and onomatopoeia.
Characters: A story might have just one character, or it can have a huge cast of characters. In some
stories, the narrator is the only character present. The narrator is the figure from whose point of view
the story is being told, and they might (or might not) interact with the other characters.
Among the characters, nearly every narrative needs to have a protagonist. The protagonist, also
known as the main character, is the character whose story is being told as they work toward a goal or
face a challenge.
Another character found in nearly every narrative is the antagonist. The antagonist isn’t necessarily
the “bad guy”; they are simply the character or force imposing obstacles for the protagonist to
overcome. In many narratives, the antagonist is a person, a force of nature, the protagonist’s society,
or even an aspect of the protagonist’s personality.
Plot: The plot is the series of events that happen in your narrative. A plot can be simple, with only one
or two events, or it can be complex and multi-layered.
Narrative structure: Every narrative, even nonlinear narratives, is organized in some way. This is how
the main character pursues their goal or faces the challenge presented to them. No matter how you
structure your narrative, it has three distinct parts:
The beginning: This is where the reader meets your writing. Hooking their attention at the beginning is
crucial.
The middle: The middle of your story or essay is where the action happens. This is where your
protagonist faces one or more conflicts and reaches the climax, the point where the narrative pivots
to the falling action after the protagonist either meets or fails to meet their goal.
The end: After the narrative’s climax, the ending wraps up loose story threads, satisfies readers’
remaining curiosities, and positions the protagonist for life after the story’s events.
Next time your friend tells you about their day, pay as much attention to how they tell the story as
you do to the story itself. Listen for the jumps forward and back, asides, tangents, and how your
friend’s volume and animation level change at different parts of the story. You’ll notice that certain
parts get “fast-forwarded” while others split from the logical, linear narrative and involve more
abstract, descriptive language.
When you sit down to write your next narrative piece, keep these storytelling ebbs and flows in mind.
Think about where your friend slowed down to build suspense and where their tone changed to
communicate how they felt at different points in the story. You can create these effects in your
writing through thoughtful word choice and pacing.
Writing a linear narrative doesn’t mean you can’t incorporate elements of a descriptive or viewpoint
narrative. If your nonlinear essay about the five best summers of your life calls for a passage that
shows the reader everything you saw, smelled, and swatted away one year at camp, write that
passage.
Play!
Give yourself permission to play. Make up your own onomatopoeia. Put yourself in two different
characters’ heads and describe the same building from each character’s perspective. Then write the
characters’ conversation with each other about the building. Follow your stream of consciousness as
far as it can go and see where you end up.
This playful kind of writing is called freewriting. It’s a fun way to get yourself into a creative mind
frame and create a world on the page. There are no structure rules and there’s no reason to worry
about grammar—the writing you produce during a freewriting session is the raw content you’ll shape
and polish into a coherent narrative later. For now, give yourself permission to play.
Make your writing shine
Grammarly can help you tell your story—any story—with confidence by ensuring that your writing is
mistake-free and conveys the exact tone you intend. Consider it a built-in editor that helps you hone
your craft as you write.
The definition of narrative is a piece of writing that tells a story, and it is one of four classical
rhetorical modes or ways that writers use to present information. The others include an exposition,
which explains and analyzes an idea or set of ideas; an argument, which attempts to persuade the
reader to a particular point of view; and a description, a written form of a visual experience.
Narratives have five elements: plot, setting, character, conflict, and theme.
Writers use narrator style, chronological order, a point of view, and other strategies to tell a story.
Telling stories is an ancient art that started long before humans invented writing. People tell stories
when they gossip, tell jokes, or reminisce about the past. Written forms of narration include most
forms of writing: personal essays, fairy tales, short stories, novels, plays, screenplays,
autobiographies, histories, even news stories have a narrative. Narratives may be a sequence of
events in chronological order or an imagined tale with flashbacks or multiple timelines.
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Narrative Elements
Every narrative has five elements that define and shape the narrative: plot, setting, character, conflict,
and theme. These elements are rarely stated in a story; they are revealed to the readers in the story in
subtle or not-so-subtle ways, but the writer needs to understand the elements to assemble her story.
Here's an example from "The Martian," a novel by Andy Weir that was made into a film:
The plot is the thread of events that occur in a story. Weir's plot is about a man who gets accidentally
abandoned on the surface of Mars.
The setting is the location of the events in time and place. "The Martian" is set on Mars in the not-too-
distant future.
The characters are the people in the story who drive the plot, are impacted by the plot, or may even
be bystanders to the plot. The characters in "The Martian" include Mark Watney, his shipmates, the
people at NASA resolving the issue, and even his parents who are only mentioned in the story but still
are impacted by the situation and in turn impact Mark's decisions.
The conflict is the problem that is being resolved. Plots need a moment of tension, which involves
some difficulty that requires resolution. The conflict in "The Martian" is that Watney needs to figure
out how to survive and eventually leave the planet's surface.
Most important and least explicit is the theme. What is the moral of the story? What does the writer
intend the reader to understand? There are arguably several themes in "The Martian": the ability of
humans to overcome problems, the stodginess of bureaucrats, the willingness of scientists to
overcome political differences, the dangers of space travel, and the power of flexibility as a scientific
method.
