We are in the second part of the essay writing lecture. In the first part, we talked about the origin of essay, how it started and what were the various requirements of writing an essay, who were the stalwarts namely Michel de Montaigne being the first among the essay writers followed by various essay writers and even in the modern days we have many essay writers. In this lecture, we shall be talking about the types of essay writing and how and what are the different requirements of every type, that shall be discussed. I hope you are enjoying the lectures on essay writing. When we talk about the types of essay writing, you remember while defining essays we had two definitions; the first was by Francis bacon who said, “they are just like the grains of salt which actually create a sort of appetite” and so, the essays are just like appetizers and Johnson had said, that they are like loose sally of our mind. Naturally, how can something be a loose sally, how can something be lively, how can something be witty. That is why, when we talk about the six types of essay, we shall find how depending upon the nature of essays the writer has to make a definite choice not only of words but also of the strategy as to how to write such a sort of essay. So, narrative essays, then descriptive essays, reflective essays, expository essays, argumentative essays, and then imaginative essays. You might be thinking about them by the sort of names that they denote, the very first type of essay is actually a narrative type of essay, narrative essays. When we talk about narrative essays, the word narration reminds us of narrating something, I mean here in this sort of essay the writer or the author will narrate. Now what the author will narrate? The author will narrate something as if he is either telling you a story or he is telling you something from history or he is telling you something about the biography of somebody or he is telling you something about a legend or a story or even about the current event sometimes. But remember these narrative essays are based on facts. And what the writer does here? The writer narrates the author's point of view. Suppose, you are the writer and you are going to write a narrative essay, imagine you are mentioning something about your friend, you are mentioning about some of your favourite authors or you are mentioning about some of the historical events; say the revolt of 1857 or the Glorious Revolution or you are also talking about are the discovery of something. So, as a writer what you are doing is, you are actually providing the author's point of view and these essays are written in the first-person perspective. I mean narrative essays are written in the first-person perspective. For example, we can begin I remember my old-time friend mister X and then now, now you see you are actually going to narrate something about your friend, naturally, you might be talking about some of his important abilities, qualities, memorable habits, whatsoever or you are also talking about some experience at times, isn’t it? Now, in this sort of essay as a writer you are going to make use of present or past tense, but remember in the previous lecture we have talked about relevancy. So, when we talk about relevancy and we talk about arrangements, see to it that when you are making use of present or past tense. See to it that the proper references are mentioned. In the previous lecture, we talked about how J.C. Hill in his essay was not only mentioning but referring. So when you refer a person, see to it that the referents are proper. I mean when I say referents, what do I mean? If you are narrating something about an important person, please, ensure that the pronouns are referred properly, fine. And again you also should see that there is a cohesion, there is a sequence of tenses in narrative essays. Such essays can be in a chronological order. Suppose, you are talking about historical event, naturally it will have events according to time. So, chronological order is the order that you provide where you talk about time, it was in 1857 or you can say last year while I went to visit one of my friends I could find now what you are doing you are actually narrating it in chronological order. You can also say, the last September had been quite an awesome one for me, fine. So, again you are talking about time. So, see to it that narrative essays are always written in a chronological order. Sometimes when you are narrating an experience or reflection say, for example, if you write an essay on a topic like ‘The Day When Everything Went Wrong’ naturally you are again going back, you are talking about a date or a day when everything went wrong. So, in such a way what you are going to do? You are going to provide a chronological order of events. So, after narrative essays, we move on to another category of essays which are called descriptive essays. In narrative essays, we follow a chronology. Now a chronology of events, but in descriptive essays as the name itself suggests descriptive essays what they will do, they will actually describe. Now, what shall they describe, they will describe an object suppose you are going to tell somebody about microphone, you are going to tell somebody about a historical monument or you have come from a foreign country and you have had a lot of good experience and you are trying to provide or going to tell people about how that country was, how that place was. Suppose, somebody goes to visit some famous building when he comes back, you know, every human being as all of us when we know something we want to share it, isn’t it? We want to share we want to describe and these descriptions can also be in the form of essays that is why descriptive essays. These descriptive essays are based on observation