Communication skills

• Academic essay


  A piece of writing which answers a question and demonstrates understanding of a topic. It brings together related points and materials, going beyond just description and summary to critically analyze a topic. Uses reliable evidence to support arguments and claims.
• Academic essay


  • Has an introduction, body, and conclusion
  • Introductory paragraph introduces the topic and states the thesis
  • Body seeks to prove the thesis
  • Conclusion summarizes main points or restates thesis
• Purpose of academic essays


  • To help students develop critical and analytical skills
  • To explain a concept, synthesize previous studies, report findings, or make an argument
• Fictional essay


  An essay based on imagination, where the events and items written about are not true. The writer does not need to provide evidence to support claims.
• Fictional essay


  • Uses creativity and literary style
  • Examples include "My first day at school", "Where I spent the last holiday", "My first visit to the airport"
• Differences between academic and fictional essays


  • Academic essay is based on theories/academic topics, describes factual events/concepts, uses evidence, formal language, concerned with objectivity and accuracy
  • Fictional essay is based on imagination, events described may not be true, does not use evidence, uses creative language, uses exaggerations and flamboyant descriptions