How to write exposition

Exposition Writing

What is exposition?

• Longer works:

• Memoir

• Biography

• Autobiography

• History

• Research report

• Newsletter

• Brochure

• Shorter works:

• Essay

• Speech

• Letter

• Memorandum

• Note

• Advertisement

• Instructions

• News or feature article

Why?

• The overall purpose of writing exposition has two parts:

• You state your assertion (your opinion, perspective, your point of

view, or how you’re going to treat your subject).

• You support or back up your assertion with evidence.

Specific uses

• To inform/To explain

• To clarify

• To persuade

• To entertain

• To compare or

contrast

• To show cause

and/or effect

• To report

How do you do it?

• First, figure out who your audience is -- that will affect what

you say and how you say it.

• Second, figure out what your purpose is -- that is the end

result, the reaction you want to get from your audience.

Then what?

• You need to generate as many

pieces of support (evidence)

as you can to help back up

your assertion.

What is evidence?

• Personal experience or

observation

• Typical situations

• Hypothetical situations

• Generalized situations

• Facts

• Names

• Statistics

• References to authorities• Experts

• Documents

• Anecdotes

• Explanations and

interpretations

• Extended or brief

• Quotations

Evidence must be:

• Accurate

• Supportive, not contradictory

• Relevant

• Specific, detailed, precise, vivid

• Interesting

• Clear and easy to understand

• Representative (not the exception)

• Cited, if necessary.

Choose a point of view

• First person P.O.V.

• Uses “I” as the

narrator.

• Is personal, which may

be an advantage or

disadvantage.

• Third person P.O.V.

• Uses “She,” “He,”

“They,” or “It” to relay

information.

• Is more distant, which

may be an advantage

or disadvantage.

Thesis statement

• A good thesis statement is clear, opinionated, and specific.

• It relays:

• The topic of discussion.

• How you will treat that topic.

• Perhaps the focus of the discussion about that topic.

• It includes every major idea in the essay.

A special note on structure

• An exemplification essay is usually highly structured.

• It has a stated, clearly identifiable thesis statement.

• Alas, if I cannot identify your thesis, the highest grade the paper

will receive is a “D,” so this is important!

Ways to organize

• Chronological

• Spatial

• Emphatic

• Moderate-Weak-

Strong

• Simple to complex

• You need:

• Strong thesis

• Clear topic sentences --

that support the overall

thesis.

• Evidence that supports

each topic sentence

• A clear conclusion

Transitions

• Use suitable transitional words and phrases.

• For instance

• For example

• To illustrate

• A classic example

• Also

• In addition

• Additionally

• A case in point is

• Avoid unimaginative transitions like “My first example is…”

Never!

• Never write the following types of sentences:

• “In this paragraph, I will explain…”

• In this essay, I will discuss…”

• Those are fine, even expected, in a scientific or mathematical

paper, but for the typical English paper they are simply

terrible, absolutely horrible!

• Additionally, you never really need to write:

• “I feel…” “I believe…” or “I think…” If it’s your paper, then the

reader already knows they’re your thoughts, beliefs or feelings.

Significance

• Good essays have importance; they answer a need, a question

or problem that has been posed.

• The reader never puts down the essay and says, “So what?”

• You need to convey to your reader why your essay is

important to read.

Possible essay beginnings

• Broad statement narrowing to a limited subject (end

introduction with thesis statement)

• Brief anecdote leading up to thesis

• Comparative or opposite ideas leading up to thesis

• Series of short questions leading to thesis

• Quotations leading to thesis

• Refutation of a common belief leading up to a thesis

• Dramatic fact or statistic leading to thesis

Possible essay endings

• Summary of information presented

• Prediction based on information presented

• Quotation leading to concluding statement

• Statistics leading to concluding statement

• Recommendation or call for action

• Echo of the introduction

• Please do not write, “In conclusion…”

Some additional thoughts

• Exposition is very descriptive and uses many of the same

techniques as fiction.

• Be aware of the tone you convey.

• Vary sentence structure.

• Vary sentence length.

• Vary paragraph length.

Some final thoughts

• I assure you your first draft will be lousy.

• Subsequent drafts improve your writing.

• You make your writing worth reading by revising:

• Adding

• Subtracting

• Reorganizing

• Substituting

The end of the process

• First, concentrate on your message -- what you have to say.

• Second, concentrate on your organization -- how you say it.

• Third, concentrate on surface features -- spelling, grammar,

mechanics, usage.

• Always do your best work -- every draft.