Four Different Types of

Writing Styles: Expository,

Descriptive, Persuasive,
and Narrative
Updated on May 10, 2016

Syed Hunbbel Meer 

 more

Contact Author

Definitions and explanations of the four types of writing: expository, persuasive,

descriptive, and narrative. | Source

Four Types of Writing

A writer’s style is a reflection of his or her personality, unique voice, and way
of approaching the audience and readers.
However, every piece writers write is for a specific purpose—for example,
writers may want to explain how something works or persuade people to
agree with their point of view. While there are as many writer's styles as there
are writers, there are only four general purposes that lead someone to write a
piece, and these are known as the four styles, or types, of writing. Knowing all
four different types and their usages is important for any writer.
Here are the categories and their definitions:

1. Expository

Expository writing explains or informs. It talks about a subject without giving

opinions.
Expository writing's main purpose is to explain. It is a subject-oriented writing
style, in which authors focus on telling you about a given topic or subject
without voicing their personal opinions. These types of essays or articles
furnish you with relevant facts and figures but do not include their opinions.
This is one of the most common types of writing. You always see it in
textbooks and how-to articles. The author just tells you about a given subject,
such as how to do something.
Key Points:
  Usually explains something in a process.
 Is often equipped with facts and figures.
 Is usually in a logical order and sequence.
When You Would Use Expository Writing:
 Textbook writing.
 How-to articles.
 Recipes.
 News stories (not including opinion or editorial pieces).
 Business, technical, or scientific writing.
Example:
Many people associate the taste of pumpkins with fall. In October, companies
from Starbucks to McDonalds roll out their pumpkin-flavored lattes and
desserts. Here is how to make an easy pumpkin pie using only five
ingredients. First, make sure you have all of the ingredients.
This writing is expository because it is explaining. In this case, you can
already tell that the piece will be about how to make a pumpkin pie.
Non-example:
Everyone knows that the best part about fall is all of the pumpkin-flavored
desserts. Pumpkin pie is the best fall treat because it is not only delicious but
also nutritious. Pumpkin is filled with vitamin A, which is essential for a healthy
immune system and good vision.
This is not expository because several opinions are stated, such as “Pumpkin
pie is the best fall treat…” Although this excerpt contains a fact about pumpkin
containing vitamin A, that fact is used as evidence to support the opinion.
These opinions make this an example of persuasive writing.

2. Descriptive
Descriptive writing focuses on communicating the details of a character, event, or
place. | Source
Descriptive writing's main purpose is to describe. It is a style of writing that
focuses on describing a character, an event, or a place in great detail. It can
be poetic when the author takes the time to be very specific in his or her
descriptions.
Example:
In good descriptive writing, the author will not just say: “The vampire killed his
lover.”
He or she will change the sentence, focusing on more details and
descriptions, like: “The bloody, red-eyed vampire, sunk his rust-colored teeth
into the soft skin of his lover and ended her life."
Key Points:
 It is often poetic in nature
 It describes places, people, events, situations, or locations in a highly-
detailed manner.
 The author visualizes what he or she sees, hears, tastes, smells, and
feels.
When You Would Use Descriptive Writing:
  Poetry
 Journal or diary writing
 Nature writing
 Descriptive passages in fiction
Example:
The iPhone 6 is unexpectedly light. While size of its screen is bigger than
those of the iPhones that came before, it is thinner, and its smooth, rounded
body is made of aluminum, stainless steel, and glass. The casing comes in a
whitish silver, gold, or a color the company calls “space gray,” the color of the
lead of a pencil, with darker gray accents.
This is an example because it describes aspects of the phone. It includes
details such as the size, weight, and material.
Non-example:
So you just brought home a shiny new smartphone with a smooth glass
screen the size of your palm. The first thing you will want to do when
purchasing a new cell is buy a case. Cracking your screen is an awful feeling,
and protection is inexpensive when you compare it to the costs of a new
phone.
Even though this example uses adjectives, you can tell that this is not an
example of descriptive writing because the purpose is not to describe the
phone—it’s to persuade you to buy a case.

3. Persuasive
Persuasive writing tries to bring other people around to your point of view.  | Source
Persuasive writing's main purpose is to convince. Unlike expository writing,
persuasive writing contains the opinions and biases of the author. To convince
others to agree with the author's point of view, persuasive writing contains
justifications and reasons. It is often used in letters of complaint,
advertisements or commercials, affiliate marketing pitches, cover letters, and
newspaper opinion and editorial pieces.
Key Points:
 Persuasive writing is equipped with reasons, arguments, and
justifications.
 In persuasive writing, the author takes a stand and asks you to agree with
his or her point of view.
 It often asks for readers to do something about the situation (this is called
a call-to-action).
When You Would Use Persuasive Writing:
 Opinion and editorial newspaper pieces.
 Advertisements.
 Reviews (of books, music, movie, restaurants, etc.).
 Letter of recommendation.
  Letter of complaint.
 Cover letters
Example:
Following the 2012 Olympic Games hosted in London, the UK Trade and
Investment department reported a £9.9 billion boost to the economy. Although
it is expensive to host the Olympics, if done right, they can provide real jobs
and economic growth. This city should consider placing a bid to host the
Olympics.
This is persuasive writing because the author has a belief—that “this city
should consider placing a bid to host the Olympics”—and is trying to convince
others to agree.
Non-example:
According to legend, the Olympics were founded by Hercules. Now almost
100 countries participate in the Games, with over two million people attending.
So cities from Boston to Hamburg begin considering their bid to be a host city
more than 10 years in advance.
All of these statements are facts. Therefore it’s expository. To be persuasive
writing, you must have an opinion that you’re trying to persuade people of—
then, of course, you will support that opinion with evidence.

4. Narrative
A narrative tells a story. There will usually be characters and dialogue.  | Source
Narrative writing's main purpose is to tell a story. The author will create
different characters and tell you what happens to them (sometimes the author
writes from the point of view of one of the characters—this is known as first
person narration). Novels, short stories, novellas, poetry, and biographies can
all fall in the narrative writing style. Simply, narrative writing answers the
question: “What happened then?”
Key Points:
 A person tells a story or event.
 Has characters and dialogue.
 Has definite and logical beginnings, intervals, and endings.
 Often has situations like actions, motivational events, and disputes or
conflicts with their eventual solutions.
Examples of When You Would Use Persuasive Writing:
 Novels
 Short stories
 Novellas
 Poetry
 Autobiographies or biographies
  Anecdotes
 Oral histories
Example:
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” said Jaelyn.
“You never used to be such a girl!” retorted Orin, pushing open the door.
Reluctantly, Jaelyn followed.
This is a narrative because it’s telling a story. There are different characters
conversing, and a plot is unravelling.
Non-example:
Cutting Edge Haunted House holds the Guinness World Record for the largest
haunted house on earth. It’s located in a district in Fort Worth, Texas known
as "Hell's Half Acre" in a century-old abandoned meat-packing plant. The
haunted house takes an hour to complete, winding through horrific scenes
incorporating the factory's original meat-packing equipment.
While this would serve as a worthy setting for a story, it would need a plot
before it could be called a narrative.

Conclusion
These are the four different types of writing that are generally used. There are
many sub-types of writing that may fall in any of those categories. A writer
must know all these styles in order to identify the purpose of his or her own
writing and make sure it's something the audience wants to read.