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How to Write an Expository Essay

An expository essay is a type of paper, in which a student is supposed to set a concrete argument and then support it within the text. It is strongly recommended to plan your paper before writing it.

As an essay writer, you need to find a good analytical question and create a powerful thesis statement. We hope this writing guide will help you do your essay fast. And if by any chance you couldn’t be able to write a first-class essay on time, we have a quick fix that will help you fulfill the task up to the mark.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • What Is an Expository Essay?
    • Outline
    • Purpose
  • 5 Main Types of Expository Writing
  • How to Write an Expository Essay in 6 Easy Steps
    • 1. Topic brainstorm 
    • 2. Data gathering and fact-checking 
    • 3. Thesis statement writing
    • 4. Drafting 
    • 5. Editing and proofreading 
    • 6. Writing a conclusion
  • Expository Essay Examples
  • Professional Hands-on Essay Writing Help

What is an Expository Essay?

An expository essay is a type of written discourse that serves the purpose of explaining, describing, and providing information to the reader. This is a simple expository essay definition. Expository essays can also be accurately termed the ”information” or ”informative” essays.

Outline

The common method of writing an expository essay is a 5-paragraph approach. However, this is not the only expository essay outline formula for writing expository essays but it provides a basic and clear outline for easy reading. 

The following expository essay format gives the expository essay an introduction, 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion, hence the name is a 5-paragraph approach. Basically, the paragraphs entail:

  • Introduction.

The introduction brings up the main thoughts of the essay and can be a great tool to capture your reader. It also contains a thesis statement.

  • Body paragraphs.

The body paragraphs discuss and provide in-depth information to the reader regarding the mentioned topic. Your thoughts should flow well, and get interesting one after the other to keep your reader interested in wanting to know more. Analyzed events of situations should be reviewed from several sources to make the essay stay focused on the context and be objective.

  • Conclusion.

The conclusion echoes your introduction by showing that the introductory statement has been verified or explained in detail. The conclusion in your essay should never come as a surprise to the reader as it needs to easily come out from the essay.

The expository essay structure has to be well connected to not leave your reader guessing what you meant. Keep your message clear and the writing on point.

Purpose

The main goals of an expository essay may be expressed by the following statements:

  • An expository essay performs the analysis of a concrete concept.
  • An expository essay is about an event, situation, or scientific work.
  • An expository essay explains some instructions or describes how things should be done.

Depending on expository essay topics that students choose, you might want to pick one of the most commonly used expository essay writing protocols, which are the following.

5 Main Types of Expository Writing

By and large, there are 5 main approaches to how to write an expository essay.

Problem and Solution

Identify a problem and offer a solution – this is one of the best methods of writing an expository essay. It’s quite simple in terms of text structure and easy-to-understand for your readers.

Cause and Effect

Choose an event and highlight why did it happen, what exactly happened, and what the consequences were. You can also offer your personal take on this event and provide your own speculations on a subject.

Compare and Contrast

Comparing and contrasting two points of view, for example, personalities, companies, or events, is one of the ways to write an expository essay. Mind that you have to develop the two contrasting points equally well.

Definitions and Classifications

The goal of this expository essay writing approach is to explain what a certain thing is and describe how many types of this thing are there. Explaining what is a expository essay and defining how many types of expository essays there are is an example of the Definitions and Classifications writing approach. 

How-to/Process

The key point of this type of expository essay is to explain to readers how a certain thing is done. For example, this article about how to write an expository essay is done using the How-to/process approach.

How to Write an Expository Essay in 6 Easy Steps

Expository essays usually follow a specific writing pattern. Here are steps a student needs to take in order to create a substantial expository essay.

Keep the main topic in mind, don’t drift off

The topic is expected to be easy enough, but try not to make it too general or too narrow. And if you have a choice of the subject, try something interesting and new. Select a topic that is exciting to read and avoid those ones that are difficult to write on.

Collect the facts, do the background research

In the first place remember to mention the facts from reliable sources like peer-reviewed journals, books, and newspapers. It is a great idea to use statistics, research findings, chronicles of previous events and historical facts – everything that will provide your reader with a broad picture of the topic you have chosen.

