THE FOUR TYPES OF WRITING

1. EXPOSITORY WRITING

This is the kind of writing in which the authors purpose is to inform or explain the subject to the reader. It intends to give facts. It is mostly found in news stories, reports and articles.

Here the information develops the main idea and provides additional details to support this evidence, including facts or quotations. Logical order should be used with appropriate sequencing of ideas or steps in a process. As in all writing, it should have introduction, body and conclusion that support the main idea.

2. PERSUASIVE WRITING

As the name suggests, persuasive writing states the opinion of the writer and attempts to influence the reader. So what the author does is simply to get the reader believe in what he or she is writing.

Speeches given by lawyers in the courtroom and political speeches are some of the examples of persuasive writing. Some can be reviews of movies or books and opinions articles in the newspaper. They also include the main idea, introduction, body and conclusion.

Good persuasive writing includes facts and strong arguments to make the author’s opinion sound logical.

3. NARRATIVE WRITING

It’s a writing way in which the author tells a story. The story could be fact or fiction.

The non-fictions includes auto-biographies, biographies etc while the fictitious includes fairy tales, fictitious novels or short stories. With this form therefore, the story has a beginning (character development and introduction to the plot line), middle (additional plot, climax of the story) and end (conclusion or resolution of a story)

4. DESCRIPTIVE WRITING

Here the five senses are involved in painting a picture for the reader. It incorporates imagery and specific details.

It includes the use of descriptive phrases and figurative language. This includes (but is not limited) metaphors, similes, onomatopoeia, personification etc. The writing therefore is used to create a feeling or visual experience.

 The reader should imagine how to see, hear, feel, touch and/or smell what the author is describing.