Different Types of writing

Narrative writing

Writers use several styles when creating written works, depending on the message
they want to convey. One of the most common rhetorical styles is narrative writing, which
tells a story. Whether you’re writing for an educational assignment or pursuing a career in the
writing industry, it can be beneficial to learn how to write a narrative that engages your
audience.

In this informative piece, we define narrative writing, discuss its types and provide tips for
mastering the art of storytelling.

What is narrative writing?

Narrative writing is a style that allows the writer to tell a story. It can include actual events
told in chronological order or it may include imagined events told in a timeline that the author
creates. Narrative writing can sustain the reader’s attention and help them visualize a realistic
experience from the words.

What does narrative writing include?

A written narrative includes several key elements, which are:

 Plot: The plot is the thread of events that occurs in the narrative.
 Characters: Characters are the people in the plot who appear and develop as the story
progresses. The elements of the plot also impact the characters.
 Setting: The location, including the place and time in which the story took place, is
the setting in a narrative.
 Conflict: Conflict is the problem in the story. It often includes a moment of tension or
a challenge that the characters try to overcome.
 Theme: The overarching purpose or driving force behind the story, including its
moral, intent and takeaways, is the theme.
 Tone: Tone is a styling choice that determines how the reader experiences the
situation that the plot describes.
 Point of view: The point of view allows the narrator in the story to describe what’s
happening in the plot. The narrator can be a character, and the point of view can shift
between multiple characters, or the author may use an omniscient narrator who
explains the thoughts and feelings of the character while being unknown to the reader.
  Timeline: The timeline dictates the sequence of events in the plot. A writer can
choose to alter the timeline of certain events or describe the events out of the
sequence in which they happened.

Types of narrative writing

Here’s a list of pieces that may use the narrative writing style:

Novel

A novel is a long work of narrative fiction published in book form. It often includes a cast of
characters who experience a sequence of events in the story and a narrator who directs the
reader to what’s happening in the plot. For example, a romance novel may shift points of
view to the two main characters who are falling in love with one another. The plot may start
with when the characters first meet and end when they decide to be together.

Screenplay

A screenplay is a narrative work that actors use in a film or play. It includes all the key
elements of the story presented in lines that the characters memorize and recite. A writer
often develops a screenplay before the story receives an adaptation that the audience can
watch on screen.

Short story

A short story is a brief narrative work that includes the main elements of a story but in a less
elaborate format than a novel. For instance, a short story may include a narrator who
introduces characters and describes the setting. Before the end of the story, the characters
overcome the conflict, and the reader realizes the meaning of the theme.

Personal essay

A personal essay is a written work used to describe an experience or lesson gathered during
the life of the author. It may include intimate or personal thoughts, descriptions of specific
events or what the writer learned from a specific life experience. A prospective college
student, for example, may write a personal essay to explain their academic aspirations to a
scholarship committee.

Fairy tale

Fairy tales are stories in the folklore genre that tell about magical or wondrous situations and
characters. They are often told to children, although some of the early fairy tales included
dark themes and scary elements. Common characters in fairy tales include princesses,
wizards and talking animals, for example.

Autobiography

An autobiography is the story of a person's life, told in the first person. It shares some
similarities with a personal essay, although it’s usually longer than an essay. Although the
work is nonfiction, it can take on the narrative form as it tells the story of the writer's life.

News stories
News stories describe actual events happening in a particular region, community or area and
are meant to convey information. A news story may the narrative writing style because it tells
a story of a situation or event. The style helps the audience understand what has recently
transpired.

Tips for narrative writing

As you work to improve your narrative writing skills, you can use these tips to become a
stronger writer and tell more compelling stories:

Structure the story properly

A strong narrative follows a particular structure, which provides context for the reader and
helps them better relate to the characters in the plot. This structure can begin with an
orientation, which sets the scene and setting. This section can develop the characters and
establish the plot. Next, the character can encounter the problem, which can lead to the rising
action and the climax of the plot. Then you can write the falling action, which is the portion
of the story where the characters work toward a resolution. The resolution answers the
reader’s questions and resolves the conflict.

Read other narrative examples

Strong writers learn from other strong writers, so they often spend a lot of time reading. You
can read narratives in a wide range of formats, including short stories, novels and news
stories Aim to read a few books every year to immerse yourself in the written word and
discover how other writers use this style to tell stories. Since screenplays also use the
narrative style, you can use movies and TV shows as examples to help you learn more about
writing techniques.
Practice your writing

You can also get better at writing narratives by practicing and improving your writing skills.
You can better understand the purpose of each element in the story and craft well-developed
characters, interesting settings and engaging conflicts and resolutions. Consider channeling
the reader’s perspective as you develop your plot and choose a narrator.