In addition to structural elements, narratives have several styles that help move the plot along or
serve to involve the reader. Writers define space and time in a descriptive narrative, and how they
choose to define those characteristics can convey a specific mood or tone.
For example, chronological choices can affect the reader's impressions. Past events always occur in
strict chronological order, but writers can choose to mix that up, show events out of sequence, or the
same event several times experienced by different characters or described by different narrators. In
Gabriel García Márquez's novel "Chronicle of a Death Foretold," the same few hours are experienced
in sequence from the viewpoint of several different characters. García Márquez uses that to illustrate
the peculiar almost magical inability of the townspeople to stop a murder they know is going to
happen.
The choice of a narrator is another way that writers set the tone of a piece. Is the narrator someone
who experienced the events as a participant, or one who witnessed the events but wasn't an active
participant? Is that narrator an omniscient undefined person who knows everything about the plot
including its ending, or is he confused and uncertain about the events underway? Is the narrator a
reliable witness or lying to themselves or the reader? In the novel "Gone Girl," by Gillian Flynn, the
reader is forced to constantly revise her opinion as to the honesty and guilt of the husband Nick and
his missing wife. In "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov, the narrator is Humbert Humbert, a pedophile who
constantly justifies his actions despite the damage that Nabokov illustrates he's doing.
Point of View
Establishing a point of view for a narrator allows the writer to filter the events through a particular
character. The most common point of view in fiction is the omniscient (all-knowing) narrator who has
access to all the thoughts and experiences of each of her characters. Omniscient narrators are almost
always written in the third person and do not usually have a role in the storyline. The Harry Potter
novels, for example, are all written in third person; that narrator knows everything about everybody
but is unknown to us.
The other extreme is a story with a first-person point of view in which the narrator is a character
within that story, relating events as they see them and with no visibility into other character
motivations. Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" is an example of this: Jane relates her experiences of the
mysterious Mr. Rochester to us directly, not revealing the full explanation until "Reader, I married
him."
Points of view can also be effectively shifted throughout a piece—in her novel "Keys to the Street,"
Ruth Rendell used limited third-person narratives from the point of view of five different characters,
enabling the reader to assemble a coherent whole out of what first appears to be unrelated stories.
Other Strategies
Writers also use the grammatical strategies of tense (past, present, future), person (first person,
second person, third person), number (singular, plural) and voice (active, passive). Writing in the
present tense is unsettling—the narrators have no idea what will happen next—while past tense can
build in some foreshadowing. Many recent novels use the present tense, including "The Martian." A
writer sometimes personalizes the narrator of a story as a specific person for a specific purpose: The
narrator can only see and report on what happens to him or her. In "Moby Dick," the entire story is
told by the narrator Ishmael, who relates the tragedy of the mad Captain Ahab, and is situated as the
moral center.
E.B. White, writing columns in 1935's "New Yorker" magazine, often used the plural or "editorial we"
to add a humorous universality and a slow pace to his writing.
"The barber was cutting our hair, and our eyes were closed—as they are so likely to be... Deep in a
world of our own, we heard, from far away, a voice saying goodbye. It was a customer of the shop,
leaving. 'Goodbye,' he said to the barbers. 'Goodbye,' echoed the barbers. And without ever returning
to consciousness, or opening our eyes, or thinking, we joined in. 'Goodbye,' we said, before we could
catch ourselves."—E.B. White "Sadness of Parting."
In contrast, sportswriter Roger Angell (White's stepson) epitomizes sports writing, with a quick, active
voice, and straight chronological snap:
"In September 1986, during an unmomentous Giants-Braves game out at Candlestick Park, Bob
Brenly, playing third base for San Francisco, made an error on a routine ground ball in the top of the
fourth inning. Four batters later, he kicked away another chance and then, scrambling after the ball,
threw wildly past home in an attempt to nail a runner there: two errors on the same play. A few
moments after that, he managed another boot, thus becoming only the fourth player since the turn of
the century to rack up four errors in one inning."—Roger Angell. "La Vida."
Narrative
Narrative is writing that tells a story. It has a sequence of events, the plot. Narratives also have
characters and a setting, as well as a narrator or person from whose point of view the story is told.
Examples of Narrative:
When your friend tells a story about seeing a deer on the way to school, he or she is using
characteristics of a narrative.
Fairy tales are narratives. The plot typically begin with "Once upon a time ..." and end with "happily
ever after."
Novels that you read are narratives. For example the Harry Potter series is a set of books that relate
the story of Harry's education as a wizard at Hogwarts, and his fight against the evil Voldemort.
Another novel, Charlotte's Web, tells the story of how a young pig's life is saved by a spider who
writes words about him in her web.
Plays also have narrative plots. For example, Romeo and Juliet tells the story of two young lovers
whose families' hatred of each other leads to their untimely deaths.
Another play, Macbeth, tells the story of the ambitious Macbeth and his wife, who plot to kill the
king, and then instead of gaining power, their plot is found out.
