Expository Writing

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Expository Writing

• Mr. Lamar

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Give it to me straight

• Expository writing is used to
• Inform and explain
• State factual information
• Show cause and effect
• Analyze a process
• Classify information
• Compare and contrast

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How do you know that you will be writing an
expository essay?

• Things to look for in your prompts
• Example 1 Write an essay discussing the
  relative strengths and weaknesses of one
  particular source for news. Provide examples to
  illustrate your claims. Develop your ideas so
  vividly that a reader will have a clear
  understanding of the benefits and shortcomings of
  a particular source of news.
• Example 2 Throughout your years in school, you
  have studied about many different people. Think
  about one of these people you have studied during
  your time at school. What makes this person
  special enough to study?
• Write an essay in which you discuss a person you
  have studied in school. Explain what it is about
  this person that is special. Use details and
  examples to support your ideas.
• Example 3 In the story, The Hiking Trip, the
  reader learns about the main character, Jeff.
  Jeff?s personality and emotions are revealed
  through the actions and dialogue presented in the
  story. Write an essay in which you describe the
  personality and emotions of Jeff, the main
  character. How do his personal characteristics
  add to the events in the story? How does the
  author reveal this information about Jeff in the
  story? Use details and examples from the story to
  support your ideas.

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Organizational Patterns

• Description - The author describes a topic by
  listing characteristics, features, and examples
• Cue Words - for example, characteristics are

feature
characteristic
SUBJECT
example
feature
characteristic
example
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Organizational Patterns

• Description Example
• The Olympic symbol consists of five interlocking
  rings. The rings represent the five continents -
  Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South
  America - from which athletes come to compete in
  the games. The rings are colored black blue,
  green, red, and yellow. At least one of these
  colors is found in the flag of every country
  sending athletes to compete in the Olympic games.

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Organizational Patterns

• Sequence - The author lists items or events in
  numerical or chronological order.
• Cue words - first, second, third next then
  finally

First
Next
Finally
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Organizational Patterns

• Sequence Example
• The Olympic games began as athletic festivals to
  honor the Greek gods. The most important festival
  was held in the valley of Olympia to honor Zeus,
  the king of the gods. It was this festival that
  became the Olympic games in 776 B.C. These games
  were ended in A.D. 394 by the Roman Emperor who
  ruled Greece. No Olympic games were held for more
  than 1,500 years. Then the modern Olympics began
  in 1896. Almost 300 male athletes competed in the
  first modern Olympics In the games held in 1900,
  female athletes were allowed to compete. The
  games have continued every four years since 1896
  except during World War II, and they will most
  likely continue for many years to come.

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Organizational Patterns

• Compare/Contrast - The author explains how two or
  more things are alike and/or how they are
  different.
• Cue words different in contrast alike same
  as on the other hand

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Organizational Patterns
Basic Structure
Similarities
Details, Examples, Characteristics
Details, Examples, Characteristics
Point 1
Point 1
Point 1
Subject 2
Subject 1
Point 2
Point 2
Point 2
Point 3
Point 3
Point 3
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Organizational Patterns

• When organizing a compare/contrast essay, first
  identify what subjects are being compared.
  Typically there are two to three subjects.
• Then determine the specific characteristic(s)
  that will be discussed regarding those subjects.
• Next, decide the order of importance for the
  characteristic(s) being discussed.

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Organizational Patterns

• Using a Thinking Map, how would you organize a
  compare/contrast essay that is comparing two
  stories and there is one characteristic being
  discussed?
• You have two possible options.

