How to Write a Formal Essay: Format, Rules, & Example

If you’re a student, you’ve heard about a formal essay: a factual, research-based paper written in 3rd person. Most students have to produce dozens of them during their educational career. 

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The picture enumerates the characteristics of a formal essay.

Writing a formal essay may not be the easiest task. But fear not: our custom-writing team is here to guide you through the process. This article will:

  • explain what a formal essay is;
  • show how to write it step by step;
  • provide you with an essay sample. 

👔 Formal Essay Definition

  • ✅ How to Write
  • ✍️ Writing Rules
  • 🖥️ Essay Format
  • 📑 Sample Paper

🔍 References

A formal essay is a well-structured piece of writing with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. This type of essay often includes cited research, uses an academic tone, and is written in 3rd person. While writing a formal essay, it’s necessary to back up your arguments with factual evidence.

What Is an Informal Essay vs. Formal Essay?

Essays come in two formats: formal and informal (also known as personal .) They differ in terms of style and context. You can choose one of the formats depending on the situation and the type of paper you need to write.

Don’t know how to tell the difference between them? Well, here are some key characteristics of these essay types:

As you can see, these types of writing are almost total opposites. Informal essays are only reserved for creative assignments, which means that most of the papers you write need to be formal.

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Our article on creative essays can help you write an informal paper. But how do you craft a perfect formal essay? Keep reading to find out.

✅ How to Write a Formal Essay

Traditionally, a formal essay it’s composed of 3 sections: an introduction, 3 or more body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Let’s examine each part in detail.

Formal Essay Introduction

The introduction is what your essay starts with. Its primary goal is to catch the reader’s attention with a hook, briefly introduce the topic, and lead toward the thesis statement located at the end of the first paragraph.

Here is what you might want to keep in mind while writing the introduction:

If you want some more inspiration for your introduction, check out our article on hooks in writing .

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Now on to the thesis statement : the key idea of your essay. When working on it, keep in mind that it should answer the central question in your topic and reflect your essay’s overall structure. your essay’s overall structure.

Suppose your topic is related to the teaching methods involving poetry. In that case, the thesis statement can be like this:

Teaching methods that involve reading and writing poetry in elementary school are beneficial for children as they enhance their capacity for empathy, develop creativity, and help with self-realization.

Formal Essay Body

The next part of an essay is the main body paragraphs. They support the thesis statement with well-developed arguments and explore the topic in-depth. Each body paragraph starts with a topic sentence stating its main point. The length of a paragraph can vary, but the best option is to have between 4 and 7 sentences.

To make the text flow easily, you may use transitional words. Here are some examples:

  • after all, 
  • for instance, 
  • on the one/other hand, 
  • initially, 
  • as a result.

How to Write a Formal Essay Conclusion

Lastly, every essay needs closure. A good conclusion summarizes the essay’s main ideas, includes a paraphrased thesis, and encourages the readers to think more about the topic.

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The structure of a conclusion may change slightly depending on the subject. For instance, it can suggest some solutions to a problem, express an opinion, or give a recommendation. It’s important to remember that the conclusion is a part that emphasizes your essay’s most important points and doesn’t introduce new information.

If you’re curious about writing each essay part, check out our article on 5-paragraph essays .

✍️ Formal Writing Rules

Just like choosing the proper attire to wear to a formal event, we need to use the right words while writing a formal essay. Here are some suggestions that can help you maintain a formal tone in your paper:  

Dos of formal writing

  • Pay attention to your vocabulary. The words you will use in a formal essay will likely have a nuanced meaning. Make sure you know exactly what the terms mean, and do your best to sound precise.
  • Use punctuation correctly. Here are some of the things to watch out for: Avoid exclamation marks; Use dashes for insertions; Use colons with enumerations; If you’re unsure of whether to use a punctuation mark or not, rewrite the sentence in a way that doesn’t require it.
  • Use varied sentence structure. In formal writing, there is always a danger of sounding monotonous. Avoid repeating sentence structures to make your essay more readable.
  • Provide references. It’s essential to cite every idea that you borrow. Try to paraphrase quotations from your sources: it will help you avoid plagiarism.

Don’ts of formal writing

  • Avoid using pronouns.  With words such as “I,” “me,” “we,” or “us,” an essay becomes wordy. It also makes the author seem less sure of their ideas. If you want to use personal pronouns, try substituting them with words like “the reader,” “viewers,” or “one.”
  • Avoid using slang expressions and nonstandard diction. Slang words in a formal essay will make it less appealing to the readers. If you want to be taken seriously, it’s best to avoid those expressions and use proper Standard English.
  • Avoid informal tone.  When you write a formal essay, incorporate the language and the expressions you would use while delivering a speech, not the words you use when you casually talk to friends. A formal tone suggests that the author is serious about the topic and respects the audience.
  • Avoid passive voice. Passive verbs are hard to read, and they are wordy. Use active voice to sound more straightforward and concise.

Contractions in Formal Writing

A contraction is usually a combination of two words into one, such as “don’t,” “isn’t,” “can’t,” and “wouldn’t.” When you work on a formal essay, it’s essential to be careful about contractions. It’s inappropriate to use them in academic writing, so it’s best to stick to the full variant.

However, there are exceptions to this rule. For instance, when working with direct quotations, it’s essential to reproduce words exactly as they are used in the original. To learn more about it, be sure to check out the University of North Florida’s article on in-text citations .

What to Use Instead of “You” in an Essay

Another common mistake students make is using the “you” and “yours” pronouns to address the readers. This mistake can make the essay overly informal and lead to misinterpretations of the text.

How do you fix it? Our advice is to replace 2nd-person pronouns with the following words:

  • individuals,

You can find more formal writing tips in this informative video from Smrt English:

🖥️ Formal Essay Format

Now that we’ve discussed formal essay writing in detail, it’s time to look at the formatting. A formal essay is usually written in MLA or APA formats. If you’re asked to write a paper in one of these formats, you may find the guidelines below helpful:

📑 Formal Essay Example

Here is an excellent sample of a formal essay that uses all the guidelines mentioned in this article. It will help you to produce a perfect paper of your own:

For more information, check out Purdue OWL’s resources on various formatting styles .

Formal Essay Topics

  • Stress management techniques  
  • The effects of coffee  
  • Negative effects of technology on children 
  • Causes and outcomes of organizational conflicts in sports  
  • Different types of friends  
  • Same-sex marriages in the United States  
  • Are early marriages harmful or beneficial? 
  • How do nutrition and hydration improve athletes’ performance? 
  • Is polygamy morally acceptable? 
  • Different features of sports business  
  • What characterizes friendship in the age of media ? 
  • Positive and negative effects of tourism on environment in the Caribbean  
  • How does society treat single parents ? 
  • How does the uninvolved parenting style affect child’s future well-being? 
  • The role of family relationships in Odyssey  
  • Financial concepts in sport finance  
  • Main features of a strong marriage  
  • The importance of media coverage for sport teams 
  • Reasons why students choose to get internship  
  • The role of stadiums in the sports industry 
  • The multiracial family: the Carters case analysis  
  • Characteristics of children’s sports  
  • Crucial factors affecting health fitness  
  • How is technology used in hotel management ? 
  • Structure and operational context of Four Seasons  
  • What are the main qualities of a true friend?  
  • Different websites that promote rental properties 
  • The imperative aspects of tourism  
  • Importance of hotel training  
  • What factors determine adolescents’ adjustment after they experience parental divorce ? 
  • How does tobacco use affect the human body?  
  • The importance of language and world view for communication 
  • What makes a combination of reinforcement and punishment in parenting efficient? 
  • The scientific approach of sports economics  
  • How does divorce affect children? 
  • Living on-campus vs. living off-campus when attending university: a comparison  
  • How does the New Moves program promote a healthy lifestyle? 
  • How to be an effective counselor  
  • Various types of restaurants in Ireland  
  • Carolina Dog’s characteristics 
  • Comparison of Monzameon’s The Love Suicides at Amijima and Tartuffe by Moliere  
  • Comparing homosexual and heterosexual families  
  • How is family presented in Everyday Use by Alice Walker ? 
  • In what ways can Anaerobic Threshold be assessed? 
  • Is bad parenting a healthcare problem? 
  • Why student-athletes should benefit from sports  
  • Mind-body awareness and its health benefits 
  • Can punishment boost academic performance? 
  • Techniques to teach students swimming  
  • Issues faced by the sports licensing field 

Thanks for reading through this guide! We hope that you found it helpful and now have a better idea of how to write an excellent formal essay. Don’t hesitate to share our article with a friend who may need it. Good luck!

Further reading:

  • How to Write a Critical Thinking Essay: Examples & Outline
  • What Is a Discourse Analysis Essay: Example & Guide
  • How to Write a Narrative Essay Outline: Template & Examples
  • How to Write a Précis: Definition, Guide, & Examples 

❓ Formal Essay FAQs

It’s best not to use pronouns such as “I,” “my,” “we,” “our,” etc., in a formal essay since it give the paper an informal tone and the text becomes wordy. It also makes the writer seem less sure about their ideas.

It’s better to avoid using parentheses and dashes in formal academic writing. If the information you want to include in the essay is important enough, it should be a part of the sentence. Otherwise, you can simply omit it.

The formal and informal essays differ in style and context. While a formal essay is a piece of well-structured writing that tries to convince the reader by providing arguments, an informal essay has no set structure. It reflects the author’s personal thoughts or opinions.

Starting your sentence with “because” in formal writing is not the best idea. The word “because” is a subordinate conjunction, which means it’s used to join the main clause to a subordinate clause, not to start a sentence.

