EXPOSITORY WRITING
Effective writers use informational writing to inform,
explain and report.
KWL
What do you think expository writing looks like? What do you think the purpose
of expository writing is? Have you ever practiced this style before?
How-to Essays in Everyday Life
Pg. 210
What do you think
was the first step of
getting this balloon
off the ground?
Where might you
find more
information on the
subject?
How to instructions are one of the most important types of
writing that you encounter in your daily life. They help make it
easier to use a wide range of items. When was the last time
that you came across instructional writing?
What is a How-to Essay?
Exposition is writing that informs or explains
A how-to essay is a short, focused piece of expository writing
that explains how to do or make something. The writer
breaks the process down into a series of logical steps and
explains them in the order in which the reader should do
them. The key features of an effective how-to essay are:
1. A focused topic that can be fully explained in the length of an
essay.
2. Clear explanations of any terms or materials that may be
unfamiliar to readers.
3. A series of logical steps explained in chronological, or time, order.
4. Charts, illustrations, and diagrams as necessary to make
complicated procedures understandable.
The Expository Essay
Types of How to Essays
Following are some of the how-to essays you
might write:
1.
How to do something (“how to fly a kite”)
2.
How to make something (“how to make a
kite”)
3.
How to improve a skill (“How to steer a kite”)
4.
How to achieve a desired effect (“How to do
a desired trick with a kite”)
Explain it to a Martian. . .
BRUSHING YOUR TEETH
ARRANGE THESE STEPS IN ORDER
1.
Rinse toothbrush
2.
Remove toothbrush from holder
3.
Wet toothbrush
4.
Rinse mouth
5.
Brush teeth
6.
Put toothpaste on toothbrush
7.
Put toothbrush in holder
(2,3,6,5,4,1,7)
Follow Steps in a Sequence
Keeping things in the
correct order is always
helpful, but in how-to
essays, it is critical.
Whether baking a cake or
programming a VCR, doing
things out of order can
result in failure.
In a how-to essay, the use
of the transition words
provides cues for the
reader as to the sequence
of steps.
The great Peanut Butter and Jelly Experiment
It is your turn to begin an expository essay with the explanation of how to make a
peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Remember, specifics and detailed instruction.
Before you begin, pair share with a partner about the best place to start, and
what steps should be considered.
"In a very real sense, the writer writes in order to
teach himself, to understand himself."
—Alfred Kazin, American literary critic and historian
How-to Essay
You encounter how-to instructions often in your daily life—in instruction
booklets, recipes, or lists of directions, just to name a few examples. In a
how-to essay, you explain how to do or make something. You break the
process down into logical steps and arrange those steps in the right order for
your reader to follow.
A successful how-to essay should explain its topic fully arrange steps in
proper chronological order provide clear explanations of any terms or
materials that may be unfamiliar to readers include charts, illustrations, or
diagrams as necessary to clarify complicated procedures
Considering Your Audience
How-to essays have a clearly defined purpose –
to explain the steps of a process or provide help
in using a product. However, they can have
many different audiences, or potential readers.
Identify your audience and consider how it will
affect your use of language and choice of
details.
Complete an Audience Profile
To help you identify and address the needs of your audience, create an audience
profile, a note card with information about your audience that you can refer back to
as you write. Following are questions to consider in creating your audience profile:
1.
2.
3.
Knowledge Level – How much does
my audience know about the topic?
Do they need a little or a lot of
information? What terms will I need
to define?
Age – What is the age of my
audience? If you are writing for
younger children, use simple
vocabulary. If you are writing for
adult readers, use more sophisticated
terms.
Skill Set – What skills do my readers
have? Does my audience understand
the basic skills required for the
process I am explaining? Should I
review those skills as well as cover
the specific steps of the procedure?
Drafting
SHAPING YOUR WRITING
Before you begin writing, organize your details. Because most how-to
essays describe a process that takes place over time, chronological order
is often the most effective organization.
PROVIDING ELABORATION
Whether you are writing a letter of complaint or a short story, the details
and explanations you include can improve your writing. Add facts,
descriptions, and details to help readers imagine the action or understand
the ideas you present. The SEE method is one of many strategies that can
help you strengthen your writing.
The SEE Method
Using the SEE Method You strengthen your writing by providing greater depth of
information when you use the SEE method—Statement, Extension, Elaboration.
Start with a statement of the main idea. Then, write an extension by restating or
explaining the first sentence. Elaborate further by providing even more detail
about the main idea. Think of the SEE method as a way to shed more light on your
subject:
STATEMENT:
After a long day, Andy was finally ready to leave.
EXTENSION:
At nearly eleven o’clock, he cleared his desk and grabbed his
keys.
As he walked out the door, he waved to the night watchman and
headed into the deserted parking lot.
ELABORATION:
APPLYING THE DRAFTING STRATEGIES
Write an interest-grabbing lead for a
description of a busy train station.
Complete the sentences below. Then, using the
SEE method, elaborate on each one.
1.
My favorite season is __?__.
2.
__?__ played an important role in history.