Sometimes, poetry can be narrative. For example, "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe tells the story of
a man whose young wife died, but he goes and sits in her tomb to be near her.
Difference Between Narrative and Descriptive Essay
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DESCRIPTION
Composing a detailed essay is by no means, a big deal, yet concerning presenting a top-tier and
engaging piece of writing, it becomes challenging for students. It's anything yet an easy task to create
a handy essay by following all the rules and regulations that an academic essay requires. Learning
those rules is the final resort for students. Really at that time would students have the decision to
differentiate among various compositions.
As an understudy, you should already realize that academic writing is a mandatory subject of a degree
program. An understudy can't survive its degree program in the event that he doesn't follow the
academic writing practice. Sometimes, neophyte writers begin considering academic writing a
dreaded affair or a tiring job as their teachers assign them to essay writing tasks repeatedly.
However, it is necessary to know the importance and purpose of research paper example writing.
Usually, students make a mistake of mingling concepts of narrative essays and descriptive essays with
one another. Therefore, students need to understand the similarities and differences between the
two pieces.
In a narrative essay, writing a scribbler needs to portray a story of its real-life event. The topic that an
essay writer will explain should have great significance for him and a reader. It demands a writer to
involve sensory details in the text. It helps grab the attention of the targeted audience in the text and
brings the readers into another imaginary world.
In the event that a reader, while reading the content, feels himself to be the piece of that particular
event or incident, the scribbler has worked incomprehensibly. Doing considering, irrefutably, isn't
easy. To learn this skill, it is recommended to keenly observe the writing work of a well-reputed essay
writing service. It will make it easier for you to determine the approach that a professional essay
writer usually adopts while compiling a narrative essay.
It is notable that in a narrative essay, it is imperative to examine the situation critically. The whole
event should be defined in chronological order. Likewise, a scribbler needs to explain the small events
in a reasonable time-frame.
Descriptive Essay:
It is another essential type of essay. Absolutely when teachers need an understudy to describe a
thing, place, or person in detail, they give the writing task of a descriptive essay. Writing this specific
genre of essay isn't an easy task. To achieve the goal of writing this special essay, an understudy needs
to enhance its vocabulary.
It is the utmost duty of a writer to describe a subject by involving the sensory details. However, a
writer isn't supposed to follow a sequential order. It is associated with drawing a moving picture of a
subject to lure the readers' interest in the topic.
a. A narrative essay demands an essay writer to illustrate a real-life event. In contrast, a descriptive
essay demands you to explicate a place, thing, or person.
b. In a narrative essay, a scribbler is bound to follow the normal time-frame. In central words, a writer
should highlight all the significant small events that lead the text towards the end in sequential order.
Unmistakably, the writer gets the flexibility to illustrate the whole essay in any order.
c. A narrative essay same as rhetorical analysis essay example requires the readers to make a move
regarding the assigned topic, whereas no such action is required in descriptive essays.
d. The narrative essay involves in any event two characters in the text, while a descriptive essay
contains just two c
In descriptive writing, the author does not just tell the reader what was seen, felt, tested, smelled, or
heard. Rather, the author describes something from their own experience and, through careful choice
of words and phrasing, makes it seem real. Descriptive writing is vivid, colorful, and detailed.
Good descriptive writing creates an impression in the reader's mind of an event, a place, a person, or
a thing. The writing will be such that it will set a mood or describe something in such detail that if the
reader saw it, they would recognize it.
To be concrete, descriptive writing has to offer specifics the reader can envision. Rather than “Her
eyes were the color of blue rocks” (Light blue? Dark blue? Marble? Slate?), try instead, “Her eyes
sparkled like sapphires in the dark.”
To be evocative, descriptive writing has to unite the concrete image with phrasing that evokes the
impression the writer wants the reader to have. Consider “her eyes shone like sapphires, warming my
night” versus “the woman’s eyes had a light like sapphires, bright and hard.” Each phrase uses the
same concrete image, then employs evocative language to create different impressions.
To be plausible, the descriptive writer has to constrain the concrete, evocative image to suit the
reader’s knowledge and attention span. “Her eyes were brighter than the sapphires in the armrests of
the Tipu Sultan’s golden throne, yet sharper than the tulwars of his cruelest executioners” will have
the reader checking their phone halfway through. “Her eyes were sapphires, bright and hard” creates
the same effect in a fraction of the reading time. As always in the craft of writing: when in doubt,
write less.
The following sentences provide examples of the concreteness, evocativeness and plausibility of good
descriptive writing.
Her last smile to me wasn’t a sunset. It was an eclipse, the last eclipse, noon dying away to darkness
where there would be no dawn.
My Uber driver looked like a deflating airbag and sounded like talk radio on repeat.
The old man was bent into a capital C, his head leaning so far forward that his beard nearly touched
his knobby knees.
The painting was a field of flowers, blues and yellows atop deep green stems that seemed to call the
viewer in to play.
My dog’s fur felt like silk against my skin and her black coloring shone, absorbing the sunlight and
reflecting it back like a pure, dark mirror.
The sunset filled the sky with a deep red flame, setting the clouds ablaze.