It’s best to avoid using 1st- and 2nd-person pronouns, slang expressions, nonstandard diction, and contractions in a formal essay. They are primarily used in daily speech and are considered inappropriate in academic writing. 

  • Point of View in Academic Writing: St. Louis Community College
  • Components of a Good Essay: University of Evansville
  • Introductions & Conclusions: University of Arizona Global Campus
  • How to Improve Your Academic Writing: University of York
  • Nine Basic Ways to Improve Your Style in Academic Writing: University of California, Berkeley
  • Academic Writing Style: Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper: University of Southern California
  • Formal and Informal Style: Northern Illinois University
  • Formal Writing: Davenport University: LibGuides
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Definition and Examples of Formal Essays

Glossary of Grammatical and Rhetorical Terms

  • An Introduction to Punctuation
  • Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
  • M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
  • B.A., English, State University of New York

In composition studies , a formal essay is a short, relatively impersonal composition in prose . Also known as an impersonal essay or a Baconian essay (after the writings of England's first major essayist , Francis Bacon ).

In contrast to the familiar or personal essay , the formal essay is typically used for the discussion of ideas. Its rhetorical purpose is generally to inform or persuade.

"The technique of the formal essay," says William Harmon, "is now practically identical with that of all factual or theoretical prose in which literary effect is secondary" ( A Handbook to Literature , 2011).

Examples and Observations

  • "' Formal' essays were introduced in England by [Francis] Bacon , who adopted Montaigne's term. Here the style is objective, compressed, aphoristic , wholly serious. . . . In modern times, the formal essay has become more diversified in subject matter, style , and length until it is better known by such names as article , dissertation, or thesis, and factual presentation rather than style or literary effect has become the basic aim." (L. H. Hornstein, G. D. Percy, and C. S. Brown, The Reader's Companion to World Literature , 2nd ed. Signet, 2002)
  • A Blurred Distinction Between Formal Essays and Informal Essays "Francis Bacon and his followers had a more impersonal, magisterial, law-giving, and didactic manner than the skeptical Montaigne. But they should not be viewed as opposites; the distinction between formal and informal essay can be overdone, and most great essayists have crossed the line frequently. The difference is one of degree. [William] Hazlitt was essentially a personal essayist , though he wrote theater and art criticism; Matthew Arnold and John Ruskin were essentially formal essayists , though they may have tried a personal essay once in a while. Personality creeps into the most impersonal of writers: it is difficult to read Bacon on friendship or having children , for instance, without suspecting he is talking about autobiographical matters. Dr. Johnson was probably more a moral essayist than a personal one, though his work has such an individual, idiosyncratic stamp that I have persuaded myself to place him in the personal camp. George Orwell seems split fifty-fifty, an essay hermaphrodite who always kept one eye on the subjective and one on the political. . . . "The Victorian era saw a turn toward the formal essay , the so-called essay of ideas written by [Thomas] Carlyle, Ruskin, [Matthew] Arnold, Macaulay, Pater. Between Lamb and Beerbohm there was scarcely an English personal essay, with the exception of those by Robert Louis Stevenson and Thomas De Quincey . . . ." (Phillip Lopate, Introduction to The Art of the Personal Essay . Anchor, 1994)
  • Voice in the Impersonal Essay "[E]ven when 'I' plays no part in the language of an essay, a firm sense of personality can warm the voice of the impersonal essay narrator . When we read Dr. [Samuel] Johnson and Edmund Wilson and Lionel Trilling , for instance, we feel that we know them as fully developed characters in their own essays, regardless of their not referring personally to themselves." (Phillip Lopate, "Writing Personal Essays: On the Necessity of Turning Oneself Into a Character." Writing Creative Nonfiction , ed. by Carolyn Forché and Philip Gerard. Writer's Digest Books, 2001)
  • Crafting the Impersonal "I" "Unlike the exploratory 'self' of Montaigne, Francis Bacon's impersonal 'I' appears already to have arrived. Even in the comparatively expansive third edition of the Essays , Bacon provides few explicit hints as to either the character of the textual voice or the role of the expected reader. . . . [T]he absence of a felt 'self' on the page is a deliberate rhetorical effect: the effort to efface voice in the 'impersonal' essay is a way of evoking a distant but authoritative persona . . . . In the formal essay , invisibility must be forged." (Richard Nordquist, "Voices of the Modern Essay." University of Georgia, 1991)
  • What Are the Different Types and Characteristics of Essays?
  • What Is a Personal Essay (Personal Statement)?
  • What Is Tone In Writing?
  • Plain Style in Prose
  • Figures of Speech: The Apostrophe as a Literary Device
  • Genres in Literature
  • style (rhetoric and composition)
  • 6 Steps to Writing the Perfect Personal Essay
  • What Is Enlightenment Rhetoric?
  • What Is Euphony in Prose?
  • Point of View in Grammar and Composition
  • What is a Familiar Essay in Composition?
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  • AP English Exam: 101 Key Terms
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  • Sample Short Answer Essay on Running

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, the 3 popular essay formats: which should you use.

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General Education

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Not sure which path your essay should follow? Formatting an essay may not be as interesting as choosing a topic to write about or carefully crafting elegant sentences, but it’s an extremely important part of creating a high-quality paper. In this article, we’ll explain essay formatting rules for three of the most popular essay styles: MLA, APA, and Chicago.

For each, we’ll do a high-level overview of what your essay’s structure and references should look like, then we include a comparison chart with nitty-gritty details for each style, such as which font you should use for each and whether they’re a proponent of the Oxford comma. We also include information on why essay formatting is important and what you should do if you’re not sure which style to use.

Why Is Your Essay Format Important?

Does it really matter which font size you use or exactly how you cite a source in your paper? It can! Style formats were developed as a way to standardize how pieces of writing and their works cited lists should look. 

Why is this necessary? Imagine you’re a teacher, researcher, or publisher who reviews dozens of papers a week. If the papers didn’t follow the same formatting rules, you could waste a lot of time trying to figure out which sources were used, if certain information is a direct quote or paraphrased, even who the paper’s author is. Having essay formatting rules to follow makes things easier for everyone involved. Writers can follow a set of guidelines without trying to decide for themselves which formatting choices are best, and readers don’t need to go hunting for the information they’re trying to find.

Next, we’ll discuss the three most common style formats for essays.

MLA Essay Format

MLA style was designed by the Modern Language Association, and it has become the most popular college essay format for students writing papers for class. It was originally developed for students and researchers in the literature and language fields to have a standardized way of formatting their papers, but it is now used by people in all disciplines, particularly humanities. MLA is often the style teachers prefer their students to use because it has simple, clear rules to follow without extraneous inclusions often not needed for school papers. For example, unlike APA or Chicago styles, MLA doesn’t require a title page for a paper, only a header in the upper left-hand corner of the page.

MLA style doesn’t have any specific requirements for how to write your essay, but an MLA format essay will typically follow the standard essay format of an introduction (ending with a thesis statement), several body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

One of the nice things about creating your works cited for MLA is that all references are structured the same way, regardless of whether they’re a book, newspaper, etc. It’s the only essay format style that makes citing references this easy! Here is a guide on how to cite any source in MLA format. When typing up your works cited, here are a few MLA format essay rules to keep in mind:

  • The works cited page should be the last paper of your paper.
  • This page should still be double-spaced and include the running header of your last name and page number.
  • It should begin with “Works Cited” at the top of the page, centered.
  • Your works cited should be organized in alphabetical order, based on the first word of the citation.

APA Essay Format

APA stands for the American Psychological Association. This format type is most often used for research papers, specifically those in behavioral sciences (such as psychology and neuroscience) and social sciences (ranging from archeology to economics). Because APA is often used for more research-focused papers, they have a more specific format to follow compared to, say, MLA style.

All APA style papers begin with a title page, which contains the title of the paper (in capital letters), your name, and your institutional affiliation (if you’re a student, then this is simply the name of the school you attend). The APA recommends the title of your paper not be longer than 12 words.

After your title page, your paper begins with an abstract. The abstract is a single paragraph, typically between 150 to 250 words, that sums up your research. It should include the topic you’re researching, research questions, methods, results, analysis, and a conclusion that touches on the significance of the research. Many people find it easier to write the abstract last, after completing the paper.

After the abstract comes the paper itself. APA essay format recommends papers be short, direct, and make their point clearly and concisely. This isn’t the time to use flowery language or extraneous descriptions. Your paper should include all the sections mentioned in the abstract, each expanded upon.

Following the paper is the list of references used. Unlike MLA style, in APA essay format, every source type is referenced differently. So the rules for referencing a book are different from those for referencing a journal article are different from those referencing an interview. Here’s a guide for how to reference different source types in APA format . Your references should begin on a new page that says “REFERENCES” at the top, centered. The references should be listed in alphabetical order.

body_bookshelves

Chicago Essay Format

Chicago style (sometimes referred to as “Turabian style”) was developed by the University of Chicago Press and is typically the least-used by students of the three major essay style formats. The Chicago Manual of Style (currently on its 17th edition) contains within its 1000+ pages every rule you need to know for this style. This is a very comprehensive style, with a rule for everything. It’s most often used in history-related fields, although many people refer to The Chicago Manual of Style for help with a tricky citation or essay format question. Many book authors use this style as well.

