In the English language, there are 4 major types of essays namely narrative essay, descriptive essay, expository essay and persuasive essays. PTE Academics essay structure follows the same logic. It is very important to understand the structure of the different type of essays to know what the key elements of each essay and how it is better communicated with the reader.

The aim is to score high and succeed, therefore, employing the right resources at your disposal during preparation will go a long way during the PTE Academics. Below is a list of different type of essays popular in PTE Academics. The test taker has get accustomed to different types of essays in order to be confident during the test. This requires one to be the jack of all trade and master them all to obtain a desirable score.

The Persuasive or the argumentative essay evident with “It is argued that”

According to Merriam Webster dictionary, argumentative means “having or showing a tendency to disagree” while persuasive means tending to move by argument, entreaty, or expostulation to a belief, position, or course of action. From these two meaning, it is clear that this type of essay has some argument elements to it. Here is an example of an argumentative essay: “it is argued that getting married before finishing school or getting a job is not a good choice. To what extent do you agree or disagree?”

It should be noted that when writing persuasive essays, the writer has to presents arguments for both sides of the topic. The reasoning of both sides could be on similar lever or one side may outweigh the other depending on what side the test taker supports the most. The persuasive essay follows this structure: introduction, body, counterargument and conclusion.

Compare and contrast essay aka “do you agree or disagree”

In this essay, the test taker needs to mention similarities and difference to inform the reader about advantages and disadvantages. After reading this essay, the reader has to have a distinctive clarity about the pros and cons of the presented topic. Here is an example of the topic for this type of essay. Successful sports stars and glamorous film stars are a model for youngsters. Do you support it or not? (Agree/Disagree?).

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An opinion “What is your opinion” essay

It is the type of essay that requires the test taker’s opinion. Even though it is your opinion one must remember to communicate in a clear manner which provides a solution to the problem. The essay must not focus on one point but rather different approaches must be used when answering. Moreover, the stated points must be supported by reasons or examples. Here is an example of the topic for this essay. “Many people think regions affect successful persons. What is your opinion about native regions and accomplishment influences on the regions they belong to?”

The discussion essay

It is another form of argumentative essay, therefore, there are two sides to it and the test taker has to support the side he/she favours with supporting information. It is normally referred to as discussion for or discussion against essay. To differentiate this type of essay from persuasive essay both sides of the argument are balanced. Here is an example of a discussion essay. “Company top-level authorities should or should not take employees suggestions or ideas to take any decision. Discuss”  

The advantage or disadvantage essay/ “the benefits or problem essay”

This is another type of compare and contrast essay. It must highlight the pros and cons of a given topic as clear as possible. Here is an example of this type of essay. “The food travels thousands of miles from farm to consumer. Some people think it would be better for our environment and economy if people only ate local produce food. What is extent do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.”

The different types of essays presented above are a clear structure that should show the test taker skills he/she needs to ace the essay writing. One can’t simply be comfortable with only one type of essay and ignore the rest because that will bring failure during the test. With enough preparation time, success is inevitable.