Request feedback

If you have people around you who are strong writers, ask them to read your writing and
provide feedback. Even those who are not as experienced with narrative writing may be able
to identify what you can do to improve your story before you submit your narrative. For
example, you can ask a professional writer or mentor to look over your work, or you can ask
a friend or family member that represents the target audience of readers who you want to read
your story.

The MBM University English syllabus expects you to write narrative writing
about the processes and writing experiment reports.

The narrative format for laboratory reporting lets you tell the story of the lab by
writing an essay. The narrative should incorporate all of the important elements
of a traditional lab report but utilize a style that is continuous and flowing. This
storytelling style answers the following questions:

What was I looking for / What did I do?

Describe the research question you were trying to answer or the

prediction or hypothesis you were testing.

How did I look for it / Why were the particular parts done?

Tell what you did to answer the research question or test a prediction or
hypothesis. Include a description of the method and materials you used.
Mention safety issues and precautions.

What did I find?

Describe any observations you made, tabulate and discuss any data you
collected, and show any calculations you made.

What does this mean?

Formulate a conclusion based on your data and calculations. Discuss the

accuracy of your predictions or the support for your hypothesis. Also,
discussion of results, conclusions, applications, sources of error, and further
questions are addressed here.

Therefore, your report should answer these questions in narrative form,

interrupted by data tables and calculations as necessary. Think of the report as
the body of a letter you might write to a fellow student or teacher who was not
there but must recreate the experiment. Let the questions shape the narrative
but do not restate the questions within the report.

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DESCRIPTIVE WRITING
The primary purpose of descriptive writing is to describe a person, place or thing in such a
way that a picture is formed in the reader's mind. Capturing an event through descriptive
writing involves paying close attention to the details by using all of your five senses.
Teaching students to write more descriptively will improve their writing by making it more
interesting and engaging to read.

What is descriptive writing?

Descriptive writing helps the reader visualize the person, place, thing, or situation being
described. When a text conjures a vivid, sensory impression in the reader’s mind, not only
does it make the writing more interesting to read; it helps the reader understand the text better
and recognize the author’s intention more clearly.

Why teach descriptive writing?

 It helps students make their writing more interesting and engaging to read.
  It creates opportunities for students to practice using new words in meaningful
contexts, a key strategy for building vocabulary.
 Descriptive writing tends to include figurative language, such as simile, metaphor,
and onomatopoeia. Noticing figurative language in mentor texts and incorporating it
into their own writing help students build critical verbal reasoning skills. To find out
more about verbal reasoning and other components of language comprehension, see
the “In Depth” section from the Comprehension module of our Reading 101 Course.
 It encourages students to learn from—and be metacognitive about—the techniques
other authors use to write vivid descriptions.
 It can help students clarify their understanding of new subject matter material and
remember more of what they learn.

Descriptive writing is one of those styles of writing where the author writes about every
aspect of the event, person, or place they are describing in detail. This is to make the reader
feel as if they are actually present there.

It paints a picture with words in the reader’s mind. Descriptive writing pieces are written in
the first person and their tone is emotional and personal. It involves writing descriptions
using all five senses. Descriptive writing is filled with adverbs and adjectives for an enhanced
quality of reading experience. Sometimes, the author also includes similes and metaphors.

Descriptions of such kind can upgrade one’s writing style to a higher level that goes deeper
into the minds of the readers.

Examples: Poetry, fictional stories, journals, copywriting, narrative non-fiction, etc.

Features: Detail-oriented writing presents a visual through words, personal tone.

Characteristics of descriptive writing

1. Good descriptive writing includes many vivid sensory details that paint a picture and
appeals to all of the reader's senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste when appropriate.
Descriptive writing may also paint pictures of the feelings the person, place or thing invokes
in the writer. In the video section below, watch a teacher use a Five Senses Graphic
Organizer as a planning strategy for descriptive writing.

2. Good descriptive writing often makes use of figurative language such as analogies, similes
and metaphors to help paint the picture in the reader's mind.

3. Good descriptive writing uses precise language. General adjectives, nouns, and passive
verbs do not have a place in good descriptive writing. Use specific adjectives and nouns and
strong action verbs to give life to the picture you are painting in the reader's mind.
4. Good descriptive writing is organized. Some ways to organize descriptive writing include:
chronological (time), spatial (location), and order of importance. When describing a person,
you might begin with a physical description, followed by how that person thinks, feels and
acts.

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EXPOSITORY WRITING
Expository writing, as its name implies, is writing that exposes facts. In other words, it’s
writing that explains and educates its readers, rather than entertaining or attempting to
persuade them. When you read a scholarly article, a textbook page, a news report, or an
instructional guide, you’re reading expository writing.

What is expository writing?