Like APA, Chicago style begins with a title page, and it has very specific format rules for doing this which are laid out in the chart below. After the title page may come an abstract, depending on whether you’re writing a research paper or not. Then comes the essay itself. The essay can either follow the introduction → body → conclusion format of MLA or the different sections included in the APA section. Again, this depends on whether you’re writing a paper on research you conducted or not.

Unlike MLA or APA, Chicago style typically uses footnotes or endnotes instead of in-text or parenthetical citations. You’ll place the superscript number at the end of the sentence (for a footnote) or end of the page (for an endnote), then have an abbreviated source reference at the bottom of the page. The sources will then be fully referenced at the end of the paper, in the order of their footnote/endnote numbers. The reference page should be titled “Bibliography” if you used footnotes/endnotes or “References” if you used parenthetical author/date in-text citations.

Comparison Chart

Below is a chart comparing different formatting rules for APA, Chicago, and MLA styles.

How Should You Format Your Essay If Your Teacher Hasn’t Specified a Format?

What if your teacher hasn’t specified which essay format they want you to use? The easiest way to solve this problem is simply to ask your teacher which essay format they prefer. However, if you can’t get ahold of them or they don’t have a preference, we recommend following MLA format. It’s the most commonly-used essay style for students writing papers that aren’t based on their own research, and its formatting rules are general enough that a teacher of any subject shouldn’t have a problem with an MLA format essay. The fact that this style has one of the simplest sets of rules for citing sources is an added bonus!

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Thinking about taking an AP English class? Read our guide on AP English classes to learn whether you should take AP English Language or AP English Literature (or both!)

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Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

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Essay Writing Guide

Types Of Essay

Nova A.

Explore Different Types of Essays, their Purpose, and Sub-types

11 min read

Published on: Sep 20, 2017

Last updated on: Dec 30, 2023

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Are you a college or high school student ready to start on a journey through the fascinating world of essay writing ? Brace yourself because you'll encounter a variety of essay types that will challenge your writing skills and creativity.

Picture this: You're handed an assignment, a blank canvas on which to express your thoughts and ideas. But here's the catch – your teacher won't always specify the type of essay you should craft. It's up to you to solve the riddle hidden within the assignment question.

But fear not! 

In this blog, we'll discuss the four most common types of essays you're likely to encounter during your academic years. While these essays may share a common foundation and structure, each possesses its own unique characteristics. Let’s get started!

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Major Types of Essays In Academic Writing

When it comes to academic writing, understanding the different types of essays is essential. Each type serves a distinct purpose and requires a specific approach. Let's explore these essay types along with their descriptions and example prompts in the table below:

Understanding these major types of essays and the skills they assess will empower you to approach your academic writing with confidence. Depending on your assignment's requirements, you'll be better equipped to choose the appropriate essay type and showcase your writing abilities effectively. 

Each type offers a unique opportunity for you to express your ideas, and arguments and perfect your specific writing skills.

Here are the key types of essay formats explained in detail, along with examples to enhance your understanding.

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Argumentative Essay

An argumentative essay is an essay type that presents a well-structured argument supported by evidence and reasoning. The primary goal is to engage the reader in a discussion, provide evidence, and logically demonstrate why a particular viewpoint is more valid.

In simple words, the writer must provide evidence and remain consistent in their stance. While argumentative essays present both sides of an issue, they strongly support one perspective. 

Characteristics of Argumentative Essay

  • Clear Thesis: It should have a clear thesis statement to state the writer's position.
  • Balanced Presentation: An argumentative essay addresses opposing views.
  • Evidence: It relies on credible and relevant evidence.
  • Logical Reasoning: The essay presents arguments coherently and logically.
  • Persuasive Techniques: It uses persuasive techniques like ethos, pathos, and logos effectively.
  • Introduction: The introduction introduces the topic and thesis, engaging the reader's interest.
  • Body: The body paragraphs present arguments with supporting evidence.
  • Counterargument: It addresses opposing viewpoints and refutes them.
  • Conclusion: The conclusion summarizes key points and reinforces the thesis, leaving a strong impression.

Argumentative Essay Example

Before beginning the writing process, it is better to go through some expertly crafted argumentative essay examples . This approach enables you to grasp the argumentative essay outline and writing style more effectively.

Descriptive Essay

A descriptive essay is a form of writing that aims to immerse readers in a sensory-rich experience. Unlike informational or persuasive essays, its primary goal is to vividly depict a person, place, object, event, or experience.   The descriptive essay must evoke the senses and emotions of the reader. In simple terms, the reader should see what you saw and feel what you felt. To make it better, you can use several literary devices such as;

  • Alliteration

All of them help in making the experience and your essay better.

Key Characteristics 

  • Sensory Detail: Descriptive essays appeal to the five senses to create a multisensory experience.
  • Vivid Imagery: They use figurative language and descriptive adjectives to bring the narrative to life.
  • Emotional Connection: These essays often aim to establish an emotional bond between the reader and the subject.
  • Structured Approach: They typically follow an introduction-body-conclusion structure.
  • Introduction: Introduces the subject and purpose, sometimes with a thesis statement.
  • Body Paragraphs: Focus on specific aspects or details using sensory language and vivid descriptions.
  • Conclusion: Summarizes the central theme and leaves a lasting impression.

Descriptive Essay Example

Creating a perfect descriptive essay for an assignment is not difficult if you go through some expert descriptive essay examples first. 

Need more examples? Read our Descriptive Essay Examples and Writing Tips blog to get inspired!

Expository Essay

An expository essay is a type of writing that provides clear and objective explanations of a topic without expressing personal opinions. It aims to inform and educate by presenting factual information and analysis.

Therefore, it is important that you make a focused outline and stick to it throughout the process. 

An expository essay incorporates a wide array of essays such as:

  • Cause and effect essays
  • Process essays
  • Analytical essays
  • Compare and contrast essays

Key Characteristics

  • Objective Presentation: Expository writing maintains an impartial tone, avoiding personal biases.
  • Informativeness: They focus on explaining complex ideas or processes in a straightforward manner.
  • Structured: These essays follow a clear structure with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
  • Use of Evidence: They rely on credible evidence, facts, and examples to support the topic.
  • Introduction: Introduces the topic and often includes a thesis statement.
  • Body Paragraphs: Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect and provides explanations and evidence.
  • Conclusion: Restates the main idea and summarizes key points.

Expository Essay Example

Looking for more sample essays? Check out our Expository Essay Examples blog and take inspiration from a range of expository essays!

Narrative Essay

A narrative essay is a type of academic writing that tells a story or recounts a personal experience. Unlike other essays, its primary purpose is to engage and entertain the reader through storytelling.

  • Narrative Structure: Follows a chronological sequence with an introduction, body, climax, and conclusion.
  • First-Person Perspective: Typically written from the first-person point of view (e.g., "I" and "we") , sharing personal experiences and emotions.
  • Vivid Description: Relies on descriptive language and imagery to create a clear picture of events, characters, and settings.
  • Emotional Connection: Aims to establish an emotional bond with the reader by conveying the writer's thoughts and feelings.
  • Introduction: Sets the stage and introduces the central theme or problem.
  • Body: Presents events or experiences in chronological order with sensory details.
  • Climax: Often includes a central event or turning point.
  • Conclusion: Reflects on the narrative, offering insights, lessons, or resolution.

Narrative Essay Example

Wondering how to get your story into an interesting narrative? Learn the best way to write a perfect narrative essay with the help of expert narrative essay examples. 

For more examples visit our blog on narrative essay examples .

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Other Essay Types

In addition to the major types of essays discussed earlier, there are several other specialized types that cater to specific audiences. These essays provide diverse avenues for writers to communicate their ideas effectively. 

We will go through these essay types here.

Persuasive Essay

A persuasive essay is another type of academic essay. In this essay type, the writer utilizes logic and reasoning to show one’s idea is more convincing than another idea. 

In writing a persuasive essay, the main aim is to persuade the reader to accept a certain point of view. The presented argument or claim must use solid evidence and sound reasoning by stating facts, examples, and quotes. 

Persuasive Essay Example

Since persuasive essays are the most common type of essay, it is essential to get familiar with their writing style. For that, here is an interesting persuasive essay example that you can explore for your better understanding. 

Read our persuasive essay examples blog for more samples!

Analytical Essay

An analytical essay is a type of academic essay in which the writer analyzes a topic bit by bit. Writing an analytical essay is not about convincing readers of your point of view. But wanting readers to agree with what you have written. 

So, there is no need to use strong persuasive language in an analytical essay. Rather you should aim to provide enough analysis to make sure your argument is clear to the readers. 

Analytical Essay Example

Let’s take a look at a sample analytical essay: 

Read our analytical essay examples blog if you are looking for more sample essays!

Reflective Essay

A reflective essay type of essay requires you to examine your personal experiences through self-reflection. In the process of writing a reflective essay, you provide insight into what you have gained from those experiences. 

What makes reflective essays different from other essay types is the fact that it examine the past experience from the present. Reflective essays take the reader through a journey of self-growth. 

Reflective Essay Example

The following reflective essay example will help you get a clear idea of how to structure your analytical essay. 

Rhetorical Analysis Essay

It is a form of a textual analysis essay in which the student examines and analyzes a persuasive text. It is like an essay, speech, or visual art and analyzes the rhetorical devices used in it. Writing a rhetorical analysis essay is different from writing other essays because it will be more than adding facts only.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example

Here is a rhetorical analysis essay example that will help you learn better. 

Check out our rhetorical analysis essay examples blog for more samples!

Literary Analysis Essay

A literary analysis essay is based on close reading and analysis of a work of literature like poetry and novel. It identifies different literary factors like themes, setting,  characters, setting, and the kind of language used in it. A literary analysis essay has the same 5 paragraphs as any other essay but the main subject and topic are different.

