What Is The Main Difference Between An Expository And A Literary Essay?

When it comes to writing academic essays, there are various formats, styles and other requirements that can have a huge impact upon what needs to be written. For example, there are many different kinds of academic essay, such as argumentative papers, comparative papers, informative papers, and a wide range of others.

The different kinds papers may be used specifically in conjunction with that certain subject or, alternatively, they can be chosen according to the different aims and outcomes that you hope to achieve. For example, if you wish to discuss a particular point of view that you may have taken, then you may use an argumentative paper. On the other hand, if you wish to examine the difference between two topics then a compare and contrast essay may be more appropriate.

Two other kinds of academic paper include expository and literary essays. Generally, these styles of essay will be used for very different purposes and, therefore, there are several major differences between the two different styles. Ultimately, expository paper will aim to investigate and describe a particular topic or idea, whilst a literary essay will involve the critical analysis of a piece of literature.

Therefore, it is very rare that the two papers would be used to discuss similar topics. Of course, it is possible that both papers will require a student to look at various themes or other topics that have some similarities, but will largely be very independent of each other as well. Furthermore, the structure and layout of the two essays may follow a similar sort of format; however, the general outcomes will be vastly different.

Different approaches

As mentioned, one of the major differences is the fact that these two academic papers will generally focus on very different topics, even if there are some overlapping themes. However, perhaps the main difference between the two is the approach and expected outcome. Essentially, a literary essay will involve looking at a certain piece of literature and, therefore, the research will largely involve simply reading that piece of literature, with the majority of the work involving analysing what has been written.

On the other hand, and expository paper will require an individual to look at an idea, before seeking further information related to that idea. Therefore, the research and process involved in writing the paper is vastly different.