Writing Lessons: What Do You Need For An Expository Essay?

When you write an expository essay you have to be completely impartial and balanced. For many students, this is almost impossible, since they have strong opinions that they want to express. However, with time you can learn how to do this. A composition like this is not very different from any other one that you wrote; you just have to pay attention to the specific elements. Here is what you need for an expository essay:

• The topic. It is very important to make sure that you can actually explain the topic, not only discuss about it. Many of your classmates might not know what you are talking about, so you have to be ready to bring sufficient information. If you can not find a lot of content about a specific subject, it’s better to search for something else.
• Research. In order to explain an idea to someone you have to understand it yourself first. This means that you must spend a few days making research. If you can not comprehend something, ask for help from your parents or professor.
• An outline. You want to have a good structure for your composition, and an outline will help you with this. Divide the information in several chapters and find a suitable title for each one. Arrange the chapters in a logic manner. An explicit introduction. In many compositions the introduction needs to be catchy or interesting. In this kind of text, the introduction needs to be very explicit and clear. You have to tell the readers what are you writing about and why. Stay away from any personal opinion or preference from the very beginning.
• Definitions and quotations. If you want to make sure that your colleagues will understand your content, bring definitions and quotations. Of course, you have to mention the author and the source every single time. If you don’t, your professor will think you are unprofessional. Try to use simple words and sentences; no one will read your text if it looks complicated.
• A smart conclusion. Since you are not allowed to introduce your personal opinion in this text, you have to write the conclusion based on the explanations that you provided. Most of the time the conclusion will be one paragraph long, but you can write more if your professor allows you.