Literary Analysis Essay Example

Need help with your literary analysis essay? Below is a sample essay to help you understand better.

Summing it Up! Now you know what are the different types of essays in academic writing that you are most likely to get assigned. However, if you still find it difficult to compose your essay, leave your piece of writing to our experts. 

Whether you need an argumentative essay, narrative essay,  descriptive essay, or expository essay we are here to help. Our expertise extends to all types of essays, ensuring that your academic writing needs are met with precision and excellence.

Request 'write my essay' today and let our professional writing service help you write A+ grade essays within your specified timeline! 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most important element in any essay.

A thesis statement is the most important part of any essay. Other than the research itself, the thesis statement is the most important part of an essay or research paper. A thesis statement summarizes the main point and essence of the argument.

What type of essay is most common at university?

Usually, university students get argumentative kinds of essays. No matter what kind of essay you write, you will need to develop an argument.

Here are some kinds of essays and the kind of arguments added to them. 

  • Analysis and interpretation of literary texts are discussed in literary analysis essays. 
  • The importance of a particular event or theory is analyzed in a history argumentative essay. 
  • A political theory is examined in a political argumentative essay. 

Besides, there are a number of different kinds of argumentative and analysis essays.

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Writing a Formal Essay

When you are assigned a formal essay, the stakes feel high. You may be wondering what makes this type of writing different from any other paper you have written before. The good news is that with some understanding of the guidelines, formal essay writing can be less daunting. In this post, we will explore what sets formal essays apart and offer some tips for crafting an effective piece.

Table of Contents

Structure Of A Formal Essay

Formal essay writing

The perfect formal essay has a clear purpose, an elegant structure, and language that flows like a well-aged wine. It should also be free of any distractions or superfluities. Like any type of writing, it starts with prewriting and planning . But there are some basic components of every essay.

Formal Essay Definition : A formal essay is a short, relatively impersonal composition in prose. It is treated as a dissertation for your college degree. In general, a formal essay should have at least five paragraphs: an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Thesis Statement

The key ingredient to a formal essay is the thesis.

Definition : A thesis is a statement that expresses the main idea of your paper. It explains the goal or purpose of your formal essay so that your readers know what to expect.

A strong thesis should state the main idea of your essay and some points for discussion. Remember, thesis sentences should contain all the standard sentence parts a s normal bodies of text.

  • So your thesis might look like this: “I love coffee for many reasons, but most of all for its endless variety of flavors, comforting texture, and relaxing qualities.”

This statement is effective as a thesis because it explains the main idea and lists a few sub-topics that will be discussed in the essay. If you begin writing by developing a clear thesis with these two components, you’ll have a great start to your formal essay.

Body Paragraphs

Once you’ve written your thesis, you can use it to help you write body paragraphs.

Definition : The “body” of a formal essay is the discussion that comes in between the introduction and the conclusion. It consists of several paragraphs that work to support or explain the main idea by elaborating on the discussion points mentioned in the thesis.

Each body paragraph should start with a topic sentence focusing on a sub-topic.

  • If we use the same example presented above, the sub-topics would be the various flavors, textures, and relaxing qualities of coffee.

So you would need to write one body paragraph devoted to discussing each of these three topics. Always remember to keep your thesis in mind as you write the body of your essay. Also, be sure to include several coordinate adjectives and descriptive adjectives in your body text. You want to be detailed & descriptive.

Introduction

A formal essay should begin with an introductory paragraph.

Definition : A formal essay introduction should provide readers with some background information about the thesis of your paper.

  • An introduction is a little bit like a funnel; it starts out with some broad observations about your topic and gradually gets more specific, until it reaches your thesis.

So if you’re writing a paper about why you love coffee, you might start with some basic information about coffee or some other things that you enjoy. Either way, the goal of the introduction is to gain your readers’ interest by giving them a context for your essay. And as always, kick it off with a strong sentence starter . You want to grab the reader’s attention almost immediately.

Much like the introduction, the conclusion of your formal essay should include a restatement of your thesis.

Definition : The goal of the conclusion is to invite your readers to continue exploring the topic of your paper.

So you might begin your conclusion by restating your thesis statement. Then, you can develop it by considering some future implications of your essay and how it might impact the reader. And don’t write too much! There is a limit to how long your writing can be before it becomes distracting.

For instance, the conclusion of the coffee paper might be focused on encouraging readers to try different coffees for themselves or continue studying the subject of coffee. The point is to show readers how your paper affects them and how they can take action. Also, consider putting your paper through the Chegg plagiarism tool before submitting it!

Rules For Formal Essay Writing

Formal essay writing rules

When it comes to writing a formal essay, there are a few rules you should always follow.

  • This means no using “I” or “we.” No first-person pronouns. Should primarily be in passive voice.
  • This means no “don’t,” “can’t,” or anything else along those lines.
  • This is not the time to bust out your inner teenage rebel. Stick with formal vocabulary & formal tone! You want to use prescriptive not descriptive grammar in your formal writing. Just like we saw in our post on lmao meaning in text , slang terms do NOT work in serious writing!
  • While this may seem like common courtesy, in formal essay writing it’s best to remain impersonal.

So there you have it: a few simple rules to help you write a formal essay that is sure to impress. Be very aware of your word choice. You would not want to use informal words like momma or mama in your formal writing. In the next sections, we’ll elaborate on the key rules to mastering this formal writing style.

The Use of Contractions

If you’re planning on writing a formal essay, there are some formal style rules you’ll want to follow.

  • First and foremost, do not use contractions.

This means that you should always write out phrases like “did not” instead of using the contraction “didn’t.” Contractions have an informal tone. Focus on using apostrophes correctly !

It may seem like a small change, but it makes a big difference in the formality of your writing. Even a small mistake can make your essay look sloppy and unpolished. Save the contractions for your informal essays.

Keep It 3rd Person

When it comes to formal writing style, do not write in first person . This may seem like an obvious rule, but it is often violated. Second, limit the use of active voice. This can be accomplished by using more passive constructions and avoiding contractions.

While this may seem like a no-brainer, it is surprising how often essays are marred by errors in these areas. By following these simple rules, you can ensure that your formal essays will make a positive impression on your readers.

Formal Essay Topics

When people think of formal essays…they think of school. The majority of our formal essays are also a form of academic writing. Here are a list of formal essay topics:

  • Is Social Media Good For Society?
  • Should Drugs Be Legalized?
  • Should Education Be Free For All Students?

These topics are all worthy of being covered in a formal essay. Be sure to format your writing in the manner described in the previous sections of this post. Also, just like we saw in our post about the phrase “ please be advised “, writers need to pay close attention to their word choice in formal contexts.

FAQs – Formal Essays

Formal essay writing is a type of academic writing that follows a prescribed format and tone. A formal essay is typically research-based, and it is written in the third person . An informal essay, on the other hand, is less rigid in terms of its structure and tone. It may be more personal in nature, and it may not be research based. Formal and informal essays are structured differently.

A formal essay consists of an introduction, the body paragraphs, and the concluding paragraph . The introduction should introduce the topic and state the position that you will be taking in the essay. The body paragraphs should support your position with evidence, and the concluding paragraph should summarize your argument.

Formal writing typically includes longer, more complex sentences than informal writing . Additionally, formal writing often uses more specific and technical language. This type of writing is used in professional or academic settings where a level of formality and precision is desired.

There are a few things you should keep in mind when starting a formal paper. First, you want to make sure you have a strong hook. This will help grab the reader’s attention and keep them engaged. Second, it is helpful to provide some background information so that your reader has context for your argument. Third, make sure you have a clear thesis statement that outlines what you’ll be arguing in the paper. Fourth, map out the structure of your essay so that it is easy for the reader to follow. And finally, don’t forget to proofread before you submit!

Contractions are generally considered to be informa l. They are commonly used in spoken English, but not as much in written English. While there are some exceptions ( such as I’m, we’re, and you’re), contractions are usually considered to be too informal for formal writing.

There are a few reasons why you might want to avoid using contractions in formal writing. For one, they can lessen the impact of your words . When you’re trying to make a point or sound authoritative, using contractions can make you seem less serious. Additionally, contractions can make your writing seem informal . If you’re trying to maintain a professional or academic tone, it’s best to avoid contractions.

While contractions are common in everyday speech, they’re usually not encouraged in academic writing, as they can make your writing sound informal . In academic writing, it’s important to use formal language to demonstrate that you’re knowledgeable about the topic at hand.

A contraction is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Contractions are commonly used in writing and in speech. Here are some common contractions: – can’t (can + not) – don’t (do + not) – I’ve (I + have)

The Bottom Line

So there you have it – the simple steps to writing a formal essay that will make your instructor proud. By following these guidelines, you can focus on what’s important – making your argument and presenting your evidence in a clear, concise way. To make things easy, use our FREE Essay Checker to proofread your writing in seconds.

And remember, practice makes perfect! The more essays you write, the easier they will become – so start drafting today and see how well you do.