The waves rolled along the shore in a graceful, gentle rhythm, as if dancing with the land.
Winter hit like a welterweight that year, a jabbing cold you thought you could stand until the wind
rose up and dropped you to the canvas.
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Because descriptive text is so powerful, many examples of it can be found in famous literature and
poetry.
The mystery novelist Raymond Chandler was one of American literature’s masters of descriptive
language. This sentence from The High Window strikes the perfect notes to embody its subject:
“She had pewter-colored hair set in a ruthless permanent, a hard beak, and large moist eyes with the
sympathetic expression of wet stones.”
Life in the Iron Mills
Notice the vivid description of smoke in this excerpt from Rebecca Harding Davis's Life in the Iron
Mills:
"The idiosyncrasy of this town is smoke. It rolls sullenly in slow folds from the great chimneys of the
iron-foundries, and settles down in black, slimy pools on the muddy streets. Smoke on the wharves,
smoke on the dingy boats, on the yellow river--clinging in a coating of greasy soot to the house-front,
the two faded poplars, the faces of the passers-by."
Jamaica Inn
In this excerpt from Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier, notice the writer's choice of adjectives,
adverbs, and verbs. Granite. Mizzling. Du Maurier’s choice of words allows the reader to almost feel
the weather occurring on the page.
"It was a cold grey day in late November. The weather had changed overnight, when a backing wind
brought a granite sky and a mizzling rain with it, and although it was now only a little after two o'clock
in the afternoon the pallor of a winter evening seemed to have closed upon the hills, cloaking them in
mist."
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The Eagle
In Alfred Tennyson's "The Eagle," he conveys power and majesty in just a few lines:
Some of the most vivid and effective descriptive writing in music can be found in rap. The evocation of
alienation and the need to create in “Through the Strings of Infinity” by Canibus is truly poetic.
Follow me baby”
Windowpane
The heavy metal band Opeth uses vivid descriptive writing to evoke loneliness in their song
“Windowpane.”
Blank Space
In her hit song “Blank Space,” Taylor Swift uses concrete, evocative descriptions to evoke two very
different impressions.
First:
“Cherry lips, crystal skies
Then:
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Here are some examples of descriptive writing techniques that you can utilize and effectively apply to
your own writing.
Choosing your focus: When you first begin writing, it's extremely important to decide what your topic
is going to be. This will prevent you from losing focus on the theme or main idea of your writing.
When you decide what you are going to write about, you can begin to add details about the specific
event, object, or person.
Use of words: In most cases, you'll use adjectives to make your writing more detailed for the reader.
For example, rather than just saying: 'The dog sniffs around,' you'd say: 'The big brown dog sniffed
around the red rose bushes in the front yard.' The use of 'big,' 'brown,' 'red rose bushes,' and 'front
yard' assists the reader in visualizing the event and what the dog looks like. This process will allow the
reader to create a mental image through the use of your word choice.
Reader interest: As a writer, it's important paint a picture with your words. One of the best ways to do
this is through the use of the five senses. This won't only engage your target audience, but it'll appeal
to other readers as well. By using taste, smell, hearing, sight, and touch, you are creating an
opportunity for the reader to develop an emotional connection to your writing.
Re-reading and redo: Re-reading what you write is an important step in the descriptive writing
process. This gives you time to reflect on whether or not you need to add more details to your writing.
Putting yourself in the readers' position is important. Ask yourself after reading your writing, 'Would I
be able to understand the main topic of my writing if I had no prior exposure?' This should indicate
whether or not more details are needed.
Always remember, good descriptive writing is done well if the main topic of your writing is
understood by all readers.
Expository writing is writing that aims to inform its reader. As we mentioned above, this includes all
types of factual writing, like textbooks, news stories, technical guides, and pieces of business writing.
Many journalistic pieces are pieces of expository writing, but not all are—advertorials, opinion pieces,
and many pieces of political writing are not pieces of expository writing because their primary goal is
something other than providing unbiased facts.
An easy way to understand expository writing is to compare and contrast it with other types of
writing. Three other commonly recognized types of writing are descriptive, narrative, and persuasive.
Each of these types of writing has a specific goal. Descriptive writing creates a sense of time, place,
and experience in the reader’s mind. Narrative writing tells the reader a story. Persuasive writing
convinces the reader that a specific position is the right position. Expository writing gives the reader
the facts they need about a specific topic to deepen their understanding of it.
Factual
Objective
Subjective
Nonlinear or otherwise unconventional in how it presents content
Although expository writing is fact-based, it doesn’t need to be dry or boring. A skilled writer can
present factual information in an engaging way that only increases the reader’s comprehension of the
topic, often by borrowing techniques used in narrative and descriptive writing to make the facts more
vivid and impactful. If you’ve ever seen the docuseries Cosmos, you’ve seen engaging expository
writing in action. In both the 1980 and 2014 versions, the host captivates viewers by guiding them
through our known universe, our solar system, and how life on Earth evolved over millennia. Although
Cosmos is a docuseries, the narrative that speaks directly to the viewer and constantly positions them
within our universe’s story is a kind of expository writing: screenwriting.