and description. Whatever you observe, now you are going to give it words give it in the form of sentences. So, the description will be there and the way you provide the description, because you are sharing this description to somebody who either might not have gone there or would like to know more. So, how you are going to mention, say for example, somebody is going to describe the Taj you know. So, what he will do if he looks at it from an architect’s point of view, he will talk about the architectonic quality, he will talk about how the structure was built, how there is a dome-shaped structure and how it has been spread, how it lies in the middle. So, all these what he or she will do he will actually describe in a very spatial order. By spatial order what we mean, is space, you know we will talk about the space. And while doing that as a writer of essays what you should do is you should actually adopt the language which can orient the readers, which can enable the readers to imagine. Now those who have not been able to see the Minaret, who have not been able to see the Red Fort, who has not been able to see the Taj Mahal in India and other structures also in some other parts of the world. What they will do is? When you are describing they actually will formulate a sort of picture on their mind such should actually be the quality of the person who is going to describe. So, by describing you are actually providing a sort of visual or a graphic description. You are providing them a sort of visual and suddenly on their mind, it is imprinted. So, when they go to watch that famous monument or watch that famous place what will happen they will try to relate it. So, my dear friends when you are going to write a descriptive essay see to it that the language always has to be simple. Please, do remember even though an essay is an irregular piece, ‘indigestible’ as Doctor Johnson says, that the language has to be very simple, otherwise there is no point writing an essay. So, anyway, we can say it is actually a comprehensive analysis of all of your observations and the experiences that you are going to provide are through descriptive essays. Sometimes, we do not write essays every now and then just for examinations, we also write sometimes essays to have a point of view, sometimes to share an experience. Suppose, somebody went to watch the football match or the cricket match. Sometimes we can also think of describing the rainbow in our own words, somebody who has not been able to know about the titanic or somebody who does not know naturally they would like to know because people are knowledge-hungry, we are in an age where even though everything is available, but then we want to know more and more. We are knowledge-thirsty people. So, we want to know more and more and that is possible only through written records and these written records are also available in the form of essays. So, when somebody is going to write a descriptive essay, he should see that he maintains the spatial order and he provides a language which can enable readers to imagine and understand the subject very lucidly, very clearly. Next are reflective essays. Now, this essay is a bit different both from narrative as well as from descriptive. Here you are not describing. Here actually is a reflection of your own thoughts. But when you are reflecting your own thoughts what are you doing and what can be the subject. Reflective essays are those essays which actually touch upon subjects of general or abstract nature. In such an essay what the writer does? The writer expresses his thoughts. It may not be based on facts every now and then it may be actually his views maybe he is going to write something on politics. So, maybe it is his political views. But then while writing this sort of essay see to it that you do not become biased otherwise people will label you with different names. Sometimes you will also come across some, some topics of moral issues, when a person can and you know this at times becomes didactic as well. When you know in Times of India or in some other newspapers, journals every now and then you come across some corners, some pages where the essays are there. So, it may be based on some social issues. Sometimes also on literary criticism, all sorts of pieces on literary criticism are reflective essays. So, in such an essay the writer expresses his thoughts, all the literary theories that you might becoming cross as a prospective reader you might find that it is actually it might have been given by somebody and then some other person also goes on either to contradict or to counter or to provide his or her own input. So, what the writer does in such an essay, the writer expresses his thoughts. And then since these essays are written on abstract nature say people may write an essay on friendship, people also may write an essay on punctuality. Now, on punctuality when you write or on discipline you write, of course, there are facts, but you are actually providing facts in such a manner where your own views are also taken into consideration, contentment. Contentment is already an abstract thing no people may be content people may not be content. But as a writer what you are going to provide. For example, sometimes you can also write on people’s habits, sometimes you can also write on people’s nature, isn’t it? Sometimes you can also write on good manners as you have already seen in the previous lecture, fine. There is a famous essay by AG Gardiner and the name of the essay ‘On Saying Please’ where Gardiner also tries to reflect his own views and while reflecting his own views Gardiner actually provides several examples of a polite bus conductor as to how the bus conductor was very polite. And even though the writer not having a coin in his pocket, the writer was provided with a sort of politeness when the conductor said ‘I will book you through.’ Now, what the writer Gardiner does here is Gardiner actually tries to talk about this event, but he actually generalizes it and then makes an essay ‘On Saying Please’ where he talks about manners and then he says. But then the way he begins as I had said in the previous lecture that it can begin on a very abrupt note where he begins he talks about, the lift man and then he cites the examples and through that he comes to talking about “On Saying Please” and on “Good Manners”. Now here I have taken one paragraph, I mean some sentences of a paragraph from Robert Lind’s essay which is entitled ‘Forgetting.’ Now, look at it how the author begins, how the essayist begins and not only does he begin in a very abrupt manner, abrupt manner why? Because the writer wants to captivate, the writer wants to attract. He actually goes for a sort of attention-getter sort of thing and he says a list of articles lost by railway travelers. And now on sale at a London station has been published and many people now, now see the cohesion and many people who read it have been astonished at the absent-mindedness of their fellows. Now, when the writer begins, though, the title of the essay is ‘Forgetting’, the writer begins because he will create a sort of thesis statement, he will create a sort of background and he says absent-mindedness of their fellows. “If a statistical record were available on the subject; however, I doubt whether it would be found that absent-mindedness is common”. It is and then you see the last sentence of this paragraph, “it is the efficiency the rather than the inefficiency of human memory that compels my wonder”. So, the writer has been able to build the thesis statement, because he is going to talk about forgetting. And the last sentence you see, because I had said that the last sentence of any paragraph should be such that not only gives a vivid statement but rather validates the writer's point of discussing his topic. Now as readers what we are doing we are actually waiting as to what the writer is going to say because the writer has already said it is the efficiency rather than the inefficiency. Look at the sentence construction rather than the efficiency of human memory, and now he will talk about forgetting. So, he has already created a sort of background and then as readers we are waiting what will come next. So, this is one way of starting a reflective essay, my dear friend. So, when we talk about reflective essays, it can be mostly on abstract nature even on human nature and sometimes subjects of general interest. For example, now forgetting where he will talk about how people at times commit the crime of forgetting even to post their own letters and they carry the letters throughout, but then they forget. So, what the writer does is the writer is actually trying to talk about something of human nature, but in a way by giving examples and by keeping the interest of the reader intact. Next comes expository essays. The title itself, if you look at the title of this essay expository essays. It is actually by nature these essays expound or explain. So, these essays so, by the very term expository what exactly we mean to say is, to explain or expound something and in such essays what the writer of these essays have to do is they have to state facts rather than the thoughts. In reflective essays, we used to say about thoughts, but here in expository we will talk about facts. So, factual things and it is not abstract, it is less abstract than reflective. So, we shall not be talking of abstract things fine as we talked of a talked when we were discussing reflective here people will talk about results rather than opinions, isn’t it? In expository essays, they will talk about results rather than opinions; the boons of electricity, the triumphs of science. And then you can at times talk about pollution; water pollution, noise pollution, fine so, all sorts of things. So, through expository essays, the writers provide results rather than opinions. At times people can also talk about cinema advertisements; again in cinema also in order to become specific they will talk about academic movies at movies parallel movies like that commercial movies, fine. So, there are so many things there, there is a long list of things to be discussed. Then, people can also talk about advertisements. If there is an essay to be written on advertisements, it will again come under expository essays. People can talk about the other face of technology. Again here, they will be talking about the facts as to how all these electronic gadgets they are in a way they are adding to the electronic waste. So, on most of the occasions through these essays, people may also talk about bringing a sort of solution to the problem. So, in a way, these expository essays can also provide solutions to some of the problems which we have been coming across. But then we can also talk off, we can also glorify and sing about the triumphs or the achievements that we have made. Let us have a look at the two sentences that we have culled from an essay on the wonders of science. “We have become so, familiar with the wonders of science that we have ceased to wonder at them.” Now in most of the examinations that you come across that, you are going to appear at, sometimes you may be asked to write expository essays. So, as readers you must focus more, you must concentrate more on writing expository as well as argumentative essays also will come to argumentative essays in the next section, fine. So, now see the topic of this essay is the triumphs of science and the writing in the very first sentences we have become so familiar with the wonders of science