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Extended Essay: Formal vs. Informal Writing

  • Extended Essay- The Basics
  • Step 1. Choose a Subject
  • Step 2. Educate yourself!
  • Using Brainstorming and Mind Maps
  • Identify Keywords
  • Do Background Reading
  • Define Your Topic
  • Conduct Research in a Specific Discipline
  • Step 5. Draft a Research Question
  • Step 6. Create a Timeline
  • Find Articles
  • Find Primary Sources
  • Get Help from Experts
  • Search Engines, Repositories, & Directories
  • Databases and Websites by Subject Area
  • Create an Annotated Bibliography
  • Advice (and Warnings) from the IB
  • Chicago Citation Syle
  • MLA Works Cited & In-Text Citations
  • Step 9. Set Deadlines for Yourself
  • Step 10. Plan a structure for your essay
  • Evaluate & Select: the CRAAP Test
  • Conducting Secondary Research
  • Conducting Primary Research
  • Formal vs. Informal Writing
  • Presentation Requirements
  • Evaluating Your Work

Differences Between Informal and Formal Essays

When writing your extended essay you should use language that is formal and academic in tone.  The chart below gives you some idea of the differences between informal and formal essays. See the box below for examples of the differences in tone in informal and formal essays written on identical topics. A PDF of this chart, and the examples below, is in the box to the right , along with a list of tips for avoiding colloquial writing.

Examples of Informal and Formal Tone in Essay Writing

The following examples highlight the differences between formal and informal tone.

Language B - English

  • Formal vs. Informal Writing A chart giving the differences between informal and formal essays in seven areas (author's viewpoint; subject/content (sources of evidence); tone; structure; location of the research question; vocabulary; and purpose. Also included are examples comparing informal and formal writing for essays in English, biology, and psychology.
  • How to Avoid Colloquial (Informal) Writing While it may be acceptable in friendly e-mails and chat rooms, excessive colloquialism is a major pitfall that lowers the quality of formal written text. Here are some steps/tips that you can follow to help improve your overall writing.
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  • Next: Presentation Requirements >>
  • Last Updated: Feb 2, 2024 1:39 PM
  • URL: https://libguides.westsoundacademy.org/ee

What are the seven different types of academic essay?

formal essay types

This is the third and final chapter about Essays . To complete this reader, read each chapter carefully and then unlock and complete our materials to check your understanding.   

– Discuss why essays may vary in type

– Describe the seven different essay types

– Provide example essay questions for each type

Chapter 1: What is an academic essay?

Chapter 2: What are the six different essay lengths?

Chapter 3: What are the seven different types of academic essay?

Before you begin reading...

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  • knowledge checks and quizzes
  • skills practices, tasks and assignments

There are many different  essay types   that you may be required to write throughout your university education, and each type will generally depend upon the task you’ve been set – which is often indicated by the essay question . Of course, the type of essay you’re required to write can depend on the level of education you are in (secondary vs. tertiary) and the courses you are studying (skills vs. content, or arts vs. sciences). The following seven essay types are likely the most common types that you’ll find in academic writing courses.

1. Cause and Effect Essays

The purpose of a  cause and effect essay   is usually to explain to the reader the connection between an event or situation (the cause) and the result that such an event or situation has created (the effect). Such essay types may well include an evaluation of that cause as well as the general implications or wider impact of those effects – such as what would happen to a select group of people or a particular country in those circumstance. Below is one possible essay question :

About Essay Types 3.1 Cause and Effect Question

2. Compare and Contrast Essays

The main purpose of a compare and contrast essay  is to take two or more concepts, events or ideas and compare them for similarities or contrast them for differences. Such essays may cover any kind of topic, although are usually determined by the subject that the student is studying. One such compare and contrast essay question might be:

About Essay Types 3.2 Compare and Contrast Question

3. Descriptive Essays

Descriptive essays are often described as being the essay type which brings a topic ‘alive’ for the reader by describing that topic in significant detail. The idea is that the writer explains a topic in such a level of detail that the reader will be able to hear, see or feel what’s being described. Such essays then will clearly draw on the five human senses and may be more poetic or reflective in nature (and perhaps therefore more restrictive in the types of essay question possible):

About Essay Types 3.3 Descriptive Question

4. Evaluative Essays

Evaluative essays are intended to help the writer present their opinion through criteria and evidence. Although similar to persuasive essays in that the writer will provide a stance on an argument, the focus of an evaluative essay is instead that the writer provides their overall opinion on a topic, a judgement of that opinion (such as its strengths and weaknesses), criteria for arriving at that conclusion, and evidence to support that particular viewpoint. Such essay questions for this essay type are varied, but might look somewhat similar to the following:

About Essay Types 3.4 Evaluative Question

5. Persuasive Essays

Persuasive (or argumentative) essays tend to demonstrate that there are two (or possibly more) opinions to any given topic and provide evidence for both sides of the argument. Commonly, the writer will take a stance in this essay type and provide more evidence for one side of the debate than the other. Despite the writer’s overall opinion, persuasive essays should always include counter arguments  to the writer’s argument so as to remain objective, as would be necessary for the following question:

About Essay Types 3.5 Persuasive Question

6. Problem-Solution Essays

The purpose of a problem-solution essay is so that a problem (which may be the writer’s choice or at the discretion of the tutor) may be identified and possible solutions determined for that issue. This essay type usually involves also providing an evaluation of those solutions (such as their strengths, weaknesses and viability) as well as evidence to support them. One such problem-solution essay question might be similar to the following:

About Essay Types 3.6 Problem-Solution Question

7. Process Essays

The final, and perhaps easiest, type of common academic  essay is the process essay ,  the purpose of which is to explain to the reader how something happens or how to replicate a process themselves. Also known as a ‘how-to’ essay, this essay type involves the writer explaining a particular process either through defining it, by showing the particular processes in a step-by-step manner, or by describing in detail how something works. Such essay questions for this type might be as follows:

About Essay Types 3.7 Process Question

Please note that although listed separately here, it is possible that an essay could have aspects of more than one of these seven essay types. Having an understanding of these types will therefore help you to utilise them and hopefully improve your writing. If you’d like to check comprehension of these concepts as explained in Chapters 1 to 3, consider downloading our beginner-, intermediate– and advanced-level worksheets for this topic.

To reference this reader:

Academic Marker (2022) Essays . Available at: https://academicmarker.com/academic-guidance/assignments/essays/ (Accessed: Date Month Year).

  • Harvard Writing Center
  • Leeds University Library
  • Purdue Online Writing Lab

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9+ Samples of Formal Essays in PDF

Formal Essays Samples

Within the activities that you have to deal with in your entire life, there are certain instances where you will be required to write an essay . This is the reason why you have to be knowledgeable on how to construct different kinds of essays so you can easily create a particular one when necessary. One type of essay that is usually asked by entities to be written is a formal essay. A formal essay is commonly associated with academic essay examples  and other educational writing activities. However, the usage of a formal essay is not limited to that as it can be used in professional researchers, business transactions, and other corporate undertakings.

It is essential for a formal essay to inform its audience about a particular matter. More so, it should be composed of details that can persuade the readers to believe what the writer is saying. Refer to the downloadable samples of formal essays that are available in this post so you can have references and guides if you have been tasked to create this specific essay and is unaware of what to do.

Formal Student Profile Essay Sample

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Formal Essay Sample Guide

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Components of a Formal Essay Introduction

Compared to how a  descriptive essay  can be deemed appealing, one of the things that you always have to give focus on when creating a formal essay is the introduction that you will use. First impressions play a vital role in how your target readers will create their perception of your writing. Just as how the physical appearance of people tend to be the factor that can affect your first impression about them, the introduction of your essay can also be the means on how your formal essay can be perceived and initially judged.

You need to create a formal essay introduction that is outstanding. It needs to get the attention of your readers in a way that is not overwhelming. You need to consider different factors when doing your introduction so you can ensure that your formal essay can have a good start. Here are some of the components of a formal essay introduction that you need to be aware of:

  • Statistics or research results either coming from the government or reliable non-profit organizations
  • Hard hitting questions that are relevant to your topic discussion
  • Famous quotations from people whose life works are related to what you will be talking about
  • Use another sentence to provide information about your topic.  Your readers need to have a basic background information about what they can expect with regards the content of your formal essay. This should contain details that can be helpful in providing your readers an idea of why it is relevant for them to continue reading your written output. One sentence is enough as your presentation only requires a few words to be done. Again, focus on the main information that you would like to talk about so that your readers will not be misled regarding the content of your formal essay.
  • Lastly, incorporate your thesis statement in your introduction. It will be best if you will end your introduction with a thesis statement. This is for the reason that it can represent the main idea of your essay. If you will be able to present the major purpose of your essay and the actual point of discussion, then it will be easier for you to connect with your readers. The initial impact that your introduction can provide can say a lot about how you can direct the attention of your prospective audience. With a strong thesis statement, your formal essay is sure to be off to a good start.

Simple Formal Essay Sample

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Formal Presentation Essay Sample

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How to Create a Formal Essay

Since a formal essay should always be based on factual information, it tends to be more objective, precise and direct to the point compared to other essays. With this, formatting a formal essay requires in-depth knowledge about the topic as well as about the proper format or content flow that should be used to cohesively put together important information. Here is how you can easily format the information that you would like to present in a formal essay may it be a  college essay  or a professional/corporate requirement:

  • Create an introduction which can provide the topic of your discussion. We have already given you an idea on how you can formulate an effective introduction. It all boils down to how you will incorporate these ideas to your actual writing. Your introduction may not give a lot of details when compared to the body of you essay but it certainly can convince your readers to continue reading which can make your work more usable and relevant.
  • Each paragraph should contain a subtopic that is related to your discussion. This can make your discussion more organized.
  • Ensure that your body will have factual details that can support your topic or subject. You have to make sure that the information that you will give to your readers are real so your essay will be deemed credible.
  • Always create a body that conveys ideas related to the thesis statement that you have created. With each topic statement, the connection of both your resources and relevant opinions should be evident.
  • Make a conclusion that can summarize the entire essay.  If you want to create an efficient essay conclusion, it is suggested for you to restate your thesis statement. This can remind your readers of the discussion that you just had in your essay’s body. Also, it will allow them to connect the purpose of the essay to what you have actually come up with. Your conclusion should also summarize all your main points so you can fully present your stand with regards the subject that you talked about.

