Expository Essays
Jane Dewhurst
Writing I
Expository writing explains and informs. It presents information and does not argue for or against a
point or seek to defend an opinion. Encyclopedia articles are examples of expository writing.
General characteristics of expository writing:
➢ It seeks to inform readers about a specific subject.
➢ It presents information efficiently. Consider who your audience is and what they will already
know about the subject and thus what you still need to explain. You do not want to bore or
overwhelm your reader.
➢ It tries to engage the reader’s interest. Although the main point of an expository essay is not to
entertain, but rather to instruct and inform, you cannot do that if your reader is so bored s/he is
asleep.
➢ It relies almost exclusively on established information. Don’t forget to acknowledge your sources,
use quotation marks correctly and document all of your sources.
➢ It does not include the author’s experiences or feelings.
➢ It does not express an opinion to be defined. The material is presented in a direct and unbiased
way.
Useful writing strategies include:
➢ definition: you may have to define basic terms you need to explain a concept if the reader
cannot be expected to be familiar with them
➢ classification and division: divide information into categories and address them one by one – the
reader only has to understand one part at a time, and sees the structure and relationship
between the categories, which help with understanding the overall topic
➢ comparison and contrast: showing how your topic is similar to or different from something the
reader is familiar with may help make your point clear
➢ description and narration: the point of an expository essay is not to tell a story, but these methods
can help you provide vivid illustrations, or explain how a process works, or give an example of
your concept at work
Examples of expository writing assignments:
➢ in a political science class: Choose one emerging democracy in Eastern Europe, research it and
report on its progress in establishing a democratic government. Consider its present
arrangement for political parties, majority rule and minority rights.
➢ in a business class: Explain how the stock market works.
➢ in a linguistics class: Explain the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis and its importance for the field of
linguistics.
➢ in a literature class: Using examples from the texts you have read this semester, explain the
concept of metaphor.
Examples of expository essays:
➢ A handout on process essays, a kind of expository essay in which the author explains how to do
something, with examples:
→http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/process.htm
➢ A handout on definition essays, also with an example:
→http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/definition.htm
Your assignment:
Expository Essays
Jane Dewhurst
Writing I
Write an expository essay of at least two pages.
➢ The topic is up to you. Be careful not to choose a topic that is too broad for an essay of this
length!
➢ The essay should have:
o an interesting title
o an introduction that draws the reader into the essay, announces the topic and has a
clear thesis statement
o supporting paragraphs which clearly and logically develop the ideas
o a conclusion which draws everything together and gives the reader a feeling the essay
has ended and not that the last page is missing
Source: Axelrod, Rise B. and Charles R. Cooper. The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing, 4th edition. New York:
St. Martin’s Press, 1994.