How to Write Good Expository Essays
Before you can start writing expository essays, you have to understand what are expository essays and what they entail. An expository essay is an essay that requires one to find out more about an idea through research, go deep into it and come up with a clear argument about the idea. A comparison is necessitated when it comes to the writing of a great expository essay because one has to analyze and come up with clear points for argument on the idea. The main aim of expository essays is an explanation of facts as it involves, comparing, discussing, telling a story and making analysis.First, you should be able to write a thesis statement at the start of every paragraph.
A thesis statement is a short sentence that contains the points of what you are going to write on in summary form. Your thesis statement should be concise and direct in that the reader can be able to understand what the paragraph is going to talk about on the topic. The importance of the thesis statement is that it guides the reader to know what he or she will expect in the body by giving them a rough idea. A good thesis statement covers all the points to be discussed in a clear manner, and it should not be more than a sentence.A clear transition between the parts of your essay is significant when it comes to the writing prompts of expository essays.
Read also: The best ways to start off an essay.
Expository essays, just like other essays, are usually subdivided into three parts; the introduction which usually comes first, the body which contains the content and the conclusion which summarizes all the points discussed. For you to come up with a good expository essay, you have to understand how to link the three main parts of the essay; the reader should be able to know that this is the introduction, the body and the conclusion through your crafting of words. An introduction should be a short background story about the topic that is to be discussed. The introduction should also contain a description of the topic, in brief, to enable the reader to understand what the topic is all about. After the introduction, the next step is the body, which happens to be the main agenda in the essay. You should be able to reflect on your writing that you are done with the introduction and have moved to the body of the essay and this is usually done by a small thesis after the introductory paragraph. The body should contain all the points, and each point should be supported by any evidence to make it factual and convince the readers.
After the body you should come to a conclusion and the reader should be able to know that that’s the conclusion. You can link your body with the conclusion by using transitional words for expository essays that suggest you are about to finish your essay, such as ‘to finish with’ or ‘in conclusion’ and this will help you have a good conclusion for your essay. When you introduce your last paragraph with such words, the reader will be prepared to come to an end of the essay.
There are different types of conclusions that you can apply when it comes to crafting of your expository essay, first you can decide to write a summary of all the points in the body for your conclusion, and it would be okay. Another method is by giving a lesson and recommendations to the points in your body paragraph, and this will also be nice. The conclusion is fundamental as it determines the impression that you will create in the reader’s mind about your whole essay. A bad conclusion will make you fail in your essay, but even with little content and a good conclusion, you might end up scoring highly in your essay. So, the transition from different parts of the essay is key as it enables the reader to flow while reading through your essay and all this is made successful through the use of the transitional words.
Each paragraph in the body should be limited to one idea so that every idea is put in its paragraph. Proper arrangement of the ideas in the paragraphs improves the clarity of your work and hence smooth flow. Creativity is important when it comes to the content of your essay because most expository essays written by students are usually abrupt and limited to certain time frame thus not allowing time for fetching of factual evidence to support one’s arguments. When you have a creative mind, you can be able to come up with persuasive evidence by not necessarily investigating and it will turn out to be convective. Therefore, creativity is important in crafting of your essay.
Examples of expository essays
For you to be smart in writing of expository essays you should be able to go through samples of expository essays for 5th grade. A sample will mainly help you to know how appropriate the format of the essay is because it is more of a practical lesson. When you go through various samples, you will not only get ideas on different topics but also understand how to apply different techniques to improve your writing skills. There are various sources where you can get free samples of expository writing, and its writing prompts. The first reliable source is the internet. On the internet, there are various articles and journals that contain different samples for expository writing. Examples of expository essays are also available in books. Therefore, you are not limited to access any of the above resources as this will help you improve your writing.
Helpful Hints – Essay Writing Examples for College Students.
Types of expository essays
There are 5 types of expository essays that you need to know to classify yours and stick to what it entails.
- Process writing – in this type, the writer is required to have a procedural step on how to do something. A good example of a process essay is writing a recipe; a writer has to understand what comes first and last and order them to necessitate a flow.
- Cause and effect writing – in writing of this kind of expository essay the writer should understand the causes of a certain activity and its effects on the environment or people. A good example is writing about the causes and effects of deforestation. The writer should be able to highlight the cause of the problem and its impacts so that they are dependent on each other in that for something to occur there has to be a reason behind its occurrence, and at the same time after it has occurred there has to be an impact for the same.
- Comparison writing – when it comes to comparison writing this involves comparison of two things, and in this case, the writer will have to come up with the similarities and differences on the topic. In this type, the writer can decide to major on either side or even both sides but it is good to come to a stand by the end of your writing and persuade the reader why do you think that is right.
- Classification essay – in classification essay the writer uses the similarities of objects and their differences to classify items into different groups.
- Definition essay – this particular essay involves defining of a common term that turns out to be challenging to most people. In most cases, the name might have different meanings and therefore bring about some confusion to people due to different understanding of the concept and the essay here is usually aimed at clarifying the term and concept considered.
- Problem and solution essay- in this case, the writer is purposed to analyze the problem critically at hand and give powerful ideas on its mitigation measures to the reader. This type of essays usually goes hand in hand with cause and effect essay.
Topics of expository essays
You can quickly identify an expository essay through the topic allocated to the essay. There are several ideas for expository essay writing and hence a variety of topics. For you to come up with a good expository essay you have to consider the topic because it is linked to the points available and the more the points, the easier the writing. Some of the topics in expository writing include: How can unemployment challenge in the society be handled?
The causes and effects of pollution amongst others.
Some of the topics are limited when it comes to the expression of points and therefore call for more creativity, and once the topic is complex, it even becomes harder for you to flow your points in the essay. So, the selection of a good topic is a guarantee of successful writing. Sometimes you may find yourself in a situation where you are required to choose a topic; it’s good to go for a topic with clear points to score highly. Expository writing is almost unavoidable, and therefore you should be able to understand how to write a good expository essay to survive and excel.
Look at this now – Writing Great Narrative Essays.
