Novels. Short stories. Novels. Poetry. Autobiographies or biographies. Anecdotes. Oral histories. There are four different types of writing styles: expository, descriptive, persuasive, and narrative. Learn, Unlike argumentative or persuasive essays, expository essays do not aim to convince the reader of a particular point of view. Here are the main differences between them: Objective: Explanatory essay: The main objective is to explain, describe or inform about a subject. It focuses on clarifying a topic or process, providing.