Kinds of Writing

 

Do you want to spicen up the kinds of writing that you assign to your class? Do you want to give your students a list of choices from which they can choose? Here’s a fabulous list to get your juices flowing:

A

• ads (for magazines, newspapers, yellow pages)
• advice columns
• allegories
• anecdotes
• announcements
• answers
• anthems
• appendices
• apologies
• assumptions
• autobiographies
• awards

B

• ballads
• beauty tips
• bedtime stories
• beginnings
• billboards
• bloopers
• blurbs
• books
• book jackets
• book reviews
• broadsheets
• brochures
• bulletins
• bumper stickers

C

• calendar
• calorie charts
• campaign speeches
• captions
• cartoons
• catalog entries
• cereal boxes
• certificates
• character sketches
• church or temple bulletins
• codes
• community bulletins
• couplets
• comparisons
• comic strips
• complaints
• constitutions
• contracts
• conundrums
• conversations
• critiques
• crossword puzzles
• cumulative stories

D

• data sheets
• definitions
• descriptions
• diaries
• diets
• directions
• documents
• dramas
• dream scripts

 E

• editorials
• epilogues
• epitaphs
• encyclopedia
• entries
• endings
• essays
• evaluations
• exaggerations
• exclamations
• explanations

F

• fables
• fairy tales
• fantasies
• fashion articles
• fashion show scripts
• folklore
• fortunes

 G

• graffiti
• greeting cards
• grocery lists
• gossip

H

• headlines
• horoscopes
• how-to-do-it speeches
• hymns

 I

• indexes
• inquiries
• interviews
• introductions (to people, places, bocks)
• invitations

J

• job applications
• jokes
• journals
• jump rope rhymes

L

• labels
• legends
• letters
• lies
• lists
• love notes
• luscious words
• lyrics

M

• magazines
• marquee notices
• memories
• metaphors
• menus
• monologues
• movie reviews
• movie scripts
• mysteries
• myths

N

• news analyses
• newscasts
• newspapers
• nonsense
• notebooks, double entry notebooks
• nursery rhymes

O

• obituaries
• observations
• odes
• opinions

P

• palindromes
• pamphlets
• paragraphs
• parodies
• party tips
• persuasive letters
• phrases
• plays
• poems
• post cards
• post scripts
• posters
• prayers
• predictions
• problems
• problem solutions
• profound sayings
• prologues
• prophecies
• proposals
• propaganda sheets
• protest signs
• protest letters
• product descriptions
• proverbs
• puppet shows
• puzzles

Q

• quips
• quizzes
• questionnaires
• questions
• quotations

R

• ransom notes
• reactions
• real estate notices
• rebuttals
• recipes
• record covers
• remedies
• reports
• requests
• requiems
• requisitions
• resumes
• reviews
• revisions
• rhymes
• riddles

S

• sales notices
• sales pitches
• satires
• schedules
• secrets
• self-descriptions
• sentences
• sequels
• serialized stories
• sermons
• signs
• silly sayings
• skywriting messages
• slogans
• soap operas
• society news
• songs
• speeches
• spoofs
• spooky stories
• sports accounts
• sports analyses
• superstitions

T

• tall tales
• telegrams
• telephone directories
• textbooks
• thank you notes
• theater programs
• timelines
• titles
• tongue twisters
• traffic rules
• transcripts
• travel folders
• travel posters
• tributes
• trivia
• tv commercials
• tv guide
• tv program

U

• used car descriptions
• vignettes
• vitas

W

• want ads
• wanted posters
• warnings
• wills
• wise sayings
• wishes
• weather reports
• weather forecasts

Y

• yarns
• yellow pages

Would you like to add to our list? Let us know! The more the merrier! 

Andi Stix is an educational consultant & coach who specializes in differentiation, interactive learning, writing across the curriculum, classroom coaching, and gifted education. For further information on her specialties or social media, please email her on the Contact page.