that we have ceased to wonder at them. There is hardly any sphere of human activity that science has not invaded. So, through these expository essays, you can also talk about some of the ills of the society also in addition to some of the achievements of our science, society, civilization that we have. You can find plethora of essays available both online and offline. You can really practice your hands and you can try writing some of them. Next to that are argumentative essays. Here, now this essay is one of the most challenging and as the students who are going to appear at the competitive examinations they are often because you know your opinions, your opinions or your positions are going to be understood. That is why you are given some essay topics which actually can from you take up or can exploit your argumentative ideas. It presents in such an essay when you are you have been given an essay to write see to it that your side, you do not take any side very blindly. What you have to do? You are actually going to present both these sides in a very impartial manner meaning thereby in an unbiased manner, but while providing both these sides you also are to take up one position. But then the better is that you take a position that is not that does not make you become very controversial because most of the argumentative essays are often debatable and here your line of thinking is going to be analyzed. So, when you are writing an argumentative essay what you are going to do? You are going to investigate, you are going to examine, you are also going to show your own viewpoints on some of the issues which may be considered controversial or at times debatable. So, a word of caution is that when you are going to write an argumentative essay you have to measure yourself well because you will provide both the situations. You are going to provide the situation as it is. But then, when you take up one position say to it that your position when you are arguing is based on logic and not simply based on your ideologies which at times which may put you by giving yourself a sort of dubious distinction. So, my dear friends try to be very cautious. But then a sort of decisiveness is also aimed. So, as a writer of argumentative essays whatever side you are going to take see to it that there is a decisive tone. Most of these essays as I have been saying, will be based on some problems, may be on social problems like dowry, like population, fine like unemployment several things are there. So, most of the argumentative essay topics are often debatable. So, see to it that while maintaining your own side you do not cross the barrier, I think you can understand what I am hinting at. After argumentative essays, we have one more essay which I have not provided any slide here maybe, but then that is called an imaginative essay. Now such an essay what is an imaginative essay as the title goes and imaginative essay is an essay where the writer uses his own imagination. The writer has not been able to see the situation, the writer simply imagines, he simply provides, he makes use of his own imagination and why he writes such an essay?He writes such an essay to provide a sort of aesthetic pleasure. For example, somebody writes an essay on ‘The Pleasures of Ignorance’ or somebody writes ‘If I Were a King’, ‘If I Were a Prince’, ‘If I Were the Prime Minister of India’. So, there are so many things, maybe things are good, things are bad, but then in such essays, while you are writing such essays, see to it that you can at times make use of some figurative language also my dear friends. And, then when you write such essays see to it that you have a grip and a grasp over words. Imagination is simply meant to provide how far you can imagine, how far you can imagine. By imagination, you are not going to provide a sort of solution, remember it. By imagination you are not going to provide a sort of solution rather you are simply going to provide them a sort of alternative way, but then your mind is completely active and you are at work. I am going to provide one famous essay which has been written by none other than a great writer of essays. You will come to know later on and I will tell you who the writer is. Now see how the essay has begun. “There is not a man living whom it would so little become to speak from memory as myself, for I have scarcely any at all, and do not think that the world has another so marvelously treacherous as mine. My other faculties are all sufficiently ordinary and mean; but in this, I think myself very rare and singular, and deserving to be thought famous. Besides the natural inconvenience I suffer by it (for, certes, the necessary use of memory considered, Plato had reason when he called it a great and powerful goddess), in my country, when they would say a man has no sense, they say, such as one has no memory; and when I complain of the defect of mine, they do not believe me, and reprove me, as though I accused myself for a fool: not discerning the difference betwixt memory and understanding, which is to make matters still worse for me.” Such a sort of issue and you know the essay is titled ‘Of Liars’. So, here the writer the essay writer which is none other than Montaigne, Montaigne again you know one of the premier essay writers. So, where he talks about liars, of liars and he is providing a sort of perspective. So, here you will find all sorts of blends and blandishments are there, here you can find these sort of smoothness is there and the writer a puts himself in the position and then he imagines also and then he also provides justification and then he says, yeah. There actually you can feel a sort of personal you know personal preferences as well, but then the writer is dilly-dallying, the writer is becoming very