How to Write an Expository Essay

Writing an expository essay requires one to be conversant with doing thorough research and using a neutral tone. While researching may be the easy part, maintaining neutrality is a major challenge for most students. These expository essay guidelines will help you to observe these rules and write a high-quality paper.

What is an Expository Essay?

Before writing this type of paper, it is important to know what it is. An expository essay dissects a topic by defining it and analyzing all dimensions of the subject using factual information. This expository essay definition shows that it is similar to a research paper or a report that you may have written at one time in school. A major characteristic of this paper is that it has to conduct thorough research from reliable sources to avoid gossip and personal judgments.

How to Start an Expository Essay in Any Topic

The starting point of writing this type of essay is to determine the topic that you want to write about. Sometimes, one may have the freedom to select a topic while other times, it may be provided. If you have the freedom, research online and find out topics that interest you. Come up with at least three topics that you like the most. The next step is to determine whether the topics have sufficient information online. Select the topic that has sufficient information.

How to Write a Good Expository Essay

To write an informative, expository essay that will fetch high marks, you need to use evidence to support your arguments. For example, use statistics, charts, and examples. Ensure that you provide citations where necessary so that the reader knows that you have not faked the information. Rich examples give readers a broader understanding of the topic, and they help to confirm that your argument is real. For example, if you are writing about the future of cryptocurrencies, give real names of some of these currencies and show their trend.

3 Basic Tips for Writing an Expository Essay

It is important to know that you can approach this type of assignment in three ways. One of them is through giving the process of how to do something.

For example, you may write the process of purifying water if you are studying sciences. This involves giving a step by step explanation of what needs to be done before the other.

Cause-effect is the other type of expository paper you can write. In this assignment, you need to explain what causes the other. For example, explain how eating junk food may lead to poor health. Show how it leads to weight gain, diabetes, and other types of diseases.

Finally, you may write a compare and contrast type of essay. This involves discussing similarities and differences of at least two things. For example, you may compare and contrast the experience of reading a book with that of watching a movie about the text. Basically, before writing your assignment, start by determining what type it will be as this will guide you in knowing the information to search online.

How to Structure an Expository Essay

Before writing an expository essay, you should be conversant with how it is structured. Since it is similar to a regular report, this paper has three major sections. These include:

• Introduction
• Body
• Conclusion

Other important sections that you should include after you finish writing the above sections include:

• Bibliography
• Appendices
• Table of contents
• Headings and subheadings

Although these sections are not critical like the first three, they help to organize your paper so that it may look neat and interesting to read.

When creating the structure of an expository paper, you should distribute words evenly throughout the paper. All your paragraphs should be of almost equal length. You cannot have a paragraph with 2 lines followed by another one with 10 sentences. If you have this, it shows that you have not researched some ideas meticulously, and this may cause you to lose marks if your paper contributes to the final grade.

How to Prepare an Expository Essay Outline

The best way to write an essay fast is the first to create an outline of the whole paper. An outline shows what ideas you will discuss in the introduction, body, and conclusion. In the body of the essay, the outline indicates the points that will be discussed. Each point should be followed by a short statement of the main argument of that idea. For example, if you were writing about the causes of globalization, one of the main points would be technology. A statement of the main argument should then follow this; for example, you could state that you will discuss how the internet has globalized the planet. An outline saves you from wasting a lot of time when you start the research process.

Read more: 75 Expository Essay Topic Ideas

Tips for Writing an Expository Essay Introduction

An introduction is the first meeting between you and the person reading your paper. Therefore, it has to direct the reader so that he or she may be conversant with the topic you are discussing. It should inform the reader what to expect by giving a direction of the points that the paper will cover. An introduction has two main features.

• A brief background of the topic

You should assume that the reader does not have even the slightest idea of your topic, hence give a brief background of the subject. For example, if it is the issue of climate change, give some information such as the latest news about climate change. Such news should be relevant and supportive of what you will discuss in the body of the essay.

• Thesis statement

This gives the main argument of your paper. For example, you may argue that human actions are leading to climate change. After the thesis, state the ideas that you will discuss regarding this issue.

Expository Essay Body

This is the main section of your paper. It should be arranged in paragraphs, with each covering only one idea. If the paper is long, you may use subheadings to show various points. You may also use headings and subheadings to show different sections of a paper. For example, you may have headings for the history of climate change, the current situation, and the future. In the body, it is important to use citations as evidence of your arguments. Also, use quotes and examples to support the various points.

Expository Essay Conclusion

The conclusion is a summary of your main argument. It should not introduce new ideas, and it should not have citations. Start the conclusion by restating the thesis statement and then summarize the main points. Make sure that the summary is brief because you discussed the points in details in the body section of the paper.

How to End an Expository Essay

One of the major expository essay tips is to end the paper by giving recommendations. You may combine this section with the conclusion. However, in this case, ensure that the recommendations cover only one or two lines. Sometimes, the instructions of an assignment may ask you to write a separate section of recommendation. In this case, write it below the conclusion.

You may support the recommendations with a reference. After the recommendations, provide a bibliography of all the sources you have used in the paper. List the sources alphabetically and ensure that they follow the formatting style that is required in the paper.

If you have sources that you used to find information that the reader could benefit from by reading, provide them in the appendices below the reference list. Each appendix should appear on a separate page, and it should indicate the source. You may give a link to the source to make it easier to locate these materials.

Do You Need Help Writing an Expository Essay?

Proceed to write your expository paper, but if you are stuck, our pro essay writers are ready to help. Do you have a topic? If yes, provide us with it and give us instructions to help write your paper. If you don’t have a topic yet, we will help you select a good one and write a quality paper about it.