Kinds of Non-Fiction Writing

Narrative Reports

The purpose of a narrative report is to describe some thing or process. Many students write narrative reports thinking that these are the only kind of college essay or paper. While the information in such reports is basic to other forms of writing, narrative reports lack the "higher order thinking" required in some college essays. Thus narrative reports do not, as a rule, yield high grades for many college courses. An example of a narrative report is a "book report" that outlines a book; it includes the characters, their actions, possibly the plot, and, perhaps, some scenes. That is, it is a description of "what happens in the book." But this leaves out an awful lot.

What is left out is what the book or article is about -- the underlying concepts, assumptions, arguments, or point of view that the book or article expresses. A narrative report leaves aside a discussion that puts the events of the text into the context of what the text is about. Is the text about love? Life in the fast lane? Society? Wealth and power? Poverty? In other words, narrative reports often overlook the author's purpose or point of view expressed through the book or article.

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Expository Essays

The purpose of an expository essay is to present, completely and fairly, other people's views or to "expose" the basis of an event or a situation. Expository writing, or exposition, presents a subject in detail, apart from criticism, argument, or development; i.e., the writer exposes a subject by analyzing it. Such writing is discourse designed to convey information or explain what is difficult to understand. Exposition usually proceeds by the orderly analysis of parts and the use of familiar illustrations or analogies.

A book review is a good example of expository prose. Such an analysis requires 1) reading with understanding the ideas developed in an article and clearly stating the author's thesis, outlining the facts used by the author to support that thesis, and the "values" underlying the ideas; 2) putting what is read into a larger context by relating the article or book to other work in the field; and 3) clearly and effectively communicating this information to a defined audience. In other words, you must write clearly and fully enough for your readers to know how you have arrived at your analyses and conclusions. They should never have to guess what you mean; give your readers everything they need to know to follow your reasoning.

This practice is not "just for students." Accurate analysis is a fundamental professional activity in almost all careers. Like any other fundamental skill, it must be constantly practiced in order to maintain and improve it. Other goals, such as learning "time management" and note-taking, are also developed by this activity.

Do not be afraid to revise your essay! In fact, you will probably want to change it at least once; this is called "thinking through a 'problem'" or "learning." The revisions will consist of the following: 1) finding the precise words to express your thoughts; 2) correcting typographical, spelling, and grammatical errors; 3) making sure that your paragraphs are "tight" and sequenced properly; 4) making sure that the transition ("segue") from one major topic to another makes sense.

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Critical Essays: Reviews of Articles, Literature, Poetry, Art, Films, or Speeches

The purpose of a critical essay is to state your reasoned opinion about someone else's work or an event, including its often unstated assumptions or points of view. Criticism is the art of judging or evaluating, with knowledge and propriety, the beauties and faults of works of art or literature. The idea is extended to the similar consideration of moral values, of the the soundness of scientific hypotheses and procedures, etc.

The word "critical" has positive as well as negative meanings. You can write a critical essay that agrees entirely with the reading. The word "critical" describes your attitude when you read the article. This attitude is best described as "detached evaluation," meaning that you weigh the coherence of the reading, the completeness of its data, and so on, before you accept or reject it.

A critical essay or review begins with an analysis or exposition of the reading, article by article, book by book (see "Expository Essays"). Each analysis should include the following points:

1) A summary of the author's point of view, including

a brief statement of the author's main idea (i.e., thesis or theme);

an outline of the important "facts" and lines of reasoning the author used to support the main idea;

a summary of the author's explicit or implied values; and

a presentation of the author's conclusion or suggestions for action.

2) An evaluation of the author's work, including

an assessment of the "facts" presented on the basis of correctness, relevance, and whether or not pertinent facts were omitted;

an evaluation or judgment of the logical consistency of the author's argument;

an appraisal of the author's values in terms of how you feel or by an accepted standard.

Once the analysis is completed, check your work! Ask yourself, "Have I read all the relevant (or assigned) material?" "Do I have complete citations? " If not, complete the work! The following steps are how this is done.

Now you can start to write the first draft of your expository essay/literature review.

Outline the conflicting arguments, if any; this will be part of the body of your expository essay/literature review.

Ask yourself, "Are there other possible positions on this matter?" If so, briefly outline them. Decide on your own position (it may agree with one of the competing arguments) and state explicitly the reason(s) why you hold that position by outlining the consistent facts and showing the relative insignificance of contrary facts. Coherently state your position by integrating your evaluations of the works you read. This becomes your conclusions section.

Briefly state your position, state why the problem you are working on is important, and indicate the important questions that need to be answered; this is your "Introduction." Push quickly through this draft--don't worry about spelling, don't search for exactly the right word, don't hassle yourself with grammar, don't worry overmuch about sequence--that's why this is called a "rough draft." Deal with these during your revisions. The point of a rough draft is to get your ideas on paper. Once they are there, you can deal with the superficial (though very important) problems.

Do not be afraid to revise your essay! In fact, you will probably want to change it at least once; this is called "thinking through a 'problem'" or "learning."The revisions will consist of the following: 1) finding the precise words to express your thoughts; 2) correcting typographical, spelling, and grammatical errors; 3) making sure that your paragraphs are "tight" and sequenced properly; 4) making sure that the transition ("segue") from one major topic to another makes sense.

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Argumentative Essays

The purpose of an argumentative essay is to demonstrate that your assertion (opinion, theory, hypothesis) about some phenomenon or phenomena is correct or more accurate than others'. Argumentative writing is the act of forming reasons, making inductions, drawing conclusions, and applying them to the case in discussion; the operation of inferring propositions, not known or admitted as true, from facts or principles known, admitted, or proved to be true. It clearly explains the process or line of your reasoning from the known or assumed to the unknown. Without doing this you do not have an argument, you have only an assertion, an essay that is just your unsubstantiated opinion.

Notice that you do not have to completely prove your point; you only have to convince reasonable readers that your argument or position has merit; i.e., that it is somehow more accurate and complete than competing arguments.

Argumentative essays are often organized in the following way:

1) They begin with a statement of your assertion, its timeliness, significance, and relevance in relation to some phenomenon.

2) They review critically the literature about that phenomenon.

3) They describe how your assertion is "better" (simpler or more explanatory) than others, including improved (i.e., more reliable or valid) methods that you used to accumulate the data (case) to be explained.

Do not be afraid to revise your essay! In fact, you will probably want to change it at least once; this is called "thinking through a 'problem'" or "learning." Revisions will consist of those steps indicated in previous sections.

Additionally, you will want to figure out how your readers will object to your argument. Will they say that you have used imprecise concepts? Have you erred in collecting data? Your argument is only as strong as the objections to it. If you cannot refute or discount an objection, then you need to rethink and revise your position.

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