The Expository Essay
What is an expository essay?
 An
expository essay explains,
about the topic.
 Expository essays use facts
and statistical information,
cause and effect relationships,
or examples.
What s an expository essay?
 Since
expository essays are
factual, they are written without
emotion and usually written in
the third person. That means
that the use of the pronoun "I"
is not usually found within the
essay.
Patterns of Organization
Chronological
 Cause/effect
 Compare/Contrast
 Problem/Solution
 Description
 Process Order

Elements of and Effective
Expository Essay
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The essay has a controlling idea- thesis statement
This is a statement that controls what to include in
the essay.
This is usually found in the introduction
There are no set number for paragraphs
Captures the reader with a STRONG lead
Remains objective… can not be biased
A definite pattern for organization
Transition words are used to move ideas from one to
another
Elements cont.
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Uses vivid words and interesting vocabulary to engage the
reader
Uses Rhetorical Schemes ….(See Slide 9)
Uses a variety of sentence forms
Uses comparisons to build images for the reader
All paragraphs support the controlling idea/thesis
Individual Paragraphs are supported with factual information
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Paraphrases
Text evidence in the form of TLQ (transition, lead-in, quote)
Narrative anecdotes that help explain the idea
Expository essays also have a
distinct format.
The main idea (thesis statement) must
be narrow enough to be supported by
everything in the essay.
 Each paragraph must have a topic
sentence and all other sentences must
relate directly to it.
 Transition words or phrases are
important as they help the flow and
reinforce the logic.

Format (cont’d)
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Finally, the conclusion paragraph should
originally restate the main idea (thesis) and the
main supporting ideas. Finish with the a
statement that reinforces your position in a
meaningful and memorable way.
 Never introduce new material in the
conclusion. This should highlight the most
important pieces of the essay
 Leaves the reader with a final though
(Rhetorical Question)
Schemes of Rhetoric

Anaphora….Definition: The repetition of a
sequence of words in neighboring clauses.
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Example- “Never shall I forget that night, the first night in
camp….Never Shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the
little faces of the children.” (Elie Weisel, Night)
Parallel Structure: the repetition of a chosen
grammatical form.

Example- “John Taylor Gatto criticizes public schools because they
require students to attend, receive money from the government,
and destroy students humanity.” (Evergreen Writing Center)
Paraphrase verses Plagiarism
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Paraphrase
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A rewording of a text or passage.
A restatement of text or passage in a new form.
Plagiarism
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The act of using someone else’s words without giving
credit to the author
Largely keeping the authors words and sentence structure,
and only changing a few words.
Expository Prompt