Creating the format of your formal essay is easy. However, you have to make sure that your objective for writing the essay is realized. Think of the things that you need to discuss so you can put them in their proper places. Organization within the writing procedures can help you to be more focused on what to discuss first and what to give importance and focus on.

Sample Formal Essay Structure

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Formal Essay Example

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How to Make Your Formal Essay Outstanding Through Proper Language Selection

Writing an essay is not just about its thought, content, and format. Aside from these major factors of essay writing, you also have to be keen when selecting the language to use. May it be in the educational and professional field, using the appropriate language when writing your formal essay can affect the entirety of the document.

You need to make sure that the language that you will use is formal and business-like. This is not only used for writing a formal essay as it can also apply to comparative essay  creation and other writing activities. The language that you will incorporate into your essay can make your formal essay stand out if you will be aware of these items:

  • Choose to use words that are formal in nature. Formal vocabulary can help your sentences, phrases, and paragraphs to be structured in a way that it will look more fitting as an academic document.
  • As much as possible, veer away from using a first person standpoint. Always be reminded that your main task is to highlight and support your thesis statement. Both nouns and pronouns that are in the first person can actually make your essay less credible as it will sound like what you are stating are baseless or just your own opinion.
  • Use words that can formally support your statements. It is essential for your language to have a precise interpretation of your essay and its tone. Being able to do this can help your formal essay to be more put together
  • Use a language that is relevant to the needs of your target readers. Avoid slang, jargon, and colloquial terms which may not possibly be understood by your readers. You need to create a proper connection with your readers which is the reason why your language is very important to be considered.

Readers, though interested in the topic that you are writing about, can be offended or feel disinterested if they will find that your language is not appropriate for a particular discussion or written transaction. Hence, you need to be responsible enough as a writer when it comes to choosing your language.

Sample Formal Essay Format

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Extended Formal Essay Guide

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Guidelines in Writing a Formal Essay

Just like any other kinds of essays, there are no strict rules that are irreplaceable. The way that you create a formal essay will always vary from situation to situation. Within the entirety of your formal essay writing, it is for sure that you might commit  common essay mistakes . Listed below are some of the guidelines that you may incorporate into your writing so that your formal essay can look as professional as possible:

  • Do not use redundant phrases. Repeating topics or content theme can make your formal essay boring. Repetitive statements can also irritate or bore your readers.
  • Use samples of formal essays as your writing guides. If you have no idea on how to create a formal essay, it will be easier for you to create one if you are guided by downloadable samples. Having a reference when doing your own formal essay can help you become more efficient in the entire writing process.
  • If samples are not enough to guide you, have the freedom to use templates. There are some templates that already contain a formal essay content. Make sure that you will remove these as all you need from the template is the guideline on how to format the document. More so, refer to the instructions that are given to you so you can incorporate it in the format that you will use.

Formal Essay Rubric Sample

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Formal Literary Essay Sample

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A standardized and comprehensive formal essay is very appealing to readers. Hence, always be consistent with your discussion and the presentation flow that you will follow. Your formal essay can represent your style as a writer which is the main reason why you always have to incorporate credible language, forms, and materials in your writing. Being able to immerse yourself in writing a formal essay in the most effective manner can help you grow as a writer. This will enable you to acquire new skills and develop new opportunities for academic or professional growth.

If you are already prepared to write a formal essay, make use of our samples as well as the tips that we have provided in this post. Review your formal essay before submitting it so you can correct grammatical errors and other mistakes. Writing a formal essay should not be a burden to you. Enjoy the process and learn from everything that you will go through. Once you already get the gist of writing this type of essay, it will be very easy for you to repeat the process for your next writing activities.

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Types of Outlines and Samples

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Alphanumeric Outlines

This is the most common type of outline and usually instantly recognizable to most people. The formatting follows these characters, in this order:

  • Roman Numerals
  • Capitalized Letters
  • Arabic Numerals
  • Lowercase Letters

If the outline needs to subdivide beyond these divisions, use Arabic numerals inside parentheses and then lowercase letters inside parentheses. Select the "Sample Outlines" PDF in the Media Box above to download the sample of this outline.

The sample PDF in the Media Box above is an example of an outline that a student might create before writing an essay. In order to organize her thoughts and make sure that she has not forgotten any key points that she wants to address, she creates the outline as a framework for her essay.

What is the assignment?

Your instructor asks the class to write an expository (explanatory) essay on the typical steps a high school student would follow in order to apply to college.

What is the purpose of this essay?

To explain the process for applying to college

Who is the intended audience for this essay?

High school students intending to apply to college and their parents

What is the essay's thesis statement?

When applying to college, a student follows a certain process which includes choosing the right schools and preparing the application materials.

Full Sentence Outlines

The full sentence outline format is essentially the same as the Alphanumeric outline. The main difference (as the title suggests) is that full sentences are required at each level of the outline. This outline is most often used when preparing a traditional essay. Select the "Sample Outlines" PDF in the Media Box above to download the sample of this outline.

Decimal Outlines

The decimal outline is similar in format to the alphanumeric outline. The added benefit is a system of decimal notation that clearly shows how every level of the outline relates to the larger whole. Select the "Sample Outlines" PDF in the Media Box above to download the sample of this outline.

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Basics of Different Types Of Essay Format: How To Use Them

You’ll be assigned as a high school or college student to write different types of essay format. Although the majority share the same fundamentals and structure, there are quite a few variations. Every essay brings a challenge for many such students to make it a little bit better than the previous one.

Writing specific styles of essays have increasingly become crucial for academic achievement. The writing of essays is a traditional school task, a section of patterned exams, and a college application requirement. Picking the right type of essay to write in answer to a written question is also crucial to get the problem right on tests.

There are various types of essays; that is why students get confused while writing. There’s no doubt students cannot continue to stay uncertain about essay forms. They have to learn about all of them.

Table of Contents

Different types of essay format: How to use them

The writing of essays is part of academic practices and is, in general, a short part of writing. Argumentative, formal, and informal, critical, persuasive, and narrative are examples of essay formats.

It provides a writer’s understanding of the subject, and professors use it to guide and observe the writing skills of the students.

Every essay type is different and can write by using different techniques. Your first move would be to determine your assigned type of essay and the different strategies involved in writing it. 

The different types of essay format include:

1 narrative essay:.

Narrative essays or storytelling essays refer to the writer’s description of knowledge or experience; it is generally written in the first person and provides detailed descriptions of the main subject. The principal aim of writing narrative essays is to engage the reader in the life experience and viewpoint of the writer.

Usage of a narrative essay:

The main objective is to build a clear and detailed essay which will describe the major topic. The subject to the reader can be a case, a story, an incident. Your purpose in explaining it in such depth is that the audience feels like he was with you at that time and looks at it from your perspective.

2 Argumentative essay:

Comparable to a persuasive essay, the aim here is to persuade the reader about a specific point of view. The objective is to analyze the available knowledge about a topic and create a claim based on it. The writer, however, needs to back up his claims and stick to a particular viewpoint. The argumentative study offers both sides of a specific issue or establishes one approach strongly to the subject material.

Usage of argumentative essay:

The writer develops an argument in these essays and defends his side with solid evidence and reasoning. In a well-detailed and comprehensive way, he presents the claims to make his meaning clear and prove his viewpoint.

3 Descriptive essay:

A descriptive essay ‘explains’ in detail the main topic and allows the reader to connect to your journey. The topic could be anything from a place or a person or the object in discussion. Descriptive essays are known for the deep details, discussion, and information about the topic in question. It describes the topic from different angles and perspectives, or subject matter under criticism.

Usage of descriptive essay:

In the case of a written work or novel, it defined by the writer in terms of plot, setting, characters, and all that is essential for its creation. The descriptive essay ought to convey the reader’s emotions and senses. The reader should see in simple terms, feel what you felt and what you saw.

4 Expository essay:

An expository essay concerns facts, and facts alone. Unlike many other essay types, here, the writer does have the freedom to add his viewpoint and evaluation, the expository essay only includes factual information. That helps make this form of essay easy, but it could also be challenging at times.

usage of expository essay:

The word expository explains itself to expose something or some topic. It helps to explain the writer’s viewpoint through factual information. You, therefore, must create a centered outline and stay to that during the procedure.

5 Analytical essay:

An analytical essay, intended to analyze a piece of work, is written. It is achieved by splitting down parts of the work under analysis. Both individually and as a whole, these parts are analyzed.

Usage of an analytical essay:

Analytical essays vary from other kinds like critical essays since the main objective is to evaluate information from the content. In contrast, in a critical analysis essay, along with an analysis of the author’s literary terms. The use of this essay is to analyze a particular topic.

Now hopefully, you know the different types of essay format s and their uses. This understanding helps you in effectively writing an essay.

Some tips that help you in writing different types of essay formats effectively:

1 understand essays written by others:.

Just like the books, you subconsciously read to make your style of writing, so reading essays from other people can help you create and develop with your essay style of writing.

2 Build up and use your vocabulary properly:

A strong vocabulary will enable you to explain, as simply and concisely as possible, exactly what you mean. The economy of words is a feature of all successful essays since audiences (and essay-markers) do not like to see their time lost on lengthy, unplanned points, which could’ve been conveyed in reducing the number of words.