Expository writing is writing that aims to inform its reader. As we mentioned above, this
includes all types of factual writing, like textbooks, news stories, technical guides, and pieces
of business writing. Many journalistic pieces are pieces of expository writing, but not all are
—advertorials, opinion pieces, and many pieces of political writing are not pieces of
expository writing because their primary goal is something other than providing unbiased
facts.

Expository writing is:

Factual

Usually presented in a linear format

Always presented in a logical format

Objective

Clear about its purpose

Expository writing is not:

The author’s opinion

An attempt to change the reader’s mind or shape their perspective

 Subjective

Nonlinear or otherwise unconventional in how it presents content

Expository writing can still be fun and engaging

Although expository writing is fact-based, it doesn’t need to be dry or boring. Skilled writing
can present factual information in an engaging way that only increases the reader’s
comprehension of the topic, often by borrowing techniques used in narrative and descriptive
writing to make the facts more vivid and impactful.

Expository Writing: Best for explaining or informing about a particular subject or topic
area.

Expository writing aims to explain or educate its readers about a particular topic. So, the goal
is to teach the reader about something rather than persuading or entertaining them.

This style of writing is written to answer questions the interested reader might have about the
subject that is being talked about in the text. Questions like who, what, when, where, why,
how are answered in expository pieces of academic writing.

This is an objective style of writing where no personal opinions of the author are displayed. It
is not supposed to have an agenda, but just state facts to inform the reader. By use of this
writing, one attracts the reader towards something undeniable and concretely proven. It is
written from a third-person perspective.

Examples: Textbooks, manuals, how-to articles, technical or scientific writing, editorial

writing, recipes, training materials, FAQ pages/ blogs, etc.

Features: Written in third person, objective tone, stating facts.

The purpose of the expository writing style is to enlighten or instruct. In other words, it
means to present an idea or relevant discussion that helps explain or analyze information.
Some of the most common examples of expository writing include scientific reports,
academic essays and magazine articles.

An expository writer can’t assume that potential readers have prior knowledge or
understanding about the information that they present. It’s best to avoid beating around the
bush and highlight things as they are. The main features of expository writing style include:

 It needs to be informative and highlight relevant details for better understanding

 There should be clarity and an expository writer should know what they’re
 talking about

 Well-written expository pieces continue to focus on the main topic and list
events in an organized manner
 The use of the first-person narrative should be avoided; instead, second-person
instruction is much more effective
 It should steer clear of personal thoughts and opinions and present an unbiased
version of the information.

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EVALUATIVE WRITING

Evaluative writing is a type of writing intended to judge something according to a set of

criteria. For instance, your health might be evaluated by an insurance company before issuing
a policy. The purpose of this evaluation would be to determine your overall health and to
check for existing medical conditions. The better your evaluation, the less the insurance
company might charge you for coverage.

Reviews are actually evaluations of films. They use criteria such as the plot complexity,
characterization, dialogue, relevance of theme, shot composition, acting, and other elements
to determine the overall quality of the film.

ESTABLISHING EVALUATIVE CRITERIA

The key to effective evaluative writing is starting off with a clear and precise assertion. Your
main assertion is what you will use to perform the evaluation. You may want to argue that a
Chevy Tahoe is better than a Ford Expedition based on its horsepower, gas mileage, capacity,
warranty, etc. Other evaluators might argue the difference between their towing capabilities.
Whatever the main argument may be for your evaluative essay, make sure that your argument
is clear.

 Make sure you have a well presented subject. Without one, you will lose your readers.
 Create a thesis statement. Thesis statements help you stay focused and help your
reader to understand what is being evaluated or judged.
  Give only information that is imperative to the decision-making process. If it looks
like unnecessary information, it probably is.
 Do not be biased when creating an evaluative essay. Give both good and bad
examples of the topic.

Structure of the Evaluative writing

Introduction

In the introduction of your evaluative writing/essay, you should clearly state the following:
— what you are evaluating— the purpose of your evaluation— what criteria you are
following while evaluating your subject on. Give the reader the background on the subject
including the “who, what, when, where, and why” elements of the subject.

Body

Be sure to be very descriptive and thorough when evaluating your subject. The more you
leave out of the essay, the more unanswered questions your readers are left with. Your goal
should be to cover all aspects of the subject and to tell the audience how good or bad it is.
Consider, for example, not only what quality the subject possesses, but what is missing. Good
evaluations measure the quality or value of a subject by considering what it has and what it
lacks.

Conclusion

The conclusion for an evaluative essay is pretty straightforward. Simply go over the main
points from the body of your essay. After that, make an overall evaluation of the subject. Tell
the reader suppose your evaluation is about a product that they should buy it, eat it, use it,
wear it, etc. and why. After that is done, your essay is finished.

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