Exemplification, Exposition,
Illustration, Explanatory
Writing
Notes by Brian Yablon
What is exposition?
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Longer works:
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Memoir
Biography
Autobiography
History
Research report
Newsletter
Brochure
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Shorter works:
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Essay
Speech
Letter
Memorandum
Note
Advertisement
Instructions
News or feature
article
Why write exemplification?
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The overall purpose of writing
exemplification has two parts:
You state your assertion (your opinion,
perspective, your point of view, or how you’re
going to treat your subject).
 You support or back up your assertion with
evidence.
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Specific uses
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To inform/To explain
To clarify
To persuade
To entertain
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To compare or
contrast
To show cause
and/or effect
To report
How do you do it?
First, figure out who your audience is -that will affect what you say and how you
say it.
 Second, figure out what your purpose is -that is the end result, the reaction you
want to get from your audience.
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Then what?
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You need to generate
as many pieces of
support (evidence) as
you can to help back
up your assertion.
What is evidence?
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Personal experience or
observation
Typical situations
Hypothetical situations
Generalized situations
Facts
Names
Statistics
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References to
authorities
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Experts
Documents
Anecdotes
Explanations and
interpretations
Extended or brief
Quotations
Evidence must be:
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Accurate
Supportive, not contradictory
Relevant
Specific, detailed, precise, vivid
Interesting
Clear and easy to understand
Representative (not the exception)
Cited, if necessary.
Choose a point of view
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First person P.O.V.
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Uses “I” as the
narrator.
Is personal, which
may be an advantage
or disadvantage.
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Third person P.O.V.
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Uses “She,” “He,”
“They,” or “It” to relay
information.
Is more distant, which
may be an advantage
or disadvantage.
Thesis statement
A good thesis statement is clear,
opinionated, and specific.
 It relays:
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The topic of discussion.
 How you will treat that topic.
 Perhaps the focus of the discussion about
that topic.
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It includes every major idea in the essay.
A special note on structure
An exemplification essay is usually highly
structured.
 It has a stated, clearly identifiable thesis
statement.
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Alas, if I cannot identify your thesis, the
highest grade the paper will receive is a “D,”
so this is important!
Ways to organize
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Chronological
Spatial
Emphatic
Moderate-WeakStrong
Simple to complex
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You need:
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Strong thesis
Clear topic sentences
-- that support the
overall thesis.
Evidence that
supports each topic
sentence
A clear conclusion
Transitions
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Use suitable transitional words and phrases.
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For instance
For example
To illustrate
A classic example
Also
In addition
Additionally
A case in point is
Avoid unimaginative transitions like “My first
example is…”
Never!
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Never write the following types of sentences:
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“In this paragraph, I will explain…”
In this essay, I will discuss…”
Those are fine, even expected, in a scientific or
mathematical paper, but for the typical English
paper they are simply terrible, absolutely
horrible!
Additionally, you never really need to write:
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“I feel…” “I believe…” or “I think…” If it’s your paper,
then the reader already knows they’re your thoughts,
beliefs or feelings.
Significance
Good essays have importance; they
answer a need, a question or problem
that has been posed.
 The reader never puts down the essay
and says, “So what?”
 You need to convey to your reader why
your essay is important to read.
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Citing sources
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Within the text:
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After a quotation or a
paraphrase, give credit to
your source of information.
That credit goes within
parenthesis and has a
name and a page number,
such as (Jones 6-7).
This brief reference should
point the reader to the
more detailed reference at
the end of the text.
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At the end of the text:
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Create a “Works
Cited” page where
you give all of the
detailed information
where a reader could
find your specific
source.
Thoughts on quotations
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The MLA suggests that you limit your use of
quoted material to no more than 10% of your
entire essay. Try to quote or paraphrase only
when the original author says something better
than you can.
Always:
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Lead in to your quotation
Cite your quotation correctly
Explain and/or interpret your quotation
Show us why your quotation is significant
Thoughts on paraphrases
When you paraphrase, you take someone
else’s words and put them into your own
words.
 You still must cite the source where you
got your ideas. Both name(s) and page
numbers should be mentioned within the
text of the essay, as well as in the Works
Cited page.
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Sample in-text citation
…Human beings have been described as
"symbol-using animals" (Burke 3).
The sentence above shows the writer using a
brief quote -- in order to make a point -- from
someone named Burke. The quotation,
“symbol-using animals” was found on page 3 of
Burke’s original work.
Sample Works Cited entry
Burke, Kenneth. Language as Symbolic Action:
Essays on Life, Literature, and Method. Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1966.
The above entry would be one entry on a page full of
entries, all at the end after the last page of the essay.
This entry would allow the reader to find the specific
source for the quotation or paraphrase cited
(mentioned) within the text of the essay.
Possible essay beginnings
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Broad statement narrowing to a limited subject
(end introduction with thesis statement)
Brief anecdote leading up to thesis
Comparative or opposite ideas leading up to
thesis
Series of short questions leading to thesis
Quotations leading to thesis
Refutation of a common belief leading up to a
thesis
Dramatic fact or statistic leading to thesis
Possible essay endings
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Summary of information presented
Prediction based on information presented
Quotation leading to concluding statement
Statistics leading to concluding statement
Recommendation or call for action
Echo of the introduction
Please do not write, “In conclusion…”
Be aware of your language
Transitions show relationships between
ideas, so make sure you’re clear and you
make the choices you intend.
 Be wary of jargon
 Avoid slang and profanity.
 Remember that almost all words have a
denotation and a connotation.
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Some additional thoughts
Exemplification is very descriptive and
uses many of the same techniques as
fiction.
 Be aware of the tone you convey.
 Vary sentence structure.
 Vary sentence length.
 Vary paragraph length.
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Some final thoughts
I assure you your first draft will be lousy.
 Subsequent drafts improve your writing.
 You make your writing worth reading by
revising:
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Adding
 Subtracting
 Reorganizing
 Substituting
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The end of the process
First, concentrate on your message -what you have to say.
 Second, concentrate on your organization
-- how you say it.
 Third, concentrate on surface features -spelling, grammar, mechanics, usage.
 Always do your best work -- every draft.
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