English Lab
Summer 2012 Workshop 3
1JCM
Essay Genres
I. Narrative: A narrative essay is one that tells a story. Narrative essays are often told from the writer’s point of
view and may include the writer’s own experiences. Think of yourself as a storyteller.
Change the sentences below to include more details. Paint a picture in the reader’s mind.
1. The spaghetti tasted good. __________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. The man had a bad accident. ________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. Jesse’s car is nice. ___________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
II. Informative: The informative essay is one that explains, instructs (teaches), illustrates (shows), or tells
about your chosen topic. In other words, you are educating your audience about some kind of information.
Think of yourself as a teacher.
A. Process: In a process essay, the writer explains the steps (or process) of how to make or do something or
explains how something works, such as how to make lasagna, how to paint a house, or how the water
cycle works. Think of yourself as a builder.
1. List the steps to do one of the following: 1) how to make a cake, 2) how to check the oil on a car, or
3) how to write a paper. There may be more or less than five steps.
Step 1: _______________________________________________________________________________
Step 2: _______________________________________________________________________________
Step 3: _______________________________________________________________________________
Step 4: _______________________________________________________________________________
Step 5: _______________________________________________________________________________
2. Create a thesis for a process paper on the topic above that you chose.________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
B. Cause and Effect: In a cause and effect essay, the writer explores why something happened and what
occurred as a result, such as the relationship between pollution and global warming or between
joblessness and the economic downturn. Think of yourself as a scientist.
Identify whether the paired items below are causes or effects.
1. A hot day _________________________ Melting ice cream __________________________
2. A crying child _____________________
Falling off a swing _________________________
3. Making an A ______________________
Studying hard _____________________________
Revised 4-30-12 JCM
English Lab
Summer 2012 Workshop 3
2JCM
C. Classification: In a classification essay, the writer organizes or groups things into categories, such as different
types of music (hip-hop, disco, jazz, classical, country, etc), groups of dogs in a dog show (hounds, terriers,
sporting dogs, toy dogs, non-sporting dogs, herding dogs, and working dogs), or kinds of discipline for children
(time out, restricting privileges, rewards for good behavior, etc). Think of yourself as an organizer.
Choose one of the following topics to break down into three groups or categories: 1) types of food (cuisine), 2)
types of cars, 3) prewriting strategies.
Topic: _______________________________________________________________________________
Group 1: _____________________________________________________________________________
Group 2: _____________________________________________________________________________
Group 3: _____________________________________________________________________________
D. Comparison and Contrast: In a comparison and contrast essay, the writer explains how two or more things,
people, events, etc. are similar and/or different from one another, such as the differences or similarities between
Facebook and MySpace, between the flu and the common cold, or between tornadoes and hurricanes. Think of
yourself as a shopper comparing products.
Complete the Venn diagram below comparing/contrasting one of the following: 1) adulthood and childhood, 2)
the city and the countryside, 3) cats and dogs.
III. Argumentative: An argumentative or persuasive essay is simply an essay in which you take a position or make a
claim and then attempt to prove what you are claiming. Think of yourself as a lawyer.
Look at the sample argumentative paragraph below and make it stronger by adding transitions in the blanks and
crossing out any sentences that do not belong in the paragraph.
_________________, stricter laws regarding collection and poaching must be enacted and enforced. Currently,
poaching laws may not cover all threatened species. _________________, authorities in California arrested three men for
capturing thousands of endangered or threatened butterflies in national parks; valued at $300,000, the insects were
destined to be sold to collectors ("Butterfly Poaching"). My daughter likes to collect butterflies. Consequently, threatened
butterfly populations in some areas suffered significantly. Similarly, Asian bullfrog populations are rapidly declining in
Indonesia because of over-collection for European consumption ("Frog Trade"). These bullfrogs are quite large can leap
several feet. ______________, to prevent further decline in the bullfrog's numbers, steps need to be taken now.
Bazilescu, Ilinca. "Frog Trade." Trade and Environment Database. American University, Jan. 1997. Web. 7 Feb. 2012.
Roney, Alex. "Butterfly Poaching." Trade and Environment Database. American University, Dec. 1997. Web. 7 Feb. 2012.
Revised 4-30-12 JCM