Knowing how to write an expository essay has become one of the most crucial academic lessons in schools and colleges. If you are a student, you should know how to write an expository essay.
As a student myself, I know sometimes it gets very irritating when you do not find all the required materials in front of you while expository writing.
Writing an expository essay is not a walk in the park. Suppose you are looking to write a well-structured expository essay for your assignment. In that case, I highly suggest you read this article to the end, as through this article, I will be telling you all the nitty-gritty of writing an expository essay.
But before we begin, let us first take a look at what an expository essay is.
What Does The Term ‘Expository Essay’ Mean?
As the name suggests, the word expository has come from the word exposition, which means to expose information. An expository essay is much like an explanatory essay where a topic is dealt with by going into its details and specificities.
All in all, an expository essay delves deep into investigating an idea and provides relevant argumentative information for it; all of it is done by keeping an academic style intact. It includes clear language so that normal people are able to comprehend it.
What Are The Types Of Expository Writing?
When it comes to expository writing, there are mainly five types.
1. Comparison Essay
A comparison essay is an essay where two subject matters are compared; after comparing, the finding is further explained.
2. Process Essay
These kinds of essays generally include ‘how to’ guides. Process essays are mainly written with the sole purpose of teaching and learning.
3. Problem And Solution Essay
Problem and Solution Essays are some of the most popular forms of expository essays. In this essay, a problem is addressed, and the solution for the same is also given.
4. Descriptive Essay
Descriptive Essays are mainly an essay where the essay writer describes something in detail. And descriptive essays give the essay writer a lot of freedom in regards to context.
5. Cause And Effect Essay
Cause and effect expository essays deal with how and why things happened. The introduction of such essays is filled with problems, and the solutions are given throughout the Body.
What Is An Expository Essay Structure?
Just like other forms of essay writing, expository essays have a structure that has to be maintained by the essay writer. Most universities follow the MLA format and follow 5 paragraph writing.
- Introduction
- 1st Body
- 2nd Body
- 3rd Body
- Conclusion
How To Write An Expository Essay In 5 Easy Steps?
Now that you know what an expository essay means, its different types, and its structure. It is now the perfect time to learn how to write it in 5 Steps.
Step 1: Prewriting Stage
This prewriting process. You must have a firm knowledge of what you are writing. I would suggest you only choose topics that you have first-hand experience with within the real world.
This is where you brainstorm. However, if you have expository essay writing as part of an assignment, you would have no control over choosing the topic. In that case, you must conduct research on the topic.
In this day and age, almost everybody has access to the Internet, so you can take its help to research your topic. You must only provide all the important and relevant information in regards to your topic.
Step 2: Structuring The Outline
Structuring a proper essay outline is mandatory; without a structure, you will not know where to give what kind of information.
You can’t just put your thoughts in any way you like; you have to arrange them in a logical sequence. Structuring an outline makes the whole process of essay writing a lot easier. Your expository essay must include:
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Intro of one paragraph
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Body of 3 paragraphs
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Conclusion
Step 3: Making The Draft
Before making a fair copy, I would suggest you create a draft. The main purpose of creating a draft is to ensure that you can experiment. If you have already got the structure figured out, making a draft would not be a problem.
You should pay very close attention while making a draft. Give informative outlines that are relevant to your topic. Making a draft does not mean that you can exceed the word limit. Try to Keep the draft within 1000 words. Most colleges and universities want the expository essay to be wrapped up within 1000 words.
Step 4: Editing And Proofreading
Editing is one of the most important steps while writing an expository essay. Editing generally comes when you are already done with making the draft. Since your draft is not a fair copy, you will need to eliminate all the unnecessary information and make it short and sweet.
You need to polish your draft until it looks perfect. You have to ensure that whatever you have written is in line with the topic that has been provided to you. And you also need to make sure that you have maintained the word limit.
I would highly suggest you check for all the grammatical mistakes and punctuation errors. If you are writing the essay on a computer, I would suggest you use tools like Grammarly. Your essay should also be plagiarism-free; for that, you can use software like Copyscape and Quetext.
Step 5: Revision And Submission
This is the last step of writing an expository essay but an important one nonetheless; this the part where you revise the whole essay and make a fair copy. Your expository essay should be able to engage the readers. After revising, you can finally submit it.
Final Thoughts On Expository Essay
There you go, those were the steps for writing a well-structured expository essay. I hope you have got some insights on writing an explanatory essay from this article.
I hope you have found this article informative. If you have any further queries or feedback in regards to this article, consider leaving a comment down below.
