Classification essay as a type of academic writing which doesn’t leave much freedom for interpretation, like it is with some other kinds of essays. It is exactly what is said on the package – in the process of writing you are supposed to divide things into logically understandable categories.
In order to write a good classification essay you should follow a simple set of rules.
First of all, analyze the things you are supposed to classify and try to think of a set of categories you can divide them into. They should be intuitively understandable and easily applicable. Also, make sure that all the categories you are going to use are based on one and the same principle (for example, if you have to classify the brands of cars, you may use such categories as price range, country of origin, sphere of usage and so on). If you choose one such principle, there shouldn’t be categories based on any other ones.
Finally, think about the examples for each category, preferably – before you start the essay. Write down the plan in which you enumerate all the categories and their corresponding examples – this will make the subsequent writing easier.
You should simply follow this procedure and the results are almost certain to be satisfying in the very least, especially after some practice. It is the best illustration of the advantages of jotting down the entire plan of an essay before beginning to write it – in case of classification essays it is easily done and makes the entire process less complicated.
Speaking about structuring this kind of writing, in the first paragraph you should introduce the type of things you are going to classify and the principle according to which you are going to do it. You may point out some question, for example, define which brand of cars is the best for a particular purpose, but in this case your essay will be closer to a comparison, not classification subtype.
The main part of the essay will be dedicated to the enumeration of the categories, their characteristic features and examples.
Finally, end the essay with some conclusion based on the classification you have reached so far. It may be a comment on the reason for such a diversity, a thought about what lead to it or something along the same lines.
We hope that these tips will allow you to better understand and organize your own classification essays in future.