discursive that is why he is called Michel de Montaigne. “But they do me wrong; for experience, rather, daily shows us, on the contrary, that a strong memory is commonly coupled with infirm judgment. They do, me, moreover (who am so perfect in nothing as in friendship), a great wrong in this, that they make the same words which accuse my infirmity, represent me for an ungrateful person; they bring my affections into question upon the account of my memory, and from a natural imperfection, make out a defect of conscience. “He has forgot,” says one, “this request, or that promise; he no more remembers his friends; he has forgot to say or do, or conceal such and such a thing, for my sake.” And, truly, I am apt enough to forget many things, but to neglect anything my friend has given me in charge, I never do it. And it should be enough, methinks, that I feel the misery and inconvenience of it, without branding me with malice, a vice so contrary to my humour.” And the writer of the imaginative essay does not have any previous experience, all he needs is to create a sort of aesthetic pleasure. And then when you come to know about all the types of essays then comes the writing stage. We have already talked about the principles and the requirements as to how you will write, but here some light should be thrown on how when you have planned and when you have the ideas, how to go ahead. The number of paragraphs that you are going to put in your essays that depends upon the intricacy or the difficulty level of the topic. But then it is always better to write a short essay and most of the short essays consist of four to five body paragraphs maybe, sometimes three also. Especially at school and college level, you used to write three paragraphs, but as you grow up your paragraphs will also increase. And then in order to keep the interest of the readers intact, all and essay writers should do is to provide the proper use of sentence connectives and linkers, because you have to ensure that your reading is going to smooth. And whenever there is a shift from one paragraph to another, this shift should appear to be very natural, the shift should appear to be very natural, very smooth and it should not appear as if you are imposing this shift. Now, some point of caution also to be exercised in writing an essay and that is possible when you know what style and diction are to be followed. The very first thing of all the essays is to be clear, I mean clarity is the hallmark of all essays. As a writer of essays, please ensure that you are sincere, by sincerity I mean if you have started with a topic and you know your main theme you must not deviate, you must not stray away from your topic. And then proper references as I have been saying because that will connect your sentences properly and the case will be taken because you are not going to write literary essays or you are not a literary writer. So, preference would be given to short and familiar sentences, proper punctuations, because the more you punctuate your sentence, you will create efficiency as a writer. And one of the most ingredients and one of the important features of good writing is to revise. When you have done everything and when you have written your essay please, see to it when you please revise your essay and see. If an unnecessary sentence is there or an unnecessary paragraph has crept in, it is up to you that you utilize your own discretion and see to it that you can delete them very mercilessly without making a sacrifice of the meaning, without making a sacrifice of the text. When you do that it is always better to remember certain things, because an essay, since an essay is to provide other people with the knowledge that you have, it is always better to have a sort of restriction over the use of language which is colloquial and slangs. And even though there are good writers to imitate, but then you cannot become that it is always better to go your own way and write in your own language. But then care has to be taken those ambiguous words and that I have been saying in all forms of writing please discard the use of difficult words use of ambiguous words, ambiguous references and it is only a lazy person who makes use of so many quotations even in his essays. So, if you practice all these things, I think your essay is going to get the sort of effectiveness because you have not only concentrated on the topic but then you have provided facts, opinions, other analytical information. And then you have also been able to sustain the reader's interest because that is the main thing. As a writer when we write something our main aim is to make others convinced by what we are saying either through an essay or through any other form of writing. Having said all that please see to it that a good essay actually is just like a good travel, a good essay it just like a good travel. And here is for your own pleasure some lines from a famous essay by Bacon where he says “Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of experience.” My dear friends, you are also travelling through all these techniques of effective writing, but then your travel will be meaningful only when you have a sort of achievement, only when you have a sort of satisfaction. And I hope you might have learned the customs of writing essays having said, all this I think you are in a better frame of mind where you can get ready to write a significant and an important essay. And as I understand, you do not want to be disbelieved rather you want to be believed and you can be believed only when you are sincere, only when you concentrate on what you had undertaken to. Meaning thereby; if you have decided to write an essay, look at the topic, think of the thesis statement and then start writing. Thank you very much.