Define your thesis statement

Try to use this statement in the first paragraph. You may also mention your thesis statement in the last sentence of your essay. If you put it in your first paragraph, you should dwell on it in greater detail in subsequent sentences. If you decide to put the statement at the end, make sure the sentences preceding it are logically connected with one another, and gradually lead the reader to your thesis statement.

Group the facts in body paragraphs

Each body paragraph should offer one main idea. Use relevant facts and figures in each body paragraph. Avoid repeating the same facts in different paragraphs.

Use transition sentences between paragraphs

You should finish one paragraph logically and then transit into the next one, making your entire text coherent and logical. If you don’t do this, your essay will lose its flow and structure.

Make a conclusion

The conclusion of the essay sums up the essay and reiterates its main thoughts. Try not to repeat what you mentioned in your introduction to avoid redundancy in your text.

Expository Essay Examples

[sample-1] [sample-2] [sample-3]

Need Any Hands-on Expository Essay Writing Help?

You’ve already learned what is an expository essay and what the main writing hints are. Also, we’ve provided you with some of the best expository essay examples of works we did for our customers and those who agreed to share them with our online community.

What’s next? If you want to write an essay on your own, we’ll be very glad that you’ll be using our free tips.

But what if you don’t feel like writing an expository essay right now?

We know that many students have this mid-semester stress and anxiety. Also, as professional expository writers, we know that writer’s block is something to deal with.

That said, we’d like to offer you more practical expository essay writing help that will save your time and offer a chance to enjoy an evening with less homework to do. In addition, you could get a pretty awesome grade for your essay too.

Contact us now for details and let’s sort your expository essay problem together with the help of expert academic writers!

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J.K. Garcia: <strong>Name:</strong> J.K. Garcia <strong>Education:</strong> University of California San Diego (UCSD) <strong>Current occupation:</strong> Senior editor for PrivateWriting.com, academic writer, and education blogger with more than 170 published articles. <strong>Recent works:</strong> “Full List of the Most Trending Argumentative Essay Topics”, “Descriptive Essay: A Closer Look at Descriptive Essay Writing”, “Definition Essay: A Powerful Guide to Writing an Excellent Paper”, “12 Steps to Writing a Research Proposal”, “The Contribution of Academic Institution in Children’s Well-Being”, “Home Schooling is an Ideal Way to Obtain Quality Education”, “Download Sites Violate Copyright Rules”, “Bullets in Victim’s Head: Hate Crime or Parking Space”, “Scholarly Articles Broaden the Student’s Outlook”, “Commemorating Pi on 3/14/15”, “Honesty is Sometimes Not the Best Policy”, “What Education Do You Need to Become a Master Chef?” Hobbies: Scuba diving, sphynx cats, European football, fine arts. <strong>About me:</strong> I work full-time as a senior content editor for an education platform Private Writing. As a freelancer, I contribute to blogs and online magazines in the fields I’m interested in, which include sports, arts, education, and animals, to name a few. My writing skills are diverse and engaging, giving me an opportunity to write in different styles and genres. I have put on several roles as a writer, from a guest blogger to an editor in chief for an academic writing company. Today it feels like the role of a senior editor suits me the best giving me an opportunity to work and supervise many talented writers enabling them to grow as professionals. My biggest accomplishments as a writer are to always go through with my assignments until the end and giving out 110% of what I’ve got until the final result lives up to the expectations. This one time a colleague of mine, a novice writer with a huge potential in academic writing, approached me for a piece of advice on how to be a better author. This gave me a huge boost of inspiration to be a better mentor for my fellow writers and be a more accomplished author when it comes to my own writing. I’m a native English speaker, also well-versed in Spanish and French, which are both my second languages thanks to my father’s ancestors being half Mexican and French. I read a lot of books and blogs to keep my skills on point. I’m a strong believer in the theory that the English language is an ever-evolving organism that changes every minute. So to keep up with the changes it’s necessary to read a lot in order to be up to speed.