Explaining Topics and Evidence: The Expository Essay

What Is An Expository Essay?

The expository essay is a common, straightforward type of essay that requires no fancy introductions or conclusions.

An expository essay aims to present a fair and balanced analysis based on facts—with no reference to the writer’s opinions or emotions.

Expository essay definitions  are systematic as they require students to explore an idea, evaluate evidence, elaborate on the main idea, and state their argument coherently.

In short, this type of essay aims to explain rather than persuade readers by presenting all relevant information without any bias towards one side or another.

What is the structure of an Expository Essay?

When you write an expository essay, it is typically structured with three essential parts:

• The introduction,
• Body paragraphs and
• Conclusion.

Introductory Paragraph

The expository essay introduction should briefly describe what you will talk about in your paper’s body so that readers know what they can expect from your argument.

There will be no references to opinions or emotions in a well-written introductory paragraph for an expository essay. Furthermore, it must be written formally without using flowery language, as this may distract from their original point.

Body Paragraphs

The next section of an expository essay is called “body” paragraphs (or divisions).

It is where you describe each aspect of your topic sentence to the reader by grouping related sentences together under subheadings. It allows writers to cover all necessary points in a logical order.

In each three body paragraphs or five paragraph essay, writers must include:

• The introduction that explains the writer’s intent and thesis statement
• A topic sentence with three supporting sentences that discuss the evidence for this point of view or opinion
• A concluding sentence to sum up their argument.

Save Your Time & Money By Ordering Essays from Us

Conclusion

This final section is called the conclusion. Expository essay conclusion should summarize what has been said throughout your expository writing so far and restate your original premise/thesis statement.

It allows readers to understand how you reached your conclusions. It may also briefly outline any further academic research on this subject matter (if applicable).

The last paragraph should not contain much detail as it is meant to tie everything together before finishing.

Students can achieve it by inserting an anecdote about someone who has been affected by this topic or the writer’s personal opinion about it.

To end expository essay topics on a solid note, you want to include a final sentence that sums up what has been said in your paragraphs and leaves readers with some food for thought.

Speaking of reading sources, if you want to view this copy offline, download the PDF here.  

Remember: every paragraph should have one clear point (your thesis statement), which is backed up with evidence from resources like journal articles, books, interviews, etc.

For example:

• Thesis Statement: “Eating healthy foods can help prevent obesity.”
• Evidence: “Eating healthy foods can help prevent obesity and is good for your health.”

In the example above, you tell readers that eating a diet filled with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products like milk or cheese, and lean cuts of meat will most likely not lead to weight gain.

How to structure a thesis statement?

Timeless and traditional, the expository essay format is one of the most systematic formats for presenting a fair analysis. What makes this template so engaging? The successful thesis.

A strong thesis statement provides an excellent foundation for your research paper or essay with its central assertion. Moreover, it will lay out your argument about that main idea without giving too much away.

The thesis statement functions as an introduction to your paper and is typically found at the end of the first paragraph.

The type of thesis statement you need for a particular assignment will depend on what kind of essay you’re writing.

Tips To Writing An Expository Essay thesis statement

Determine what kind of essay you are writing.

• Analytical essays are a way to break down an issue or idea and present it logically. This goal of breaking things into parts gives readers the information they need to make their conclusions.
• Argumentative essays make a claim and justify it with evidence. A claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, or a cause-and-effect statement. An argumentative paper aims to convince the audience that the claim is valid based on evidence provided in the draft.
• An expository (explanatory) paper aims to explain a topic or a concept to the audience.

However, If you are writing an essay that does not fall under these three types of essays (e.g., narrative, custom essay), it can be helpful to include a clear thesis statement in the opening paragraph.

It Should Be Specific

Your argument should be coherent and concise—it will cover only what you intend to argue in your paper and use examples to support the main ideas.

Should Appear At the End of the First Paragraph

In expository writing, the thesis usually appears at the end of the first paragraph. In academic writing, the thesis statement at the end ties up points in a coherent style for a reader to comprehend the paper’s objective or essay.

Key Takeaways when writing a Thesis Statement

• It gives your reader a preview of the content in your paper, which includes a central idea and an answer to the research question.
• It will differ depending on the type of paper you are writing, such as an expository essay, etc.
• Before writing a thesis, you must develop what types of essays you are writing. That means if it is an argumentative essay, an expository essay, etc.

What Makes A Good Thesis Statement

Concise

A good statement writing is concise and to the point, keeping it as short as possible. Write your arguments clearly and in one or two sentences.

Contentious

Your thesis should not simply be a statement of an obvious observation. Instead, a good thesis is a claim that requires further evidence or analysis to back it up.

Coherent

In an expository essay, your thesis statement should mention many aspects of your topic. However, all these different aspects should still lead to a coherent whole in which one main idea is supported and explained throughout the paper.

Still confused? That’s okay, you can buy thesis paper from us to have a good idea and use it for future reference as well. 

Save Your Time & Money By Ordering Essays from Us

How to Write an Expository Essay? 

