If you have been asked by your lecturer to find out about something and provide explanations in details through writing, then you have indeed been involved in some form of research. You have also engaged in creating one of the expository essay examples. Basically, research is the foundation for writing an expository essay. As a student, you may be wondering what kind of an essay is this and how do you even write it? Well, to begin with, it does not matter your course or the unit you are undertaking at the university. At some point, you will have to write an essay anyway.

Understanding how to write an essay is central to understanding what the essay is all about. In this case, an expository essay is one among the popular essay written in the learning institutions.

What is an Expository Essay?

This is a type of essay which requires research that looks into ideas and the topic to be addressed. Essentially, research is the basis of this type of essay. In the course of the research, supportive evidence and gathering of the most important information is done. The subsequent step is when the collected information is the presentation of the information as either a viewpoint or data through a topic. To write an expository essay, a number of methods can be used. Such methods are: comparisons and contrasting of the data gathered, through establishing the cause and effect, or through the provision of relevant examples. In summary, the expository essay is a research-based essay that exposes to the audience the information they need to know about an issue or a subject.

Writing a Great Expository Essay

Writing an essay is a challenging task that requires a student to be skillful and conversant with some basic methods. Just like riding a bicycle, it takes time to master such skills in addition to a lot of practice. Examples of expository essays have been provided to help a student write. This article is however based on one of the common techniques that have been used by many great writers to produce excellent articles. POET is synonymous with most expository essay samples.

Establishing a Purpose (P)

  • When writing an expository, essay, it is worth to remember that they all must have a purpose and for that reason, it is imperative that you establish one. Normally, topics are assigned to the students by their teachers, but at times they are also given the freedom to choose for themselves the topic they want to write about. Selecting a topic for oneself requires great care and precision; otherwise you might find yourself with a topic that is too wide or too narrow to fit within the scope of an expository essay.
  • In situations whereby a topic has been chosen by the lecturer, it is advisable that a student should pay keen attention to the verbs that are used. Such verbs could be requiring them to contrast and compare, to do analysis or establish the connection between the concepts that the student is exploring.
  • Still, on the subject, it is also good to consider that a good expository essay is not only consistent all through but also stays the course; it never strays away from the focal point and the purpose for which it is written.

Organizing the Expository Essay (O)

  • The organization which is denoted by letter ‘O’ is very central when it comes to writing an expository essay. Indeed, there are considerable factors such as starting the paper with paragraphs that are precise and have key points, ideas, and concepts. The introductory paragraph, for example, should be the pacesetter for the entire document with the thesis statement included in it. More importantly, the opportunity to grab the reader’s attention is contained within this first paragraph.
  • A good example of expository essay is one which is organized well with various paragraphs in addition to giving descriptions of pieces of evidence which support it. There should also be a good connection between such pieces and the purpose for which the article is written. All these should be well elaborated within the body of the essay.
  • Providing a conclusion. This basically ending the paper with a summary or a paragraph which condenses major points discussed in the paper by once again highlighting them. When writing this section, the key consideration is the connection of the paragraphs to the thesis statement provided earlier. No new idea or thought should be issued at this point other than a summation of the major points.

Evidence for the Expository Essay (E)

  • Expository essay samples that have passed the academic test do not just project the thesis statements alone but they also use the external sources and other relevant materials to back up the claim made by the writers.
  • Another important factor to consider when providing evidence is the credibility if the source you are using. They must not only be trustworthy but reputable too. There are sources which are misleading and providing false information which when used might compromise the quality if the paper and the image of the writer too.
  • Recognition of the used sources is also a factor to be considered. Credibility and pieces of evidence is provided for through citation and reference in accordance with the style used. If you are using APA or HAVARD or CHICAGO, remember to cite the sources in accordance with these styles, provide the reference page or the bibliography.

Thesis Statement for Expository Essay (T)

  • What pushes your paper? Of course, it is the thesis. A claim is very substantial when it comes to passing one’s idea across to the readers. The main point that the readers will dwell on is not the content but the thesis itself. For that reason, it is should be supported by each and every paragraph
  • As you write the expository essay, the beginning paragraph should have the thesis statement; however, the statement should be possibly placed at the very last section of the paragraph.
  • One of the common mistakes that writers make and as evidenced in some example of expository essay is to prompt their readers by writing directly the purpose, good writing skills demand that the readers should figure out the purpose by reading the article and not by being directly told. Statements such as ‘this is the purpose’ should be avoided as much as possible.

