The difference between the narrative and persuasive essay

What features do you distinguish between the narrative and persuasive essay? The simplest way to differentiate them is to say that the narrative one tells a story while the persuasive introduces an argument. Still, English specialist, Jeanie Tseng, claims there`s something more than only this.

We should note that narrative essays are not short stories and persuasive essays are not argumentative ones. Narrative essays have a thesis statement, they have their own structure, they are about some real things and facts. Short stories are most likely fictional, they don`t need to include a thesis statement. Persuasive essays are aimed at convincing people to act or think in this or that way. Argumentative essays move further with statistics, quotations and facts.

Features of a narrative and persuasive essay, that make them different

Narrative essays can be experiential, personal or anecdotal. They are formed with a certain point of view, giving some sensorial information, the usage of adjectives and exact verbs is preferable. The author should show own position and creativity. Experimental and personal essay include the information about what has happened to a writer and the consequences.

Persuasive essays are aimed at convincing people that this or that point of view is a right one, the logical way of explanation is presented. The writer chooses the position and supports it through the entire assignment. The author should know the audience as well as to make much research concerning the subject of an essay. The understandable and well-thought evidence should be presented. The opposing view is to be included as well.

The writing procedure

The writing procedure of a narrative and a persuasive essay is different. Narrative essays start with the selection of an incident of our life. The background information along with some kind of a thesis statement should be presented in the introduction. The assignment is divided into paragraphs, which include separate ideas or thoughts. One of the main things is to fill an essay with 5 senses and appropriate verbs. The focus is also made on feelings, moreover, adjectives and vivid words are used. The events should be linked with transitions words. The information should be presented in a logical way. In the end, the conclusion is introduced, showing the exact goal of an essay and summing up the entire story.

The persuasive essay starts with a catchy sentence and a thesis statement in the introductory part. Then the writer should present own position concerning the issue. A thesis statement should show the writer`s position. Moreover, some general information should be included as well as the reason to dwell on this topic. The body paragraphs include the evidence of the writer`s point of view, statistics and quotations. Moreover, you are to include here the opposing position and refute it. In addition, transitional words are used to guide the reader to the next point, to make an essay flow logically. The conclusion includes the summing up of the above-mentioned information as long as the repetitiveness of the main idea the readers should believe in or the call for action.

These two kinds of essay vary greatly. Their aims and way of writing are different as well. The narrative essay is to tell a story, while a persuasive one aims to convince people in something. So, pay attention to their structure while working on them.