Some of the content of this guide was modeled after a guide originally created by the Purdue Online Writing Lab and has been adapted for the NWP Learning Commons in September 2020.
Different Types of Academic Papers
There are many different types of papers that you might be asked to write during your academic career. Here are some of the common types:
An analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its component parts evaluates the issue or idea and presents this breakdown and evaluation to the audience.
An expository (explanatory) paper explains something to the audience.
An argumentative (persuasive) paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an interpretation. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.
Additional Resources