Expository Writing

Expository Writing Modes of Discourse Definition Types The Thesis Statement Structure/Parts

Crafting an outline • Identify Topic: put it in your own words to show your individual understanding. • Main Points: What are the main ideas you want to convey or need to convince your audience? • Arrange your main points in a logical order and list them in the outline. • Create sub-points beneath each major idea • Think of a hook for intro and an explosive end.

Modes of Discourse • Exposition • Persuasion (Argument) • Narration • Description seeks to convince a reader about a particular idea, usually one that you believe in. tells a story. These essays are often anecdotal, experiential, and personal is used to explain something in detail. It employs the major senses of the body to create a vivid mental image

General Information • A statement or type of composition intended to give information about (or an explanation of) an issue, subject, method, or idea. • An expository essay is a piece of writing where the writer presents opinions, points of view, ideas, concepts, arguments on a particular topic.

General Information • "[Exposition is one] of the traditional classifications of discourse that has as a function to inform or to instruct or to present ideas and general truths objectively. Exposition uses all of the common organizational patterns such as definition, analysis, classification, cause and effect, etc. - (Linda Woodson, "Exposition." A Handbook of Modern Rhetorical Terms. NCTE, 1979)

Expository Essay Categories • Essay to Explain a Process • Essay of Comparison/Contrast • Cause/Effect Essay • Essay of Definition • Problem/Solution Essay

Characteristics of a Thesis Statement • It is a sentence. • It names the topic of your paper and contains an assumption about your topic -- in other words, you are saying something about the topic that is an opinion-based statement. • It is debatable -- it is not merely factual or obvious but requires convincing proof of its validity. • It is specific. • It controls everything that goes into your paper.

Sample Thesis Formulas

Process analysis OUTCOME involves ____, ____, and ____. • Creating a fabulous meal involves planning, planning and more planning!

Compare/Contrast • A look at _____(objects of comparison) in terms of _____(the points of comparison) shows that (general finding). • A look at the PC and the Mac in terms of functionality shows that the Mac is a superior computer.

Cause/Effect • {Effect} happens as a result of {Cause}. Poverty happens as a result of lack of education. • {Effect} (verb) {Cause A, Cause B, and Cause C}. Lack of Education impacts people’s lifetime finances, their career choices, and the overall quality of their lives. • {Cause} brings about {Effect}. Lack of education brings about a nation of ill informed citizens, many of whom are poor. • {Cause} (verb) {Effect A, Effect B, and Effect C}. Lack of education impacts one’s ability to participate in society, to provide for one’s family, and to move up in the world.

Definition • _____ (term) is not ____ (surface meaning), but rather, it is ____ (class and distinguishing characteristics). • Joy is not about being happy, but rather, it is about being glad to be with someone no matter what emotional state they are in.

Middle -- Body

The supporting paragraphs present the main points or reasons supporting your thesis. They are the heart of the essay. • Structure of the supporting paragraphs should include: • Claim • Evidence • Elaboration

A CLAIM is the topic sentence. • You can make a claim by beginning each paragraph in one of the following ways: • Using a quotation • Semicolon Claim • A Rhetorical question • A List of Phrases • A List of Words • To, Plus a Verb • However statements • Power (number) Statements • Occasion/Position Statements

A CLAIM is the topic sentence. • Using a QuotationAlthough I usually appreciate the advice I receive from my grandmother, I wish that she would follow the advise of Horace: “Whatever advice you give, be short.” • Semicolon Claim Sentence Buying a car is exciting; it’s also stressful. • A Rhetorical Question What is your school doing to improve test scores? Our school has purchased an exciting new literacy program.

A CLAIM is the topic sentence. • A List of Phrases Problems with the new school include: poor ventilation, small classrooms, inadequate lighting, limited parking. • A List of WordsAll college students need money, friends, and encouragement. • To, Plus a VerbTo win at chess, players need to master three skills.

A CLAIM is the topic sentence. • However statements The new rules for the school cafeteria seemed unfair to the students; however, the rules have made the cafeteria a better place to eat lunch. • Occasion/Position StatementsEven though bike helmets are sometimes unfashionable and uncomfortable, all cyclists should wear them.

Types of Evidence Used to Support a Claim • Factual Example (FE) • Expert Testimony (ET) • Statistic (S) • Personal/Anecdotal Experience (PE or AE) • Commonly Held Assumption/Belief (A/B) • Author Opinion (AO)

Types of Evidence Used to Support a Claim • Factual Example - An example presented as a reliable “fact” to support the author’s claim, although there is no source offered to prove its truth. • Expert Testimony (ET) - Either a quotation or a summary from an individual person or professional agency with • Expertise • Experience • Knowledge of the topic. • Statistic (S) - Evidence that cites specific numbers/percentages/dates. This evidence may or may not be a part of expert testimony. • Personal/Anecdotal Experience (PE) or (AE) - A story from the author’s personal history or observations used in support of the main idea. • Commonly Held Assumption/Belief (A/B) - An inclusive statement presented about human nature or human behavior as if all readers would be in agreement with the author. • Author Opinion (AO) - A statement regarding the author’s personal beliefs without proof.

Elaboration • Elaboration is your commentary on how the evidence supports the claim. • Your elaboration should leave the reader thinking about and contemplating the claim you made in the paragraph.

A Conclusion Should: • Stress the importance of the thesis statement. • Give the essay a sense of completeness. • Leave a final impression on the reader.

Suggestions for Concluding Your Essay

CONCLUSION • Answer the question: So What? • Show your readers why this paper is/was important. • Show them that your paper was meaningful and useful. • Synthesize, don’t summarize • Don’t simply repeat things that were in your paper. • Show them how the points in you made and the support and examples you used were not random, but fit together. • Redirect your readers • Give your readers something to think about, perhaps a way to use your paper in the “real” world. • Your conclusion should go from specific to general. • Think globally.

CONCLUSION • Create a new meaning • You don’t have to give new information to create a new meaning. • By demonstrating how your ideas work together, you can create a new picture. • Often the sum of the paper is worth more than its parts. • Echoing the introduction: • Echoing the introduction can be a good strategy if it is meant to bring the reader full circle. • If you begin by describing a scenario, you can end with the same scenario as proof that your essay was helpful in creating a new understanding. • Challenging the reader: • By issuing a challenge to your readers, you are helping them to redirect the information in the paper, and they may apply it to their own lives.

CONCLUSION • Looking to the future: • Looking to the future can emphasize the importance of your paper or redirect the readers’ thought process. • It may help them apply the new information to their lives or to see things more globally. • Posing Questions: • Posing questions, either to your readers or in general, may help your readers gain a new perspective on the topic, which they may not have held before reading your conclusion. • It may also bring your main ideas together to create a new meaning.

Rhetorical Appeals: Used to Appeal to Your Audience • Logos: a deliberate appeal to the reader’s sense of logic, need for factual proof or reasonable sense. • Ethos: A presentation of the writer’s credibility or a deliberate attack on the credibility of another author. A conscientious appeal to the reader’s appreciation of credentials and or professional experience. • Pathos: A deliberate appeal to the reader’s emotions. Common emotions appealed to by writers include: pity, sympathy, guilt, compassion, love, etc.

SOURCES: • Writer’s Inc. by Sebranek, Kemper, and Meyer • ERWC course of study, California State University • Step Up to Writing by Aumen - jms2013

Expository Writing