There is the great number of types of essays used in colleges and schools today. All of them have their specific particular purpose and reason. The most popular kinds of essays are:

• Descriptive – an essay that provides point-by-point details of an object, event, feeling etc.
• Definition essay defines and tries to explain the purpose, meaning or importance of something. It answers the questions: Why? Who? What? How?
• Cause and effect essay is a deep analysis of an event or an object that starts with the reason and ends with the final outcomes this reason resulted in.
• Argumentative essay attempts to persuade the reader of a controversial issue. The writer’s aim is to make readers believe in what he believes. This goal is reached by means of providing and defending an argument.
• Narrative essay is a short story about any kind of event.
• Critical essay is a strengths/weaknesses analysis of someone’s work. It is used to evaluate how well the author did his or her work.
• Compare/contrast is an essay which involves finding similarities and/or differences between two or more things that have something in common.
• Process essay is an instruction for something to be accomplished. It involves the steps made and the result achieved.
• Expository essay is an essay in which the writer provides the information on a subject and therefore makes the reader familiar with particular topic which teaches him.
• Summary – restates the main ideas and thesis of a book, movie or an article using writer’s own words.

Argumentation is not an easy skill to obtain. Many people think that if one has an opinion and a desire to share it, he is arguing. This is actually a misconception. When two people argue, most of the time one cannot figure out the logic that seems to be so obvious for the other one. Additionally, people don’t keep in mind that the main purpose of argument is to make the reader accept your logic and say to: “Yes, it is true”. The easiest way to avoid arguing is to ignore arguments from your so called “opponent”, but the art of the “opponent” is to make the reader consider his point of view.

Suggestions

1. So, what to write about? Pick a defined, problem, which requires solving. The reader is supposed to understand the problem 100% and have his own opinion on it. The problem has to be arguable.

2. You have to take a clear position according to the topic you are arguing about. State your position in your thesis. A good step is to avoid using the first person form, like “I think”, or “I believe”. Try to demonstrate that this is not only your opinion to strengthen your arguments.

3. You have to pick a convincing argument. An argumentative essay is not just presenting your own opinion; it is to state it but also to back it up with some proof or evidence. This evidence must consist of statistics or facts and examples. The writer’s job is to present well qualified and educated sources that are eligible and use them fairly.

4. Use a reasonable tone. You have to understand that the reader is most likely to disagree with you or at least be skeptical. You need to have a reasonable tone to show confidence and professionalism.

You are obliged to write a full and detailed explanation of your argument in order for your point of view to be accepted. Try to stress on those parts that you think are the strongest and trustworthy.

Once you have written your paper, re-check every quotation for accuracy. Your professor may require every quotation photocopied and included in the paper. All quotes should be marked clearly on the photocopy.

These are the basic suggestions in order to succeed in convincing the reader, there is a lot more…