3 Sentence structure, grammar, and vocal tone:

When you’re reading, you might not consciously know it; however, sophisticated sentence structures make the world sound smart. As we said before, the essential concept when writing is to make yourself simple for people to know; but at the same time, you can still do this and use a range of interesting syntax.

4 Create a blueprint or plan of your thoughts:

To write a successful essay, you need to get your thoughts organized. Besides trying to take that’s already in your head and trying to put it on paper, you could see more simply the links and connections between the concepts. That structure serves as your paper’s foundation. Utilizing either a diagram or a layout to pinpoint and organize your ideas.

Follow these tips if you want to become an expert in writing different types of essay formats. It will help you to achieve your goal of achieving good grades.

Conclusion:

The discussion in this blog helps you to know about different types of essay formats and their usage. Along with the tips, you can write any type of essay format in an effective way. Follow the above tips for essay writing. Now you have essential knowledge of various kinds of essays, just go ahead and complete your essay assignments of different types.

Are you still in doubt, don’t worry, we are here for your help. Our experienced writers will guide you about essay writing on various types. If you are facing a problem with time management, then you can take essay help from us. We are available twenty-four-seven to give you. You can clear your doubts anytime and contact us as per your requirements.

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What Is Academic Writing? | Dos and Don’ts for Students

Academic writing is a formal style of writing used in universities and scholarly publications. You’ll encounter it in journal articles and books on academic topics, and you’ll be expected to write your essays , research papers , and dissertation in academic style.

Academic writing follows the same writing process as other types of texts, but it has specific conventions in terms of content, structure and style.

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Types of academic writing, academic writing is…, academic writing is not…, useful tools for academic writing, academic writing checklist.

Academics mostly write texts intended for publication, such as journal articles, reports, books, and chapters in edited collections. For students, the most common types of academic writing assignments are listed below.

Different fields of study have different priorities in terms of the writing they produce. For example, in scientific writing it’s crucial to clearly and accurately report methods and results; in the humanities, the focus is on constructing convincing arguments through the use of textual evidence. However, most academic writing shares certain key principles intended to help convey information as effectively as possible.

Whether your goal is to pass your degree, apply to graduate school , or build an academic career, effective writing is an essential skill.

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formal essay types

Formal and unbiased

Academic writing aims to convey information in an impartial way. The goal is to base arguments on the evidence under consideration, not the author’s preconceptions. All claims should be supported with relevant evidence, not just asserted.

To avoid bias, it’s important to represent the work of other researchers and the results of your own research fairly and accurately. This means clearly outlining your methodology  and being honest about the limitations of your research.

The formal style used in academic writing ensures that research is presented consistently across different texts, so that studies can be objectively assessed and compared with other research.

Because of this, it’s important to strike the right tone with your language choices. Avoid informal language , including slang, contractions , clichés, and conversational phrases:

  • Also , a lot of the findings are a little unreliable.
  • Moreover , many of the findings are somewhat unreliable.

Clear and precise

It’s important to use clear and precise language to ensure that your reader knows exactly what you mean. This means being as specific as possible and avoiding vague language :

  • People have been interested in this thing for a long time .
  • Researchers have been interested in this phenomenon for at least 10 years .

Avoid hedging your claims with words like “perhaps,” as this can give the impression that you lack confidence in your arguments. Reflect on your word choice to ensure it accurately and directly conveys your meaning:

  • This could perhaps suggest that…
  • This suggests that…

Specialist language or jargon is common and often necessary in academic writing, which generally targets an audience of other academics in related fields.

However, jargon should be used to make your writing more concise and accurate, not to make it more complicated. A specialist term should be used when:

  • It conveys information more precisely than a comparable non-specialist term.
  • Your reader is likely to be familiar with the term.
  • The term is commonly used by other researchers in your field.

The best way to familiarize yourself with the kind of jargon used in your field is to read papers by other researchers and pay attention to their language.

Focused and well structured

An academic text is not just a collection of ideas about a topic—it needs to have a clear purpose. Start with a relevant research question or thesis statement , and use it to develop a focused argument. Only include information that is relevant to your overall purpose.

A coherent structure is crucial to organize your ideas. Pay attention to structure at three levels: the structure of the whole text, paragraph structure, and sentence structure.

Well sourced

Academic writing uses sources to support its claims. Sources are other texts (or media objects like photographs or films) that the author analyzes or uses as evidence. Many of your sources will be written by other academics; academic writing is collaborative and builds on previous research.

It’s important to consider which sources are credible and appropriate to use in academic writing. For example, citing Wikipedia is typically discouraged. Don’t rely on websites for information; instead, use academic databases and your university library to find credible sources.

You must always cite your sources in academic writing. This means acknowledging whenever you quote or paraphrase someone else’s work by including a citation in the text and a reference list at the end.

There are many different citation styles with different rules. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago . Make sure to consistently follow whatever style your institution requires. If you don’t cite correctly, you may get in trouble for plagiarism . A good plagiarism checker can help you catch any issues before it’s too late.

You can easily create accurate citations in APA or MLA style using our Citation Generators.

APA Citation Generator MLA Citation Generator

Correct and consistent

As well as following the rules of grammar, punctuation, and citation, it’s important to consistently apply stylistic conventions regarding:

  • How to write numbers
  • Introducing abbreviations
  • Using verb tenses in different sections
  • Capitalization of terms and headings
  • Spelling and punctuation differences between UK and US English

In some cases there are several acceptable approaches that you can choose between—the most important thing is to apply the same rules consistently and to carefully proofread your text before you submit. If you don’t feel confident in your own proofreading abilities, you can get help from Scribbr’s professional proofreading services or Grammar Checker .

Academic writing generally tries to avoid being too personal. Information about the author may come in at some points—for example in the acknowledgements or in a personal reflection—but for the most part the text should focus on the research itself.

Always avoid addressing the reader directly with the second-person pronoun “you.” Use the impersonal pronoun “one” or an alternate phrasing instead for generalizations:

  • As a teacher, you must treat your students fairly.
  • As a teacher, one must treat one’s students fairly.
  • Teachers must treat their students fairly.

The use of the first-person pronoun “I” used to be similarly discouraged in academic writing, but it is increasingly accepted in many fields. If you’re unsure whether to use the first person, pay attention to conventions in your field or ask your instructor.

When you refer to yourself, it should be for good reason. You can position yourself and describe what you did during the research, but avoid arbitrarily inserting your personal thoughts and feelings:

  • In my opinion…
  • I think that…
  • I like/dislike…
  • I conducted interviews with…
  • I argue that…
  • I hope to achieve…

Long-winded

Many students think their writing isn’t academic unless it’s over-complicated and long-winded. This isn’t a good approach—instead, aim to be as concise and direct as possible.

If a term can be cut or replaced with a more straightforward one without affecting your meaning, it should be. Avoid redundant phrasings in your text, and try replacing phrasal verbs with their one-word equivalents where possible:

  • Interest in this phenomenon carried on in the year 2018 .
  • Interest in this phenomenon continued in 2018 .

Repetition is a part of academic writing—for example, summarizing earlier information in the conclusion—but it’s important to avoid unnecessary repetition. Make sure that none of your sentences are repeating a point you’ve already made in different words.

Emotive and grandiose

An academic text is not the same thing as a literary, journalistic, or marketing text. Though you’re still trying to be persuasive, a lot of techniques from these styles are not appropriate in an academic context. Specifically, you should avoid appeals to emotion and inflated claims.

Though you may be writing about a topic that’s sensitive or important to you, the point of academic writing is to clearly communicate ideas, information, and arguments, not to inspire an emotional response. Avoid using emotive or subjective language :

  • This horrible tragedy was obviously one of the worst catastrophes in construction history.
  • The injury and mortality rates of this accident were among the highest in construction history.

Students are sometimes tempted to make the case for their topic with exaggerated , unsupported claims and flowery language. Stick to specific, grounded arguments that you can support with evidence, and don’t overstate your point:

  • Charles Dickens is the greatest writer of the Victorian period, and his influence on all subsequent literature is enormous.
  • Charles Dickens is one of the best-known writers of the Victorian period and has had a significant influence on the development of the English novel.

There are a a lot of writing tools that will make your writing process faster and easier. We’ll highlight three of them below.

Paraphrasing tool

AI writing tools like ChatGPT and a paraphrasing tool can help you rewrite text so that your ideas are clearer, you don’t repeat yourself, and your writing has a consistent tone.

They can also help you write more clearly about sources without having to quote them directly. Be warned, though: it’s still crucial to give credit to all sources in the right way to prevent plagiarism .

Grammar checker

Writing tools that scan your text for punctuation, spelling, and grammar mistakes. When it detects a mistake the grammar checke r will give instant feedback and suggest corrections. Helping you write clearly and avoid common mistakes .

You can use a summarizer if you want to condense text into its most important and useful ideas. With a summarizer tool, you can make it easier to understand complicated sources. You can also use the tool to make your research question clearer and summarize your main argument.

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Use the checklist below to assess whether you have followed the rules of effective academic writing.

  • Checklist: Academic writing

I avoid informal terms and contractions .

I avoid second-person pronouns (“you”).

I avoid emotive or exaggerated language.

I avoid redundant words and phrases.

I avoid unnecessary jargon and define terms where needed.

I present information as precisely and accurately as possible.

I use appropriate transitions to show the connections between my ideas.

My text is logically organized using paragraphs .

