End of semester is a stressful time for students because during this period they need to submit a bunch of complex assignments, one of them being the classification essay. This task requires students to arrange different objects or ideas, thus helping them develop writing skills and learn how to create detailed assignments. If the stress related to this task is too much for you, you can partially relieve it by checking out our insightful article!
What is a classification essay? How to structure this task? What techniques to use to make it interesting? Get the answers to all these questions from this guide and forget about all the troubles associated with the classification essay!
Classification Essay Definition and Main Purpose
Before discussing the basic rules of creating a top-notch essay, we should first define a classification essay. That is a popular method of creating an essay whereby different things, concepts or other points with similar characteristics are organized into groups. Simply put, you need to pick a subject you are going to explore and investigate it by putting similar objects into groups, describing them and providing the audience with relevant examples.
What is the primary goal of this task? Though some students consider it too challenging, the classification essay has a number of benefits. While doing it, students learn how to arrange different things into categories and, most importantly, develop their writing skills! Your ability to express ideas in written form and structure information can increase your chances of getting a good grade, so we urge you to take this assignment very seriously.
Classification Essay Structure Features
The structure of a classification essay may be presented in the same way as for any other essay assignment. But here, we would like to offer you something more than “introduction-body-conclusion” pattern. What about a general roadmap for you to approach your writing attentively and logically? While working on a classification essay, you are free to choose absolutely any subject, but you should come up with some kind of plan and stick to it while writing. Here are some basic steps we recommend you follow before getting down to the actual writing:
- Choose the topic;
- Arrange ideas or things/viewpoints into categories;
- Check whether these categories follow one organizing principle;
- Provide the readers with examples.
Your objective here is not just to do classification but also to show that you understand this topic well enough.
The way you structure your essay has the potential of significantly influencing your grade, so be very attentive!
The important thing is to find categories, or, in other words, something you wish to classify. For some students, the most challenging part is the introduction because they can’t understand what techniques to use and how to engage your readers.
Structure Step-by-Step
Don’t forget that not all institutions of higher learning have the same requirements for the classification essay structure. Sometimes, students have to follow specific rules, so to avoid misunderstanding, you should bring this up with your professor before embarking on essay writing.
How to write an introduction for a classification essay? First off, you need to identify your subject or decide what particular group you wish to classify. If it is possible to narrow down your subject, you can do so at the very beginning. To arouse your readers’ curiosity, you may as well add some specific details or shocking facts.
Keep in mind that your introductory part won’t be complete without a compelling g thesis statement which should be located at the end of the introductory paragraph. When reading it, your readers should immediately understand what approaches you are going to explore here.
Each body paragraph should begin with one topic sentence identifying a particular approach. After that, you can add some examples or interesting details. Bear in mind that your main paragraphs should be presented clearly and logically. For instance, if your goal is to discuss several approaches, you should begin with the least popular and finish with the most popular ones.
Your classification essay conclusion should bring together information that has been discussed in the body part. This section is best suited for summarizing the value of your research. In other words, you need to briefly mention all the methods or approaches which have been discussed in your body part and recommend the most efficient one. It’s important to remember that the conclusion should also emphasize the primary goal of classification.
Of course, that was just a generalized guide with the simplest tips for you to recall some basic rules and requirements for a good classification essay. However, we hope it was helpful, and you will cope with your essay challenge in two shakes!