An expository essay has the most systematic types of writing.

The process requires students to explore an idea in-depth, evaluate the evidence they have found, and elaborate on their main idea before finally presenting an argument that makes sense.

Students can summarize the core objective by explaining a topic without imposing what the writer thinks or feels about it , something that you can utilize if you want to know how to write a Narrative Essay. 

Therefore, if you are thinking of writing an expository essay, the points below will prove invaluable.

What are the four main types of Expository Writing?

When writing an expository essay, you can structure your expository essay with these four steps:

• Prewriting (brainstorming, research, outlining),
• Drafting ( Writing the Introduction, three body paragraphs/ five paragraph essay, and a conclusion of your paper),
• Revising (checking grammar and facts/spelling mistakes), and
• Editing.

Yes, writing an expository essay with only facts can seem like a daunting task. But it isn’t as bad as people might think.

Pre-Writing

In this phase, you need to brainstorm the topic and then do the research. After that, you should develop an outline for your expository writing by evaluating your ideas in a logical order.

How to choose the best topic for expository essays?

 One of the best ways to find a topic is by exploring interests or passions that you know something about.

Create a list of topics that interest you and seem like they could be interesting for your reader, then pick one that seems easiest to write.

When searching for topics for expository essays, try answering the following questions

• Are you interested in the topic?
• Did you have any initial ideas about this topic?
• Is it challenging to find sources when writing the essay?
• Can you explain the subject of the paper to your reader?

Research is a crucial step in the expository essay process. Some students mistakenly think they know enough about their topic without doing so, but research will provide more information on your subject and provide new ideas when writing expository essays.

To keep your essay on track, students need to conduct thorough research to find examples for the essay and clearly outline the thesis of each paragraph when they write their papers.

Drafting

Once the thesis and expository essay outline for the topic are done, the next step is to draft the essay and revise accordingly until you are satisfied with it.

Make sure to write coherently by adding transition words in every paragraph and refer back to your thesis statement.

Start individual body paragraphs with a topic sentence that introduces what it will be about, develop the idea, and present your evidence or examples in every paragraph.

Tips for writing body paragraphs

• The focus of an expository essay is to provide facts that will help readers understand a topic.
• Students should avoid biased language, use straightforward wording: short and clear words, active verbs, and appropriate adverbs during the writing process.
• Students should find the best expository essay examples to explain their arguments.

Revising

Before editing, this is the most crucial stage. Students review and revise their work in the revision stage, intending to make it as good as possible.

Consider these tips:

• Is the essay’s exposition logical and fair, with no direct opinion or emotion?
• Has the information been relayed to the audience?
• Keep your paragraphs focused, so readers will know exactly what you are trying to say without going off on tangents.
• Is the sentence support varied? Is it clear what words are being used and how they support one another?
• Do the transitions between sentences and paragraphs help explain the idea for the reader?
• Does the final paragraph include a concluding sentence that communicates both the value and meaning behind the thesis?

Editing

Now, edit and polish grammar and mechanics. Your essay assignment should be clear, crisp, and concise.

Though it is crucial to focus on a strict sense of style, you may want to add some flair or dramatic expression for effect.

To ensure your paper reads flawlessly, it can be helpful to have someone else proofread the essay. In addition, it helps writers to edit with a fresh perspective.

Here are some tips to improve editing style,

• Ask a friend to read your essay and share their thoughts on the process.
• You can read the essay out loud to identify wording that doesn’t sound quite right.
• Essays that are written in an expository style focus more on the factual matter. You can double-check your grammar and spelling with online tools—for example, Hemingway App, Grammarly, After Deadline, Ginger, and others.
• You can find a professional editor to help you identify what needs improvement.

Things to consider when writing an expository essay. 

For expository essays, you need to study a topic before building your thoughts. Using these expository essay tips will ensure that you share clear and accurate information with the reader.

• Concentrate on increasing the clarity in your essay without decreasing its effectiveness.
• Research the topic to ensure you have all the facts.
• Use reputable sources for your document’s evidence and references: academic journals, scholarly resources, fact-based studies, educational tools, etc.
• Focus on explaining the topic and not what your opinion is.
• Avoid biased information and use clear and concise language to improve comprehension.
• To make the essay more accessible for readers to follow, organize facts logically.
• It is best to write in the 3rd person when describing a process or an activity.
• Instead of using ambiguous terms, start with the best facts and evidence.
• Sometimes writing in different sentence lengths will improve the flow of your prose, like music.
• Use Transition words to allow readers to understand the flow of an essay.
• One of the best ways to improve your first draft is to sleep on it. Taking some time off allows you a chance to look at your writing with fresh eyes before sitting down for another round of editing.
• Read your expository essay out loud to identify any potential errors or unfinished thoughts to revise.
• Have a teacher or a friend read over your essay and offer suggestions.

If you follow these tips and tricks, writing an expository essay will be a cake walk. However, if you cannot make the time, our “write my essay” services are always eager to help you out. 

Want to view this blog offline? Download the PDF by clicking here.