How to Successfully Write an
Expository Essay
Ms. Williams
English III
The Introduction
When writing your expository essay, follow these eight basic steps:
• Select a topic:
Be sure the topic is narrow enough to make it manageable within the
space of an essay
• "Should abortion be legal?"
• Write a thesis sentence:
Be sure the thesis statement(or sentence) expresses a controlling idea that
is neither too broad nor too specific to be developed effectively
• Yes, abortion should be legal because people should have
the right to choose to be parents."
• Select a method of development:
Check through all the methods before you finally settle on the one
which will best serve your thesis:
• definition | example | compare and contrast |
cause and effect | classification | process analysis
Thesis Statement
• It's important for your thesis to be arguable and not
clear cut when writing an expository writing essay. The
best way to tell if your thesis is arguable is to think of a
possible counterthesis.
• For this example, a counterthesis would be "No,
abortion should not be legal because abortion is
murder and the baby has the right to life."
• Your thesis statement should come slightly after your
analytical question at the end of your introduction or in
your first body paragraph.
Find Evidence to Support Your Thesis
• The next step is to find evidence from multiple sources
to support your thesis. A good expository writing essay
will provide evidence to support its thesis as well as
strong arguments to refute a counter-thesis that may
exist. You should provide evidence from experts that
supports your thesis and then add your own ideas and
thoughts.
• It's also important to use direct quotations whenever
possible. Your evidence should be incorporated into
your body paragraphs and each body paragraph should
have a main idea that supports your thesis.
Write topic sentences for the body
paragraphs of the essay:
• For each body paragraph, furnish a topic
sentence that directly relates to the thesis
sentence
• Each body paragraph should tackle one key idea.
• Support each of your ideas in every body
paragraph with relevant facts and figures. Avoid
repeating facts in different paragraphs as it will
make your essay look as though it was not
carefully planned. Place facts whenever needed.
Write the body paragraphs of the
essay:
• Each body paragraph should develop the
primary support covered in that paragraph's
topic sentence
Furnish a paragraph of introduction:
• An introductory paragraph should state the
thesis of the essay, introduce the divisions in
the body paragraphs of the essay, and gain the
interest of the reader
Write a paragraph of conclusion:
• Restate the thesis and divisions of the essay
– Bring the essay to an appropriate and effective close
– Avoid digressing into new issues
– Your conclusion should briefly summarize the
strongest points in your essay and leave the reader
with no doubt in his mind that your thesis is true. It's
important to avoid introducing any new pieces of
information in your conclusion. Always try to be bold
in your conclusion and leave the reader walking away
with a strong sense of why your thesis is true.
RUBRIC
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4- Student presents a final product that demonstrates a thorough understanding of
the writing process providing evidence of effective strategies in each step. It is obvious
that the student can self-assess in order to revise and edit for a final product.
3- Student presents a final product that demonstrates a general understanding of the
writing process. The evidence may be somewhat sketchy – with fewer drafts or little
significant change from one draft to another. One step of the writing process may be
less evidenced than the others (e.g. the prewriting may be a simple list of just 3 topics
and little else.)
2- Student presents a final product that demonstrates a minimal understanding of the
writing process. There may be steps missing – or no evidence of the steps is produced.
The student may be able to explain how he revised or edited, but explanations may
be simplistic such as “I checked it over for mistakes and there weren’t any” or “I read it
over and it made sense to me” – in other words the student failed to make
substantive changes through the writing process but did address the process.
1- There is little to no evidence that the student can use the writing process. Steps are
missing and the final product is ineffective so that it is evident that revising or editing
were not addressed.
0- Student does not attempt the task.