In a previous entry, Writing 101, I talked about the four different types of writing: narrative, descriptive, expository, and persuasive. What are the differences? When should I use one or the other?

I am going to illustrate each style by providing examples of the same topic in each of the four styles. We are going to read about Women's Football.

Expository writing explains things. Wikipedia is an excellent source for this type of writing. So what is Women's Football? Click here to find out and also see an example of expository writing.

How could I write about Women's Football in a narrative style? Narrative writing tells a story. The story can be true (non-fiction) or a creation of my imagination (fiction).

Narrative Example

Football season begins Thursday, Sept. 6^th when the New Orleans Saints travel to Indianapolis to play the Super Bowl champions, the Indianapolis Colts. Lisa can not wait. She loves football.

"Why can't I play for the New England Patriots?" she thinks. "I'm a good football player. I'm better than most of the guys on my college football team!"

Lisa doesn't like the idea that she cannot play football. She doesn't like the idea that men think that they are better at sports than women! It is not fair!

If not being able to play football is unjust, life just got a little bit worse. Lisa's English teacher gives her homework. She has to write a composition.

"Can you imagine that!" exclaims Lisa. "I can't play football and now I have to write a composition!"

Lisa doesn't know what she wants to write about. Since football is on her mind, she types "women's football" into Google and to her surprise she finds a wealth of information about this topic. 

Life is getting better. She has a topic that she wants to write about, the National Women's Football Association. Here is her composition

Why can't women play football? This is something that Catherine Masters thought about. "There is no reason why women can't play." thought Catherine Masters. With that belief, Masters began the National Women's Football Association.

It was a simple beginning, just two teams, the Alabama Renegades and the Nashville Dream. These two teams played each other four times in an exhibition season. From this simple beginning, the National Women's Football Association has expanded into a professional women's league comprised of 31 teams.

Persuasive Example

Thirty-one teams! Is there venom in you? That is what the Arizona Venom want to know! Do you love mutiny or the force of locomotion to be victorious at all costs? If your answer is yes, check out the Mass Mutiny or the Chattanooga Locomotion. Maybe it is the passion of victory or the karma knowing that you are the best. If so, there are the Pittsburgh Passion and the Kentucky Karma. 

This is a glimpse of the world of Women's Football. Join the excitement. Be a part of the National Women's Football Association.

Descriptive Writing

The grunts of the players! The crack of two football helmets making contact! The tackles! The determination! The National Women's Football Association is the place where women forget their manners, trade their dresses and designer jeans for padding, a uniform, and a helmet.

They practice in the evenings and spend their spring and summer weekends playing football. The players don't become rich. There are no endorsements and no lucrative commercials. You won't find people bidding for their autographs on eBay.

They have fun. They play a game that they love! There is a sense of team, a bond of family that only a group of players fighting for victory experience! There are also the tears when the victory celebration is in the other locker room. This is life in the National Women's Football Association.

The previous examples illustrate National Women's Football Association as seen through the lenses of narrative, expository, persuasive, and descriptive writing. Use narrative writing to tell a story, expository to explain, persuasive to persuade, and descriptive to describe.