A research essay would be where you would make a claim such as smoking is bad for your health, then you cite facts from your sources in your essay. Persuasive essays are picking one side over another and trying to convince the readers that they should feel the same way as you. For example, there shouldn't be smoking in public places. An expository essay is another way of explaining or clarifying, a biographical narrative would be the best essay to effectively describe one's reaction when they are first looking at something so important or monumental as the Grand Canyon.