LibGuides: ENGL 101 English Composition 1 (Theme: Work): Research your Topic

Informative & Persuasive Essays - Writing for a Purpose

Conducting Research for a Purpose

During the quarter you will be asked to write different kinds of essays. Your assignments may include:

personal statements that require no outside research
informative essays, in which your task is to inform, or educate, your reader on the facts of a topic
persuasive essays, in which you take an informed stand on a topic and support your argument with evidence

Regardless of essay type, writing a strong essay requires you to be informed! And for your informative and persuasive essays, that takes research!

Informative Essay

post it notes

An informative essay aims to educate an audience rather than persuade.
Be sure to define, explain, and support your ideas.
An informative essay may address debates and opinions on the topic, but it will not take a stand on those debates.
Use strong sources to help establish your own reliability as a source of information.

Image source: "A wall of post it notes from a design sprint" by Will H McMahan is in the Public Domain, CC0

Persuasive or Argument Essay

sign reading"i can be persuaded by a logical argument"

"An argument without evidence is only a set of assertions."

The purpose of an argumentative essay is to persuade an audience to think a particular way.

A strong argument will reflect your own thoughtful research on the topic. It will...

Present a fair and accurate discussion of the issue.
Take a clear position.
Be supported with credible evidence.
Consider other possible points of view.

Making an Argument and Counter-Argument

Image source: "I Can Be Persuaded" by Martha Soukup is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Quote source: Parsons, M. A., R. Duerr, and J.-B. Minster. "Data Citation and Peer Review." Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union 91.34 (2010): 297-298. Print.