However, discerning an expository piece’s credibility can be tricky at times. Remember one of the
kinds of writing we mentioned above, advertorials? An advertorial is an advertisement disguised as an
editorial. In other words, it’s an article presented as either fact or the author’s personal thoughts, but
really, it’s a sponsored advertisement. Advertorials aren’t the only instance where you can find
subjective opinions disguised as objective facts—many documentaries, journalistic pieces, books, and
even scholarly articles are written according to the author’s bias or to fit a specific agenda.
This is why it’s so critical to carefully vet every source you use when you’re working on an expository
writing assignment. Inadvertently using a biased source in your academic writing can undermine your
work by making it look like you either didn’t research the topic carefully or are pushing a specific
agenda in your writing.
Compare and contrast. In a compare-and-contrast essay, you present two or more subjects and write
about their similarities and differences.
Definition. This type of expository writing defines a subject. For example, you might write a piece that
defines a historic figure by exploring their actions, motivations, and circumstances.
Classification. In a classification piece, you write about the characteristics of multiple subjects within
one category. For example, you might write a blog post about the types of expository writing. In that
blog post, you explain each type of expository writing, covering their differences as well as their
similarities.
Problem and solution. In a problem and solution piece, you explain an existing problem and then
explore the most effective solution for that problem. This kind of structure can also be found in
persuasive writing, but when it’s used in expository writing, it’s generally used in troubleshooting
guides and to explain how specific problems have been solved.
Process. When you need to explain how a process works or the steps the reader needs to follow to
assemble something or complete another task, you write out the process step by step, providing as
much explanation as necessary for each step.
Just like the other commonly recognized writing styles, you’ll find lots of drastically different
expository writing examples. Technical manuals and research papers are both types of expository
writing. So are lab reports, investigative journalism pieces, expository essays, and explainer video
scripts. Even recipes count as pieces of expository writing, as do travel guides and biographies.
As a student, many of your writing assignments are pieces of expository writing. Presenting facts in a
logical, clear way is a much different task from writing a fictional story or supporting your opinion.
Here are a few tips to keep in mind when you’re completing expository writing assignments:
The first step in writing a strong piece isn’t typing words on a screen, but rather brainstorming your
topic. With other kinds of writing, like narrative or persuasive writing, you might have a clear idea of
what you want to write from the moment you receive your assignment and, with it, skip ahead a few
steps in the writing process. But because you’re working with facts and a strategy for presenting them
in a coherent, engaging way, you’ll need to devote time to thoroughly brainstorming, researching,
outlining, and then drafting your work.
There’s room to have a little fun in your expository writing, but it’s not going to be a party on the
page. Use literary devices like similes and juxtaposition sparingly and only when they serve to make
the facts clearer to your reader.
Expository writing is all about the facts. When you’re researching, you might come across
contradictory sources. If this happens, examine the conflicting information to find the truth. You can
do this by researching that specific piece of information and finding what other scholarly sources have
to say about it and by examining who published the two conflicting sources. If one is a personal blog
and the other is an article from a .edu or .gov website, the latter is more likely to be unbiased.
Grammarly can help. Our writing suggestions ensure you’re using engaging vocabulary and that your
sentences flow clearly. In addition, with Grammarly’s tone detector, you can instantly see how your
writing is communicating with its reader: confident, friendly, direct, and casual are just a few of the
tones Grammarly can pick up.
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Have you ever paid attention to the infinite scrolling feature on the internet? Whether it’s a Buzzfeed
article or Twitter updates, you can’t seem to stop scrolling, hungry for more news. If you’ve read a
‘how to do something’ article or a condensed version of a long news report, then you’ve encountered
various examples of expository writing.
While expository writing dominates the content world today, businesses have been relying on this
writing style for ages. Every professional should understand the dos and don’ts of expository writing
for effective business communication and workplace success.
Before we explore the basic tenets of expository writing, let’s look at what exposition means. At its
simplest, it means explaining something. The purpose of the expository writing style is to enlighten or
instruct. In other words, it means to present an idea or relevant discussion that helps explain or
analyze information. Some of the most common examples of expository writing include scientific
reports, academic essays and magazine articles.
An expository writer can’t assume that potential readers have prior knowledge or understanding
about the information that they present. It’s best to avoid beating around the bush and highlight
things as they are. The main features of expository writing style include:
There should be clarity and an expository writer should know what they’re talking about
Well-written expository pieces continue to focus on the main topic and list events in an organized
manner
The use of the first-person narrative should be avoided; instead, second-person instruction is much
more effective
It should steer clear of personal thoughts and opinions and present an unbiased version of the
information
Most of us have written some form of expository writing whether it was in school, college or office.
Here are the various types of expository writing that’ll help you deliver ideas clearly:
As the name suggests, you identify the problem, provide details about it to explain it and suggest a
solution(s) to tackle it. You have to justify the solution with sufficient data and propose ways to
implement those solutions.
It conveys why something happened and how will it impact something. The outcomes suggested can
be either true or hypothetical but the author should validate them.