Each paragraph is focused on a single idea, expressed in a clear topic sentence .

Every part of the text relates to my central thesis or research question .

I support my claims with evidence.

I use the appropriate verb tenses in each section.

I consistently use either UK or US English .

I format numbers consistently.

I cite my sources using a consistent citation style .

Your text follows the most important rules of academic style. Make sure it's perfect with the help of a Scribbr editor!

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Formal and Informal Types of Writing Essay

Introduction.

Individuals use English in their everyday life while communicating with their relatives, sharing news with friends and acquaintances, and establishing strong professional relationships. At the same time, every person who lives in contemporary society uses English as a tool for written correspondence. College and university students write articles and research papers, international friends communicate in private chats, and businesses create official documents. Since the language used in these writings is the same, it may seem that there is no difference between writing a birthday invitation letter and a scholarship essay. Nevertheless, each type of text requires specific vocabulary and formatting. The following paper will discuss formal and informal styles in order to understand their distinguishing features and differences.

Formal writing is generally used for business and academic operations. This type of written communication should be clear, organized, and properly formatted. It is complex and incorporates long sentences to ensure that the main idea is delivered and explained carefully. Moreover, formal writing is objective, meaning that an individual is disconnected from the context and does not include personal experiences and emotions in the text. One of the most prominent examples of the formal style is a research paper. This work focuses on a particular topic and aims at discovering some new ideas connected to it. While writing a research essay, students and experts use various academic sources in order to find and compare different perspectives on the same concept. Researchers incorporate specific formats, such as APA, MLA, Chicago, or Harvard, and divide their papers into organized parts to make them look and sound professional. Furthermore, these essays are written in a third-person language to provide the most unbiased view of the problem.

On the other hand, informal writing is similar to spoken communication and is used in personal settings. This style does not require a writer to be organized and objective; it allows full freedom of expression. It uses slang, “I” language, and high emotion words to indicate personal feelings and experiences. In comparison to formal writing, it is acceptable to include short and incomplete sentences in informal letters or messages. Simplicity can even be essential since it gives an opportunity to express an opinion quickly and clearly. A prime example of informal writing is a diary entry. There are no specific rules about the formatting of diaries; therefore, individuals have a chance to style them in any possible way. They can write about their emotions and problems while using abbreviations, contractions, and active voice. Diary entries are personal, which means that they do not have to include objective opinions and thoughts. Instead, they can be based on individual perceptions and judgments.

To summarize, language is the most critical tool for successful communication. People all over the world constantly use English in their personal, academic, and business interactions. While spoken communication is an essential way of delivering messages and viewpoints, writing can also do it effectively. However, individuals should not forget that different types of correspondence require distinct formatting and wording styles. Official emails and requests, documents, and university papers have to be written using formal language and composition. At the same time, text messages and emails to friends and relatives can be created with the implementation of emotionally expressive tones and slang. Thus, the presented essay explored formal and informal writing styles and highlighted their characteristics and dissimilarities.

  • Chicago (A-D)
  • Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2022, February 5). Formal and Informal Types of Writing. https://ivypanda.com/essays/formal-and-informal-types-of-writing/

"Formal and Informal Types of Writing." IvyPanda , 5 Feb. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/formal-and-informal-types-of-writing/.

IvyPanda . (2022) 'Formal and Informal Types of Writing'. 5 February.

IvyPanda . 2022. "Formal and Informal Types of Writing." February 5, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/formal-and-informal-types-of-writing/.

1. IvyPanda . "Formal and Informal Types of Writing." February 5, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/formal-and-informal-types-of-writing/.

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IvyPanda . "Formal and Informal Types of Writing." February 5, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/formal-and-informal-types-of-writing/.

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COMMENTS

  1. The Four Main Types of Essay

    Published on September 4, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023. An essay is a focused piece of writing designed to inform or persuade. There are many different types of essay, but they are often defined in four categories: argumentative, expository, narrative, and descriptive essays.

  2. Formal Essay Format, Types & Example

    Examples of formal essays include a compare and contrast essay, a cause and effect essay, an expository essay, and a argumentative essay. What are the five parts of an essay? There...

  3. How to Write a Formal Essay: Format, Rules, & Example

    6 min Updated: September 21st, 2023 Print How to Write a Formal Essay: Format, Rules, & Example (5 votes) If you're a student, you've heard about a formal essay: a factual, research-based paper written in 3rd person. Most students have to produce dozens of them during their educational career.

  4. Writing 101: The 8 Common Types of Essays

    Writing 101: The 8 Common Types of Essays Written by MasterClass Last updated: Jun 7, 2021 • 3 min read Whether you're a first-time high school essay writer or a professional writer about to tackle another research paper, you'll need to understand the fundamentals of essay writing before you put pen to paper and write your first sentence.

  5. Essay Format Guide: APA, MLA, and Chicago Styles Explained

    1. What is an Essay Format? 2. How To Format Essay in MLA Style 3. How to Format Essay in APA 4. How to Format Essay in Chicago Style 5. Formatting In-Text Citations: APA, MLA, and Chicago Styles 6. How to Determine What Format to Follow What is an Essay Format?

  6. Definition and Examples of Formal Essays

    Updated on March 26, 2018 In composition studies, a formal essay is a short, relatively impersonal composition in prose. Also known as an impersonal essay or a Baconian essay (after the writings of England's first major essayist, Francis Bacon ).

  7. Example of a Great Essay

    Published on February 9, 2015 by Shane Bryson . Revised on July 23, 2023 by Shona McCombes. This example guides you through the structure of an essay. It shows how to build an effective introduction, focused paragraphs, clear transitions between ideas, and a strong conclusion.

  8. How to Write an Essay Outline

    Revised on July 23, 2023. An essay outline is a way of planning the structure of your essay before you start writing. It involves writing quick summary sentences or phrases for every point you will cover in each paragraph, giving you a picture of how your argument will unfold.

  9. The 3 Popular Essay Formats: Which Should You Use?

    In this article, we'll explain essay formatting rules for three of the most popular essay styles: MLA, APA, and Chicago.

  10. Four Types of Essay

    1. Major Types of Essays In Academic Writing 2. Argumentative Essay 3. Descriptive Essay 4. Expository Essay 5. Narrative Essay 6. Other Essay Types Major Types of Essays In Academic Writing When it comes to academic writing, understanding the different types of essays is essential.

  11. Essay Format

    1. What is an Essay Format? 2. Types of Essay Formats 3. Basic Parts of an Essay Format 4. Formatting an Essay 5. 6. Essay Format Examples What is an Essay Format? An essay format is a way in which the information is organized for your essay. The format of an essay has a lot to do with the presentation of the text.

  12. 10 Types of Essays: Examples and Purposes of Each

    8. Persuasive essays. Persuasive essays aim to persuade readers to have an opinion or take a side using facts and emotional appeals. To support an argument or cause, persuasive essays can include moral and emotional reasoning to connect to the reader.

  13. How To Write A Formal Essay [BONUS: Formal Essay Format Tips]

    Formal essay writing is a type of academic writing that follows a prescribed format and tone. A formal essay is typically research-based, and it is written in the third person . An informal essay, on the other hand, is less rigid in terms of its structure and tone.

  14. How to Write a Formal Essay

    A formal essay is a type of writing that includes not only essays, but letters, reports, and job applications written in a formal style with the usage of a strong vocabulary. In a formal essay, all rules of punctuation and grammar are observed by essay writers.

  15. Extended Essay: Formal vs. Informal Writing

    Formal vs. Informal Writing. Usually uses first-person pronoun; directly addresses the reader. Usually uses third-person pronoun. Frequently drawn from life of the student and everyday events. More commonly drawn from shared historical events or literature or other forms of knowledge.

  16. What are the seven different types of academic essay?

    There are many different essay types that you may be required to write throughout your university education, and each type will generally depend upon the task you've been set - which is often indicated by the essay question.

  17. Formal Essays

    Education / Essays / 9+ Samples of Formal Essays in PDF Within the activities that you have to deal with in your entire life, there are certain instances where you will be required to write an essay.

  18. Types of Outlines

    This is the most common type of outline and usually instantly recognizable to most people. The formatting follows these characters, in this order: Roman Numerals; Capitalized Letters; ... Your instructor asks the class to write an expository (explanatory) essay on the typical steps a high school student would follow in order to apply to college.

  19. Basics of Different Types Of Essay Format: How To Use Them

    Different types of essay format: How to use them. The writing of essays is part of academic practices and is, in general, a short part of writing. Argumentative, formal, and informal, critical, persuasive, and narrative are examples of essay formats. It provides a writer's understanding of the subject, and professors use it to guide and ...

  20. What Is Academic Writing?

    Academic writing is a formal style of writing used in universities and scholarly publications. You'll encounter it in journal articles and books on academic topics, and you'll be expected to write your essays, research papers, and dissertation in academic style. Academic writing follows the same writing process as other types of texts, but ...

  21. Formal and Informal Types of Writing

    Researchers incorporate specific formats, such as APA, MLA, Chicago, or Harvard, and divide their papers into organized parts to make them look and sound professional. Furthermore, these essays are written in a third-person language to provide the most unbiased view of the problem. On the other hand, informal writing is similar to spoken ...

  22. QUIZ 2: TYPES OF NONFICTION Flashcards

    A type of nonfiction which explains a particular subject is called _____. Formal and informal refer to two types of _____. essay. The Tatler and the Spectator papers were essays written by _____. Addison and Steele. Essays about literature were written by _____. "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is the name of a sermon by _____.