Elements of Essay

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Generally, essay is a composition written in the form of prose. It is usually of moderate length, with a restricted topic. Having said that, the definition of essay has never been precisely determined. However, essays are non-fictional works.
Essays can be formal as well as informal. Formal essays present the subject matters logically, while informal essays deal with the subject matters on the basis of sentiment, emotion and imagination. Essays can be in the form of treatise, monologue, editorial, book review, article etc.

Classification of Essays

1. Narration: Narration is basically storytelling. It is an accounting of actions and events that have happened to someone or something. Narration is common in fictional works but it doesn't mean that non-fictional writings cannot have narration.
2. Exposition: Expository writings give information by explaining and giving directions. To understand it further, we need to discuss its sub-divisions:
   
   1. Classification: It puts a person or an object in a group of similar people/objects and makes it stand out from the others.
   2. Process Analysis: This type of exposition tells how something is done. It explains the process in different stages or steps.
   3. Cause and Effect: This way of writing provides reasons why an event occurred and what the consequences were.
   4. Definition: Definitions are used to express the meaning of a particular thing or idea. This may be done in a simple one-line sentence or with the help of some contexts, historical backgrounds and explanation of the purpose.
   5. Comparison and Contrast: It explores the similarities and differences between two or more persons, things or ideas.
   6. Metaphor and Analogy: Metaphor compares two objects without a direct statement of comparison. Analogy, on the other hand, compares a primary event or object to a secondary event/object to make the image of the primary object clearer to the reader.
3. Description: It tells how a person, place or thing looks like, feels or sounds. As a description, a writer may even describe the taste and smell of an object.
4. Persuasion: Persuasion is an art of triggering the readers to react or take any kind of action as a result of the writer's power of convincing them. And argumentation is a form of persuasion. It persuades readers to accept a fact with the help of reasoning. Well, in a way, every form of writing is persuasion since the writers must be able to convince the readers.

Now we know that there are 4 types of essays: narrative, expository, descriptive and persuasive. However, almost no essay is in a pure form. One single essay may have all of these 4 elements. Let me explain to you with an example.
Suppose you went on a trip. After returning from the trip, you wrote about it. First, you wrote about how you ended up going on the trip and what events happened there. That is the narrative part. Then you wrote about which route you took and what equipments were needed to carry. This piece of information is exposition. After that you described about the beauty of the place, the weather and the landscape. That's where you are giving a description. Finally, you wrote why everyone should visit the place. That's when you are being persuasive.