It provides a complete description of a subject, elaborating on the meaning, types and examples. It
includes terms that have concrete meaning (e.g., objects) as well as abstract meanings (e.g.,
emotions).
HOW-TO/PROCESS
This type of writing is instructive and tells the reader about a task and how to do it. The reader may
also include step-by-step instruction for easier understanding. Cook-books and user manuals are ideal
examples of expository writing.
Take any typical day at work and reflect on the kinds of tasks you’re involved with. Written
communication will be a commonly recurring activity. Business communication is one of the
cornerstones of professional success. It’s important that you become familiar with the meaning of
expository writing and establish yourself as an effective communicator. People are bound to take
notice at work. Here are some expository writing tips that you should consider.
Work with the information that you’re most familiar with. For example, if you don’t know how to
begin your email, write the body and conclusion before the introduction. It’s easier to map your
purpose, identify your thoughts and then put them into writing.
Case-studies and projects can’t be considered authentic unless you back your report with ample data.
In order to be persuasive and convince your clients or customers, you need to provide them with
substantial evidence.
Always come straight to the point as readers won’t always have the required attention span. It’s best
to present your data succinctly and directly because the topics are likely to be dry or boring. However,
steer clear from jargon and other technical words and make your writing accessible.
Always pay attention to the format. An effective way to organize your thoughts is to prewrite and
outline. It’ll help you narrow down the topics or details you want to discuss. It’s best to have a
concluding paragraph that reiterates your position.
Most of all, make sure that you edit and proofread your draft. You don’t want to give a wrong
impression, affecting your professional relationship and reputation. Pay attention to detail and never
leave room for confusion.
Harappa Education’s Writing Proficiently course will help you structure your thoughts, polish your
writing style and teach you to write clearly, concisely and compellingly. The Pyramid Principle will
guide you in presenting key points of messages upfront with supporting evidence. Make your business
communication effective and leave lasting impressions with your expository writing style.
Like all essays, an expository essay begins with an introduction. This serves to hook the reader’s
interest, briefly introduce your topic, and provide a thesis statement summarizing what you’re going
to say about it.
Hover over different parts of the example below to see how a typical introduction works.
In many ways, the invention of the printing press marked the end of the Middle Ages. The medieval
period in Europe is often remembered as a time of intellectual and political stagnation. Prior to the
Renaissance, the average person had very limited access to books and was unlikely to be literate. The
invention of the printing press in the 15th century allowed for much less restricted circulation of
information in Europe, paving the way for the Reformation.
The body of your essay is where you cover your topic in depth. It often consists of three paragraphs,
but may be more for a longer essay. This is where you present the details of the process, idea or topic
you’re explaining.
It’s important to make sure each paragraph covers its own clearly defined topic, introduced with a
topic sentence. Different topics (all related to the overall subject matter of the essay) should be
presented in a logical order, with clear transitions between paragraphs.
Hover over different parts of the example paragraph below to see how a body paragraph is
constructed.
The invention of the printing press in 1440 changed this situation dramatically. Johannes Gutenberg,
who had worked as a goldsmith, used his knowledge of metals in the design of the press. He made his
type from an alloy of lead, tin, and antimony, whose durability allowed for the reliable production of
high-quality books. This new technology allowed texts to be reproduced and disseminated on a much
larger scale than was previously possible. The Gutenberg Bible appeared in the 1450s, and a large
number of printing presses sprang up across the continent in the following decades. Gutenberg’s
invention rapidly transformed cultural production in Europe; among other things, it would lead to the
Protestant Reformation.
The conclusion of an expository essay serves to summarize the topic under discussion. It should not
present any new information or evidence, but should instead focus on reinforcing the points made so
far. Essentially, your conclusion is there to round off the essay in an engaging way.
Hover over different parts of the example below to see how a conclusion works.
Broad summary
This sentence introduces the conclusion by speaking about the topic in broad terms rather than in
specifics.
The invention of the printing press was important not only in terms of its immediate cultural and
economic effects, but also in terms of its major impact on politics and religion across Europe. In the
century following the invention of the printing press, the relatively stationary intellectual atmosphere
of the Middle Ages gave way to the social upheavals of the Reformation and the Renaissance. A single
technological innovation had contributed to the total reshaping of the continent.
Write your expository essay in MLA format and follow a basic five paragraph structure.
1. Prewrite and Outline.
To write a well-organized five-paragraph essay, it's important to take some time to jot down pertinent
notes and perform research about your expository essay topic. Once you’ve had time to brainstorm,
create a basic expository essay outline that details what information you plan to include in each
paragraph. Before moving on to your first draft, remind yourself to write in the third person to ensure
that you don't accidentally state your own personal opinions.
Your first paragraph should include a topic sentence that clearly states your thesis or main point of
the essay. A good thesis should be simple enough that you can capably support it with three body
paragraphs.
Each paragraph in the body of the essay should focus on its own distinct issue that helps develop and
support the thesis statement in your topic sentence. Make sure you're using factual information to
support your thesis and are maintaining an objective point of view.
This paragraph should only contain information you’ve already presented earlier in the essay. Use this
space to restate your thesis, summarize your supporting points from each body paragraph, and wrap
up your essay.
