Introduction
THE FOUR PURPOSES OF WRITING
It's important to know before you begin writing what type of writing you're about to do. Your purpose determines the type of writing and its contents. Some purposes overlap with each other like description and narration.
Task
Write a short description about the given famous author.
Process
| Description | To describe someone, some place, or some object. Descriptive adjectives that describe what the five senses would take in play a key part in description as does figurative language such as similes and metaphors. |
| Narration | To narrate is to tell a story. Description plays a key role in telling a story since the descriptive details allow the reader to visualize the story. |
| Exposition | To explain using examples, details, illustrations, etc. Exposition covers a lot of writing, and writers use many patterns to develop their expository paragraphs. |
| Persuasion | To persuade using reasons, examples, etc. Persuasion also depends on exposition to present the opposing viewpoints of an argument. Presenting the side you oppose in a fair way and then tearing it down is an important part of persuasion. If the other side isn't wrong in some way, can your side be right? |
Evaluation
1.You wake up one morning and are feeling blue. You write a poem to convey a sense of your glumness. What type of writing is it?
a.exposition
b.argumentative
c.descriptive
d.narrative
2.You read a news story on the front page of the paper about an earthquake in another country. It gives the facts about where, when, who, what and how. What type of writing is it?
a.exposition
b.argumentative
c.descriptive
d.narrative
3.You go on a hiking trip across Europe. Throughout your journey, you keep a journal in which you describe the scenes, people, buildings, plants, animals and everything else you encounter. What type of writing is it?
a.argumentation
b.descriptive
c.narrative
d.exposition
4.You read an article in the paper about some questionable practices at the company for which you work. You disagree with the article and write a letter to the editor of the paper with your opposing viewpoint. What type of writing is it?
a.narrative
b.exposition
c.descriptive
d.argumentation
5.You have a big exam for world history on Friday. You realize you haven't done any of the reading assignments. You spend all night reading several chapters from the textbook. What kind of writing is it?
a.narrative
b.descriptive
c.exposition
d.argumentation