Papers

Rhetorical Styles

Nonfiction writing can be loosely classified into four rhetorical styles.

1. Expository – Explain a topic to the reader.

2. Descriptive – Recreate a person, place, event, or action.

3. Persuasive – Change the reader's mind.

4. Narrative – Tell a story.

As a writer, be aware of the goal. For example, if you're writing a narrative essay, you don't need to convince the reader to take action on the issue. If you're writing a descriptive essay, choose vivid vocabulary.

Sometimes, you might switch styles in the middle of the essay. For example, a long argumentative essay is likely to contain both background information (expository or descriptive writing) and an argument (persuasive writing).