Writing Situation: Tragedy affects many
people.
 What is a tragedy you recall? How did it affect
the people involved?
 Directions for Writing: Now explain in an essay
a tragedy you recall (personal experience, or
you heard about it, read about it, or saw
something about it). Discuss the affects of this
tragedy with examples and details.
Transition
Word:
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
Transition
Word:
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
Topic sentence or thesis statement (will
become basis for introductory paragraph)
Transition
Word:
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
Transition
Word:
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
Transition
Word:
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
Transition
Word:
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
THESIS STATEMENT:
The tragedy that affected many
people was Hurricane Katrina.
Transition
Word:
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
Conclusion: (Complete sentence)
Transition
Word:
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
Transition
Word:
In the
beginning,
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
The storm struck the Mississippi
Gulf Coast directly and caused a
lot of damage.
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
Transition
Word:
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
THESIS STATEMENT: :
The tragedy that affected many
people was Hurricane Katrina.
Transition
Word:
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
Conclusion: (Complete sentence)
Transition
Word:
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
Transition
Word:
In the
beginning,
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
The storm struck the Mississippi
Gulf Coast directly and caused a
lot of damage.
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
Transition
Word:
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
Storm winds destroyed buildings
and uprooted trees.
The storm surge flooded the
coast for several miles inland.
Some people died, and many
others were injured.
THESIS STATEMENT:
The tragedy that affected many
people was Hurricane Katrina.
Transition
Word:
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
Conclusion: (Complete sentence)
Transition
Word:
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
Transition
Word:
In the
beginning,
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
The storm struck the Mississippi
Gulf Coast directly and caused a
lot of damage.
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
The storm also affected New
Orleans in many ways.
Transition
Word:
However
,
__________________________
Storm winds destroyed
__________________________
buildings and uprooted trees.
__________________________
The storm surge flooded the
__________________________
coast for several miles inland.
__________________________
Some people died, and many
__________________________
others were injured. THESIS STATEMENT:
The tragedy that affected many
people was Hurricane Katrina.
Transition
Word:
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
Conclusion: (Complete sentence)
Transition
Word:
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
Transition
Word:
In the
beginning,
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
The storm struck the Mississippi
Gulf Coast directly and caused a
lot of damage.
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
The storm also affected New
Orleans in many ways.
Transition
Word:
However
,
Storm winds destroyed
The city was flooded with
buildings and uprooted trees.
several feet of water from the
The storm surge flooded the
storm surge.
coast for several miles inland.
Since the city rests below sea
Some people died, and many
level, that lead to more flooding.
others were injured.
THESIS STATEMENT: The worst happened when
themany
levies broke, leading to
The tragedy that affected
tremendous flooding from Lake
people was Hurricane Katrina.
Ponchartrain and the
Transition
Transition
Mississippi
River.
Word:
Word:
Conclusion:
(Complete sentence)
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
Transition
Word:
In the
beginning,
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
The storm struck the Mississippi
Gulf Coast directly and caused a
lot of damage.
Storm winds destroyed buildings and
uprooted trees.
The storm surge flooded the coast for
several miles inland.
Some people died, and many others
were injured.
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
The storm also affected New
Orleans in many ways.
Transition
Word:
However
,
The city was flooded with several feet of
water from the storm surge.
Since the city rests below sea level, that
lead to more flooding.
The worst happened when the levies
broke, leading to tremendous flooding from
Lake Ponchartrain and the Mississippi River.
THESIS STATEMENT:
The tragedy that affected many
people was Hurricane Katrina.
Transition
Word:
Finally,
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
The storm affected the people in
these areas deeply.
_____________________________________
______________________________________
____________________________________
_____________________________________
____________________________________
_____________________________________
Conclusion: (Complete sentence)
Transition
Word:
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
Transition
Word:
In the
beginning,
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
The storm struck the Mississippi
Gulf Coast directly and caused a
lot of damage.
Storm winds destroyed buildings and
uprooted trees.
The storm surge flooded the coast for
several miles inland.
Some people died, and many others
were injured.
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
The storm also affected New
Orleans in many ways.
Transition
Word:
However
,
The city was flooded with several
feet of water from the storm surge.
Since the city rests below sea
level, that lead to more flooding.
The worst happened when the
levies broke, leading to tremendous
flooding from Lake Ponchartrain and
the Mississippi River.
THESIS STATEMENT: :
The tragedy that affected many
people was Hurricane Katrina.
Transition
Word:
Finally,
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
The storm affected the people in
these areas deeply.
Many of them were left
homeless.
Many of them lost family
members.
Some people had to make new
lives in different cities.
Conclusion: (Complete sentence)
Transition
Word:
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
Transition
Word:
In the
beginning,
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
The storm struck the Mississippi
Gulf Coast directly and caused a
lot of damage.
Storm winds destroyed buildings and
uprooted trees.
The storm surge flooded the coast for
several miles inland.
Some people died, and many others
were injured.
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
The storm also affected New
Orleans in many ways.
Transition
Word:
However
,
The city was flooded with several
feet of water from the storm surge.
Since the city rests below sea
level, that lead to more flooding.
The worst happened when the
levies broke, leading to tremendous
flooding from Lake Ponchartrain and
the Mississippi River.
THESIS STATEMENT: :
The tragedy that affected many
people was Hurricane Katrina.
Transition
Word:
Finally,
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
The storm affected the people in
these areas deeply.
Many of them were left homeless.
Many of them lost family members.
Some people had to make new lives in
different cities.
Conclusion:
Hurricane Katrina was a
storm few will forget.
Transition
Word:
As a
result,
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
Transition
Word:
In the
beginning,
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
The storm struck the Mississippi
Gulf Coast directly and caused a
lot of damage.
Storm winds destroyed buildings and
uprooted trees.
The storm surge flooded the coast for
several miles inland.
Some people died, and many others
were injured.
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
The storm also affected New
Orleans in many ways.
Transition
Word:
However
,
The city was flooded with several
feet of water from the storm surge.
Since the city rests below sea
level, that lead to more flooding.
The worst happened when the
levies broke, leading to tremendous
flooding from Lake Ponchartrain and
the Mississippi River.
THESIS STATEMENT: :
The tragedy that affected many
people was Hurricane Katrina.
Transition
Word:
Finally,
Supporting reason or idea 1: (Complete
Sentence)
The storm affected the people in
these areas deeply.
Many of them were left homeless.
Many of them lost family members.
Some people had to make new lives in
different cities.
Conclusion:
Hurricane Katrina was a storm
few will forget.
Transition
Word:
As a
result,
People in Mississippi will recall
the many towns destroyed.
People in New Orleans will
remember the floods after the levies
broke.
Six years later, many people still
are trying to rebuild their lives.
Developing the introductory
THESIS STATEMENT:
paragraph.
The tragedy that affected many people was
Hurricane Katrina.
Use a HOOK to engage the reader:
 The Hook (PowerPoint Download)
August 29 started out as a normal day,
with a storm brewing in the Gulf of
Mexico. But by the end of the day, this
storm, named Katrina, would leave
massive destruction in its wake.
The concluding paragraph
The concluding paragraph:
 Restates the main idea or thesis
 Summarizes the supporting
ideas
 Ends with a punch!
The concluding paragraph
As a result of all the damage and lives lost,
Hurricane Katrina has become storm few can
forget. People in Mississippi will recall the
many towns destroyed. People in New
Orleans will remember the floods after the
levies broke. Six years later, many people still
are trying to rebuild their lives.
Expository Essay Graphic Organizer
 Utilize
the four square graphic
organizer template to develop an
expository essay.
Print
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Graphic
Organizer
Expository Essay Resources
The Expository Essay
 Expository Writing Prompts
 Expository Essay
 TN Writing Prompts
 Transition Words