Reread your essay and double check that your thesis is clear and supported with evidence from
credible sources. Make sure you present all information in a completely unbiased way. Work to create
paragraph transitions that are fluid and logical. Lastly, proofread to fix grammatical errors and poor
word choices.
Argumentative Essays
The argumentative essay is a genre of writing that requires the student to investigate a topic; collect,
generate, and evaluate evidence; and establish a position on the topic in a concise manner. Please
note: Some confusion may occur between the argumentative essay and the expository essay.
Argumentative Essays
The argumentative essay is a genre of writing that requires the student to investigate a topic; collect,
generate, and evaluate evidence; and establish a position on the topic in a concise manner.
Please note: Some confusion may occur between the argumentative essay and the expository essay.
These two genres are similar, but the argumentative essay differs from the expository essay in the
amount of pre-writing (invention) and research involved. The argumentative essay is commonly
assigned as a capstone or final project in first year writing or advanced composition courses and
involves lengthy, detailed research. Expository essays involve less research and are shorter in length.
Expository essays are often used for in-class writing exercises or tests, such as the GED or GRE.
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Argumentative essay assignments generally call for extensive research of literature or previously
published material. Argumentative assignments may also require empirical research where the
student collects data through interviews, surveys, observations, or experiments. Detailed research
allows the student to learn about the topic and to understand different points of view regarding the
topic so that she/he may choose a position and support it with the evidence collected during research.
Regardless of the amount or type of research involved, argumentative essays must establish a clear
thesis and follow sound reasoning.
In the first paragraph of an argument essay, students should set the context by reviewing the topic in
a general way. Next the author should explain why the topic is important (exigence) or why readers
should care about the issue. Lastly, students should present the thesis statement. It is essential that
this thesis statement be appropriately narrowed to follow the guidelines set forth in the assignment.
If the student does not master this portion of the essay, it will be quite difficult to compose an
effective or persuasive essay.
Clear and logical transitions between the introduction, body, and conclusion.
Transitions are the mortar that holds the foundation of the essay together. Without logical
progression of thought, the reader is unable to follow the essay’s argument, and the structure will
collapse. Transitions should wrap up the idea from the previous section and introduce the idea that is
to follow in the next section.
Each paragraph should be limited to the discussion of one general idea. This will allow for clarity and
direction throughout the essay. In addition, such conciseness creates an ease of readability for one’s
audience. It is important to note that each paragraph in the body of the essay must have some logical
connection to the thesis statement in the opening paragraph. Some paragraphs will directly support
the thesis statement with evidence collected during research. It is also important to explain how and
why the evidence supports the thesis (warrant).
However, argumentative essays should also consider and explain differing points of view regarding
the topic. Depending on the length of the assignment, students should dedicate one or two
paragraphs of an argumentative essay to discussing conflicting opinions on the topic. Rather than
explaining how these differing opinions are wrong outright, students should note how opinions that
do not align with their thesis might not be well informed or how they might be out of date.
The argumentative essay requires well-researched, accurate, detailed, and current information to
support the thesis statement and consider other points of view. Some factual, logical, statistical, or
anecdotal evidence should support the thesis. However, students must consider multiple points of
view when collecting evidence. As noted in the paragraph above, a successful and well-rounded
argumentative essay will also discuss opinions not aligning with the thesis. It is unethical to exclude
evidence that may not support the thesis. It is not the student’s job to point out how other positions
are wrong outright, but rather to explain how other positions may not be well informed or up to date
on the topic.
A conclusion that does not simply restate the thesis, but readdresses it in light of the evidence
provided.
It is at this point of the essay that students may begin to struggle. This is the portion of the essay that
will leave the most immediate impression on the mind of the reader. Therefore, it must be effective
and logical. Do not introduce any new information into the conclusion; rather, synthesize the
information presented in the body of the essay. Restate why the topic is important, review the main
points, and review your thesis. You may also want to include a short discussion of more research that
should be completed in light of your work.
A COMPLETE ARGUMENT
A common method for writing an argumentative essay is the five-paragraph approach. This is,
however, by no means the only formula for writing such essays. If it sounds straightforward, that is
because it is; in fact, the method consists of (a) an introductory paragraph (b) three evidentiary body
paragraphs that may include discussion of opposing views and (c) a conclusion.
Complex issues and detailed research call for complex and detailed essays. Argumentative essays
discussing a number of research sources or empirical research will most certainly be longer than five
paragraphs. Authors may have to discuss the context surrounding the topic, sources of information
and their credibility, as well as a number of different opinions on the issue before concluding the
essay. Many of these factors will be determined by the assignment.
An argumentative essay is a writing piece meant to persuade someone to think the way you do.
Though it's usually organized as an essay, Myrtle's letter to her parents is also a type of argumentative
writing. To help Myrtle write her essay, let's take a closer look at the elements and format of an
argumentative essay.
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Elements
Myrtle wants to convince her parents to give her a later curfew, and she's going to write an
argumentative essay to do that. But where does she even start? What information does she need to
include in her essay?
