Prewriting - What type of paper are you writing?

Not every research essay or paper you write will follow the same format. Knowing the type of research paper you intend to write can guide your outlining and writing process. Different types of research papers require different research purposes, different writing structures, and serve different purposes to an audience. Therefore, you should understand what you are trying to accomplish to determine which type of research paper format is best to use.

Argumentative papers
Argumentative papers (or persuasive papers) Links to an external site.are designed to argue either in favour of, or against, a specific point of view. These papers introduce a thesis statement or a claim that is developed and supported by evidence as the paper unfolds. Argumentative papers will not only develop an argument for or against something, but may also include a counter-arguement, which presents evidence from the other side of the argument. A counter-argument is then refuted, or used to show flaws or weaknesses in the opposing view. A counter-argument serves to further support the thesis statement or claim the author is trying to make.

Analytical papers
Analytical papers Links to an external site. analyze information on the research topic and presents your understanding of the topic based on your research. These papers require your research topic is broken apart into different pieces and analyzed through some type of analytical framework. An analytical framework is the metric by which you will understand and evaluate your research topic and its parts. Your analytical framework could be an argument or claim you are trying to prove, or it could be the scientific method, or it could be a theory or methodological framework. By the conclusion, you will connect all parts of your research into a final analysis that presents your understanding of the research topic in relation to how you analyzed it.

NOTE - Analytical research can be: neutral, critical, or argumentative -and analytical approaches can be joined with other types of papers - argumentative, cause-effect, compare and contrast, descriptive, etc. - and is not a distinct category of papers. Any paper that dissects a topic and builds understanding is a type of analytical paper.

Compare and Contrast
Compare and contrast papers Links to an external site. typically take two or more objects of study - ex. two theories, two case studies, two objects, etc. - and reports on similarities and differences, relationships between the objects, and/or the relevance of the two objects in relation to a circumstance. For example, a compare and contrast research question could be How did Norway and Sweden's COVID-19 response affect education in each respective country in 2020? OR Why did Norway's COVID-19 response differ from Sweden's?

These question identifies two objects and a reason for comparing and contrasting.

Descriptive/Definition
Descriptive papers Links to an external site. produce objective descriptions of the topic under study. These paper types will avoid emotional language, and focus on presenting factual information about the topic of study, while answering What, When, Who, Where questions. The outcome is to provide a clear description or definition of the topic being research.

Experimental reports/Cause-Effect
Experimental report papers Links to an external site. are most common in the natural sciences and statistical studies. The main focus of these types of papers is to examine cause-effect relationships between variables. These variables form the hypothesis which can be tested for scientific accuracy. These papers have two identifiable features: 1) Clear use of the IMRaD structure (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion), and 2) Hypothesis testing through an experiment. A common technique is to present the research problem and hypothesis in the introduction, and use the results to support or reject the hypothesis. 

Expository
Expository papers Links to an external site. are used when you want to expose an idea. Expository writing requires that you investigate and idea, evaluate relevant evidence, and develop a clear argument based on your research. When writing expository papers, you may combine this with several other research techniques like comparing and contrasting, examining cause-effect, and others.

Narrative
Narrative papers Links to an external site. are presented as a story. Unlike many other traditional science writing formats, narratives allow for anecdotal, experiential, and personal evidence to be included into the writing. Research subjects and evidence can be understood as characters involved in a plot, and connections are made between the research topic, the research subjects, and your personal analysis of evidence. Narratives allow more flexibility and creativity in writing.

These are only a few types of papers
Scientific and research writing can take on many other forms as well. The list presented here is only an overview of the most common forms of writing you might expect to produce as a student. 

For more information
Seven most popular types of research papers Links to an external site.