Expository essay writing might be slightly confusing. However, the most probable reason for this is lack of understanding of what the term actually means. The definition, in fact, is rather broad. Generally, the purpose of expository essay is educating a reader about the subject, giving them logical and applicable reasoning of your viewpoint. Depending on the precise wording of the assignment, the method of development of the topic may be definition, classification or a process analysis. Nevertheless, there’s a set of expository essay writing stages, that will serve as a roadmap to complete this task successfully.
An expository essay usually consists of 5 paragraphs. We’ll help you with each one. Let’s get down to business.
Ready, Steady, Go
Any essay starts with picking a topic. Expository ones are not exception. In case your professor hasn’t given any exact recommendations, do your best to choose something you really are interested in. That increases the chances of having fun, while working on the assignment. Don’t forget, though, that the main goal is to teach your audience. Thus, diving into the details too deeply is not a good thing: it will rather confuse them than shed light onto the topic.
Once the choice is made, it’s time to move to introduction of the expository essay. That is the first paragraph. It has to perform three functions: grab your readers’ attention, give them some background information on the topic and, most importantly, set a remarkable thesis statement.
To get the audience really interested in what you’re about to say, you’ll need a good hook statement. Depending on the topic of choice, this may either be a joke, a surprising fact or a thought-provoking question. A hook is based on the topic and an original intent of your essay. Use common sense and pick something really awesome.
Setting the context for your topic development is certainly helpful. In case your readers are absolutely new to the subject of discussion, they will at least get the understanding of what you’re going to talk about.
Thesis statement is doubtlessly vital for an expository essay to be well-structured and profound. It is the central element of your writing, as all of the arguments and proofs will come back to it. Ideally, it has to be logical, concise and relevant. You should also take care to make it not too broad and not too narrow: in the first case the essay may turn into the novel, while in the second one you’re likely to run out of thoughts too fast.
Justify Yourself
The main body of an expository essay will basically have three paragraphs, each devoted to a certain argument or example, that supports the thesis statement. Sticking to this pattern facilitates organizing your thoughts and helps make your point in a more efficient way.
A paragraph starts with a topic sentence – main idea you’ve decided to state there. Mind, that it has to be coherent with your thesis statement and develop the topic smoothly. You may organize the arguments chronologically or consecutively: your topic is the limit here.
The next element is the evidence to the argument. It supports your idea and gives it weight. Again, each case is different, thus, the evidence may come either from the academic sources you’ve analyzed or from personal experience.
Afterwards it is necessary to demonstrate the significance of the proof. For instance, you can give example of the claim being right, based on the literature you’ve studied or providing confirmation with the help of life-based example.
A paragraph should be concluded with a transition to the next one. This way the parts of your expository essay will flow perfectly, leaving readers with an impression of clarity and completeness. Plus, it will help you maintain solid structure and cohesion between ideas.
Once you’ve gone through the stages, described above, reread what you’ve written and repeat the process two more times. Done? Then you have the main body of an expository essay completed.
Wrap It Up
The last paragraph of your essay is conclusion. Here you need to restate your thesis. Don’t opt for mere rewording, though. You need to show, how much the topic has evolved in the process of analysis and explanation. Another option is to ask questions to encourage the reader to keep learning about the subject of the discussion. Don’t give out new information, rather highlight why the things you’ve said in the expository essay really matter.
That completes our guide to expository essay writing. The final piece of advice: don’t think you’re done, when you have your first draft written. Revise and edit it. And then submit the piece of work to your professor, and get the “A” you definitely deserve.
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