There are some specific elements that are needed in an argumentative essay. The first and most
important element in a persuasive essay is the position, or what side the author is on. For example,
Myrtle's position is that her curfew should be later. The position is not all that Myrtle needs to include
in her essay. In fact, if all she does is state her position, it won't be very convincing. All her letter
would say is, 'I think you should let me stay out later.' Her parents would just shrug and say, 'We
disagree.'
In order to convince her parents, then, Myrtle also needs to include reasons, or why the author
believes the way he or she does. For example, Myrtle could support her position by offering reasons
like the fact that she's responsible, she's older than she used to be, and that a later curfew will allow
her to study at the library for longer.
By offering these reasons, Myrtle has made her letter more convincing. She can take this even further,
however, by supporting her reasons with evidence, or facts and data that support reasons. For
example, remember that one of Myrtle's reasons is that a later curfew will allow her to study at the
library for longer. She can support this reason with evidence. Maybe she has scientific articles that
show that studying at the library is more effective than studying at home. Or perhaps she has data
showing that kids with later curfews spend more time in the library. Both of those pieces of evidence
could support her reason.
Of course, to be truly effective, Myrtle will want to include the source of her evidence. After all, if she
just made it up, it's not really evidence. Further, the source of some evidence can be questionable.
Imagine that she has an article about how kids with later curfews spend more time at the library, but
it was written by someone who, like Myrtle, is trying to convince his parents to let him stay out later.
In this case, the article might not be completely accurate and true.
If all Myrtle includes in her essay is her position, reasons, and evidence, she could make a pretty
convincing case. But the best essays also include counterarguments, sometimes shortened to
counters, which are reasons why the other side's arguments are not correct. For example, let's say
that one thing that Myrtle's parents say to her consistently is that teenagers need sleep. She knows
this is one reason why her parents don't want to extend her curfew. In her essay, she can address this
and provide a counter. For example, she could write something like, 'You believe that extending my
curfew will mean I get less sleep. But I stay up late already, and just because I'm home early doesn't
mean that I'll go to bed early.'
Myrtle's reasons and evidence support her side. By providing counters, too, Myrtle is defeating
arguments from the other side, which makes her essay even more convincing.
Format
Okay, Myrtle understands the things that she needs to include in her letter to her parents. But how
should she organize all that information? What's the format for an argumentative essay?
Creative writing
Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic,
academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft,
character development, and the use of literary tropes or with various traditions of poetry and poetics.
Wikipedia
reative writing is writing that makes things up, rather than writing that is academic or technical.
Explore the definition of creative writing, commonly used techniques, and examples of various types,
such as poetry, songs, and plays. Updated: 10/19/2021
The purpose of creative writing is to both entertain and share human experience, like love or loss.
Writers attempt to get at a truth about humanity through poetics and storytelling. If you'd like to try
your hand at creative writing, just keep in mind that whether you are trying to express a feeling or a
thought, the first step is to use your imagination.
Poetry
Plays
Songs
Speeches
Memoirs
Personal essays
As you can see, some nonfiction types of writing can also be considered creative writing. Memoirs and
personal essays, for example, can be written creatively to inform your readers about your life in an
expressive way. Because these types are written in first person, it's easier for them to be creative.
Character development
Plot development
Vivid setting
Underlying theme
Point of view
Dialogue
Anecdotes
Figures of speech
Imaginative language
Emotional appeal
Heavy description
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A poem or a song tends to be more elusive, or mysterious, because it has limited space. Because of its
spatial limitations, however, it can make leaps in subject and time, and it doesn't have to rely on
narrative structure. In poetry and songs, literary devices, like similes and metaphors, can be used to
take the readers to surprising places. A good example of this is the opening of the poem 'A Life' by
Sylvia Plath:
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Additional Activities
The below writing prompts allow students to flex their creative writing muscles by experimenting with
different types of creative writing genres and reflecting on their finished product and writing process.
Prompt 1: Poetry
Write a poem about a common, everyday object like a pencil, a spoon, a t-shirt, or a water bottle.
Think about how to create striking imagery and emotion in your work—you may take time to
brainstorm possible words you can use to create a visually and emotionally engaging work. In
addition, your poem should include at least two metaphors or similes. After writing your poem, which
should be at least ten lines long, answer the questions that follow.
Reflect on your writing process. How did you prepare to write your poem? Did you think about the
major theme(s) you wanted your poem to address before you started writing?
Explore the techniques you used in your poem: how did you create setting? How did you establish
point-of-view? How did you appeal to your audience's emotions?
In at least 750 words, write a short story about an unlikely friendship. Before writing your short story,
consider tracing a plot diagram that sketches out the story's exposition, rising action, climax, falling
action, and resolution. After writing your story, answer the questions that follow.
What is the basic plot of your story? (Consider: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and
resolution)
How did you use dialogue in your story? (If you didn't use any dialogue, describe what effect this
choice has on your audience.)
What literary devices did you include in your story and what is their overall effect? (e.g. metaphor,
personification, alliteration, etc.)
What is the overall theme of your story? How do you communicate this theme to your audience?