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Organizational Patterns

• Option 1 You can write one body paragraph
  discussing all the elements or examples of the
  characteristic found in the first story and then
  a second paragraph doing the same thing for the
  second story.
• Block Method

Story 1 Body Paragraph 1
Example/Element 1 and commentary
Example/Element 2 and commentary
Example/Element 3 and commentary
Story 2 Body Paragraph 2
Example/Element 1 and commentary
Example/Element 2 and commentary
Example/Element 3 and commentary
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Organizational Patterns

• Option 2 You can identify two or three elements
  of the characteristic being discussed and make
  each element the focus of the body paragraphs.
• Point-by-Point Method

Element 1 Body Paragraph 1
Example from Story 1 And commentary
Example from Story 2 And commentary
Element 2 Body Paragraph 2
Example from Story 1 And commentary
Example from Story 2 And commentary
Element 3 Body Paragraph 3
Example from Story 1 And commentary
Example from Story 2 And commentary
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Organizational Patterns

• Compare/Contrast Example
• The modern Olympics is very unlike the ancient
  Olympic games. Individual events are different.
  While there were no swimming races in the ancient
  games, for example, there were chariot races.
  There were no female contestants and all athletes
  competed in the nude. Of course, the ancient and
  modern Olympics are also alike in many ways. Some
  events, such as the javelin and discus throws,
  are the same. Some people say that cheating,
  professionalism, and nationalism in the modern
  games are a disgrace to the Olympic tradition,
  but according to the ancient Greek writers, there
  were many cases of cheating, nationalism, and
  professionalism in their Olympics too.

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Organizational Patterns

• Cause and Effect - The author lists one or more
  causes and the resulting effect or effects.
• Cue words reasons why if...then as a result
  therefore because

Effect 1
Cause
Effect 2
Effect 3
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Organizational Patterns

• Cause and Effect Example
• There are several reasons why so many people
  attend the Olympic games or watch them on
  television. One reason is tradition. The name
  Olympics and the torch and flame remind people of
  the ancient games. People can escape the
  ordinariness of daily life by attending or
  watching the Olympics. They like to identify with
  someone else's individual sacrifice and
  accomplishment. National pride is another reason,
  and an athlete's or a team's hard earned victory
  becomes a nation's victory. There are national
  medal counts and people keep track of how many
  medals their country's athletes have won.

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Organizational Patterns

• Problem and Solution - The author states a
  problem and lists one or more solutions for the
  problem. A variation of this pattern is the
  question- and-answer format in which the author
  poses a question and then answers it. The author
  is simply providing possible solutions, not
  recommending the best solution (that would be
  persuasive writing).
• Cue words problem is dilemma is puzzle is
  solved question... answer

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Organizational Patterns
Solution 1
Problem
Solution 2
Solution 3
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Organizational Patterns

• Problem and Solution Example
• One problem with the modern Olympics is that it
  has become very big and expensive to operate. The
  city or country that hosts the games often loses
  a lot of money. A stadium, pools, and playing
  fields must be built for the athletic events and
  housing is needed for the athletes who come from
  around the world. And all of these facilities are
  used for only 2 weeks! In 1984, Los Angeles
  solved these problems by charging a fee for
  companies who wanted to be official sponsors of
  the games. Companies like McDonald's paid a lot
  of money to be part of the Olympics. Many
  buildings that were already built in the Los
  Angeles area were also used. The Coliseum where
  the 1932 games were held was used again and many
  colleges and universities in the area became
  playing and living sites.

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Format

• Introduction
• Hook catch the audiences attention by making a
  statement or comment that they can relate to.
  These are generally broad statements or
  interesting observations that introduce the
  subject of the essay.
• Topics Briefly introduce the topics that will be
  discussed in your essay without getting into
  detail.
• Thesis The main idea being discussed. It must be
  defined and narrow enough to be supported within
  the essay.

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Format

• Body
• The format of your body paragraphs will be
  different depending on the type of expository
  essay you will be writing and the ideas that you
  wish to highlight.
• You can either use the Block Method or the
  Point-by-Point Method.

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Format

• Conclusion
• Originally restate the thesis and the main
  supporting ideas
• Finish with the a statement that reinforces your
  position in a meaningful and memorable way.
• Never introduce new material in the conclusion.

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Prompt

• Now that you have read Catch the Moon and The
  Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant, you can
  compare the themes of the two stories in a
  comparison/contrast essay. Be sure to elaborate
  on every general statement you make, using
  details, examples, and quotations from the
  stories.