EXPOSITORY ESSAY
Brainstorming and Drafting
Expository Essay Prompt
READ the following quotation.
If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up.
Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around
it.
—Michael Jordan
THINK carefully about the following statement.
No one can achieve success without overcoming obstacles.
WRITE an essay explaining the importance of never giving
up.
Be sure to:
•
•
•
•
Clearly state your controlling idea
Organize and develop your explanation effectively
Choose your words carefully
Use correct spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and sentences
Composing Expository Writing
Day 1
Prompt: WRITE an essay explaining the
importance of never giving up.
Band
Steve Jobs
Athletics
•Prompt/Topic.
•Reasons
Career
Never
Giving Up
Helen
Keller
Academics
•Students complete their
own Circle Maps.
Family
Composing Expository Writing
Day 1
•Select two best
reasons from the
Circle Map and
place on the Flow
Map.
•Students select two
best reasons from
their Circle Maps and
place on their Flow
Maps.
•Opening paragraph.
•Students write
their opening
paragraphs.
Quitting has become quite common in
today’s society. If something isn’t going
right, people just give up. Do you think
Einstein achieved his goals by quitting? By
never giving up and persevering, people will
be able to accomplish their academic goals,
and take those accomplishments on with
them in their careers.
Academics
Career
Composing in Expository Writing
Day 1
•Add at least 2 examples
for each reason
(commentary and
Mark your
examples).
Thesis
Statement/
Controlling
Idea!
Quitting has become quite common in today’s
society. If something isn’t going right, people
just give up. Do you think Einstein achieved his
goals by quitting? By never giving up and
persevering, people will be able to accomplish
their academic goals, and take those
accomplishments on with them in their careers.
Academics
•Students add at
least 2 details to
their Flow Maps.
Taking charge of
education by asking
teachers/peers for
help
Careers
Getting noticed
Getting ahead in life
Study/work hard
in college to land a
rewarding career.
Composing in Expository Writing
Day 2
•Add transition words/
phrases.
•Students add transition
words/ phrases.
•Closing paragraph.
•Students add closing
paragraphs.
•Students work in
pairs to orally
rehearse their essays
using their Flow
Maps.
Quitting has become quite common in today’s society. If
something isn’t going right, people just give up. Do you
think Einstein achieved his goals by quitting? By never
giving up and persevering, people will be able to accomplish
their academic goals, and take those accomplishments on
with them in their careers.
Initially, or My
initial reason
Academics
Taking charge of
education by asking
teachers/peers for
help
Study/work hard
in college to land
a rewarding
career.
The most significant
Rewarding
career
Getting noticed
Getting ahead in
life
Never giving up is imperative in life. By striving for achievement instead
of settling for failure, people will not only succeed academically, but they
can also achieve greatness when it comes to their careers. What wonders
await those who never give up.
Composing Expository Writing
Day 3 - Taking it off the map
Quitting has become quite common in today’s society. If something
isn’t going right, people just give up. Do you think Einstein achieved
his goals by quitting? By never giving up and persevering, people will
be able to accomplish their academic goals, and take those
accomplishments on with them in their careers.
•circle each part of
the map in a
different color.
Initially,
academics
The most significant
Rewarding
career
•Students circle
each part of their
maps in a
different color.
Taking charge of education by
asking teachers/peers for help
Study/work hard in
college to land a
rewarding career.
Getting noticed
Getting ahead in life
Never giving up is imperative in life. By striving for
achievement instead of settling for failure, people will not only
succeed academically, but they can also achieve greatness when
it comes to their careers. What wonders await those who never
give up!.
Quitting has become quite common in today’s society. If something isn’t going
right, people just give up. Do you think Einstein achieved his goals by quitting? By never
giving up and persevering, people will be able to accomplish their academic goals, and
take those accomplishments on with them in their careers.
Initially, people should never give up on academics, because doing well in school
will springboard a person’s future. Many students simply give up when a subject becomes
too challenging. If they would only take charge of their education by asking instructors
or peers for guidance, they could get a better grasp of what they are learning, and
work toward life after grade school. Being accepted into a college or university is a
wonderful experience, but it’s what students do while they attend that truly sets them
up for lifelong success. Academics can be very challenging. Putting forth some effort will
bring students much closer to where they see themselves in the future.
The most significant reason why never giving up is ever so important is because
most people want to land a rewarding career. Being stuck in a dead-end job with no way
of moving up the ladder just sounds dull. Eugene Alexander is a Bank Examiner. He
worked through many challenges in his Finance classes in college, and discovered that he
had a true passion for the subject. By doing so well, he was recruited by the Federal
Government straight out of college, and is now working toward his goal of becoming the
president of a bank. The road has and will continue to be bumpy for him, but he has the
work ethic and drive to accomplish his goals.
Never giving up is imperative in life. By striving for achievement instead of
settling for failure, people will not only succeed academically, but they can also achieve
greatness when it comes to their careers. What wonders await those who never give up!
Is the expository writing in your class
structurally sound?
•Provides information about a topic, direction for a task or procedure, or reasons
for a particular stance or opinion- it does not tell a story
•Has a logical progression of ideas that is easy to follow and paraphrase ( no
nattering, clutter, or fru-fru)
•Has a concise beginning that identifies the topic and orients the reader to what
the writing will be about
•Has a middle that is well developed with sufficient elaboration- this elaboration
relates directly to either the steps in a procedure, a particular category of
information, or reasons given for an opinion or stance
•Has an ending that provides a summary for the reader