ICSE English Compositions: Understanding the 5 Types

ICSE English language examination test students on five different composition types, which includes descriptive, narrative, argumentative, story writing, and picture composition. In this post, we'll describe all these essay types in more detail so students can clearly understand the comparison between them and compose better essays in their ICSE exams.

Please read the following extract from the most recent ICSE syllabus before we study the essay types.

Candidates are required to write a composition of about 300– 350 words from a choice of subjects which will test their ability to: organise, describe, narrate, report, explain, persuade or argue, present ideas coherently with accuracy and precision, compare and contrast ideas and arrive at conclusions, present relevant arguments and use correct style and format.

The subjects will be varied and may be suggested by language or by other stimuli such as pictures. The subjects will be so chosen so as to allow the candidates to draw on first-hand experience or to stimulate their imagination.

With one subject, a number of suggestions about the content of the composition will be given, but the use of the suggestions will be optional and a candidate will be free to treat the subject in any way that he/she chooses.

The organisation of subject matter, syntax, punctuation, correctness of grammatical constructions and spelling will be expected to be appropriate to the mode of treatment required by the subject.

Types of Essays in ICSE

Descriptive
Narrative
Argumentative
Story Writing
Picture Composition

Descriptive Essays

A Descriptive Essay provides a detailed description of a specific subject. The purpose of such an essay is to evoke an image in our minds by appealing to our senses. As a result, a descriptive essay engages at least one of our five senses (touch, smell, taste, hearing, and sight).

One should have a clear picture of the subject after reading a descriptive essay, whether it’s a historical episode, a geographical location, or a work of art.

Narrative Essays

A Narrative Essay, like a descriptive essay, it asks you to share an experience rather than advance an argument or provide evidence to support an opinion. This experience can be personal and real from your own life (for example, telling the story of your first big achievement), or it can be imagined (for example, telling the story of how you would face a situation).

A narrative essay allows writers to share their personal experiences. It is similar to a short story; the only difference is that it has a proper structure. A good narrative essay also progresses to a meaningful conclusion that goes beyond a list of events and details.

Argumentative Essays

An Argumentative Essay is a type of writing that uses facts and logic to persuade the reader of a particular point of view. Even though many types of essays try to get the reader to agree with a certain point of view, argumentative essays use a lot of hard evidence to show that their argument is the best.

The goal of argumentative essays, like persuasive essays and other types of essays, is to persuade the reader of a particular point of view. The method of persuasion is what distinguishes an argumentative essay. An argumentative essay uses factual evidence and unarguable logic to demonstrate that its thesis is correct.

The idea is that an argumentative essay disproves or invalidates opposing theories to prove that its thesis is correct. As a result, argumentative essays discuss other opposing points of view as well as the writer’s own thesis. It’s difficult to declare one viewpoint “true” while ignoring all others.

Story Writing

Story Writing is a type of fictional writing that is written in a more straightforward manner and has its own natural flow. Character (typically a Protagonist and Antagonist), setting, plot, conflict, and theme are the five elements of story writing. Through story writing, you share the experience of characters in a physical setting with a plot that makes it story-worthy, a conflict that causes a riff or character relationship core, and finally, the theme of the story as in what the story wants to share. The story has to be original and must not be an imitation of any novel or movie.

Picture Compositions

Picture Composition, in general, fosters perception expertise in students and improves their capacity to dissect and expound on a given image. Students get ideas by observing the image, and they express their ideas through all-around shaped sentences.

A picture essay (or composition) is usually divided into three parts in which a student is asked to describe the picture, make a story out of it, or express and elaborate on the thoughts and feelings implied by the picture. A picture can be a photograph, a scene from an action movie, a quote written over a picture or a sketch of a famous person. The things shown in the picture should not be itemized.

You must be able to distinguish between different essay types in your ICSE English exam to pick the right topic and organize your thoughts and ideas correctly. With this list of 25 trending essay topics, you can practice the most important ICSE English essay topics.