Example of a Prompting Statement in a Thesis

When told to do a description of how online gambling has affected the youth within the campuses, a good thesis statement shouldn’t be too obvious and shallow. In this case, a weaker thesis statement would read as follows;

Online gambling is bad for the youths in learning institutions’

A stronger thesis on the other hand should reads as ‘Even though internet has provided the youth with a lot of innovative opportunities, students should regulate the use especially where their sole purpose to access the internet is to bet because this inhibits creativity and exposes them to problem gambling which is a bad condition in itself.’

Also, students should consider that the final paper to be handed in must be proofread and necessary changes effected. These could be grammar mistakes, spellings and even omission of some key elements which completes the work. It is also advised that a student starts writing by creating a draft; he or she edits that copy severally until when he or she finally arrives at the final document.

The secret to understanding what is an expository essay lies with great writing skills that have been discussed above. Additionally, the steps are useful considering that every essay must have a logical flow and a predictable organization.

More Ideas on Writing about Expository Essay

Given that this type of writing is basically an exposition that discloses more information to the readers; examples of expository essays have been given to guide the writers and to enhance their understanding of the process of creating an article to that effect. Among the articles that you have probably come across which in essence common in the public domain include articles of the newspapers, manuals explaining how-to-do, and academic articles.

Presenting the Facts, for Expository Essay

Being that expository essay is all about facts, any factual task you are asked to present could be just it. It factors nothing like bias opinion but elements that are provable, that are verifiable and that are supported by other credible authors. Among the most important points to keep in mind as you undertake the task of expository essay writing is getting rid of an assumption that the readers have knowledge about the topic being discussed.

Expository Essay Example

Money and Happiness

In life sometimes we get attached to things that give us happiness. Such things could be of sentimental value to us. Whenever we go out to shop or buys a few products, there is always a reason for that. Imagine a situation whereby your wife has not received any gift from you and then one day you walk into a jewelry shop and buy her some nice earrings, that would be awesome and she would not only keep the gift but most of the times, she will put it on just to let you see how much she likes the gift. In essence, some objects cause great happiness to people, and it does not matter whether they are receiving such or whether they are the ones giving out such.

Money, for example, can be a great gift to some making them so happy. When they receive money, they feel good about it. Loss of it could as well be a great source of sadness for some people. When you have enough financially, then you will be able to visit places you have never been to during your holidays. You can also take your family out on a tour and have a good time with them. Of all the material objects, you will agree that money is loved more than any other object. This is why people dedicate almost their entire lives working just to accumulate more money and be able to take care of their so-called financial needs.

You will be able to fulfill some of your needs and self-actualize when you have security, happiness and you have met your social needs; in as much as it is said that money is not necessarily the happiness, it indeed contributes to larger extent a person’s happiness because it enables one to have a sense of security besides meeting the social needs. Another importance of money is that it helps people get medical solutions to their ailments which otherwise would not be possible without it. Some diseases are just too expensive to treat or manage, but with enough money, people can do so. How about investment opportunities? Money plays a central role in investments. With enough money, one is able to start any kind of business he or she wishes in addition to purchasing properties that will generate income for him or her.

Think about cars, the airplanes and even private hotels owned by some individuals, it all because they have money. Not only do such properties excite but they also add to family happiness especially when one is able to take good care of the need of their family; some marriages have broken up due to lack of money. With private chopper and cars, not only is the convenience enhanced but also it is part of self-fulfillment for them.

How about the palatial homes and serene environments or lovely neighborhoods? Every person would wish to live in such an environment not only because it looks cool but because of so many reasons such as privacy, security and even health benefits. All these are enabled with the stable financial condition and sufficient money.

Just as explained before, money is not the sole source of happiness; it can indeed create a good sense of feeling including one’s security. When used rightfully, money can bring about stability in our lives and take care of some of the things which make us unhappy.

Conclusion

The above is one of the expository essay examples that provide a basic idea about the essay. The structure also answers what is an expository essay in addition to providing writing tips.