Expository Essay

Purpose, Audience, Tone, and Content

Here are some examples of different expository modes depending on the main purpose behind sharing information:

• description
• narration
• illustration
• classification
• definition
• compare and contrast
• problem/solution
• classification

An expository essay allows writers the opportunity to explain their ideas about a topic and to provide clarity for the reader by using the following:

• Facts
• Explanations
• Details
• Definitions

In this lesson, we'll focus on some important considerations when writing an essay. We will put together what we have learned so far in the previous units to read and write an expository essay.

• In Unit 1, we learned that sentences need to have agreement. This can be between subjects and verbs, pronouns and their antecedents, or main verbs staying consistent in tense.
• In Unit 2, we learned that authors share both facts and opinions and how we can distinguish between the two. We also learned how we can infer information by combining information from a text and our own knowledge.
• Finally, in Unit 3, we learned about fine-tuning our vocabulary usage. Words don't have just dictionary meanings but also positive and negative connotations that depend on the context in which they are used. Finally, using specific words instead of general ones can help us communicate more clearly when speaking and writing in English.

Consider the Audience: How Much Do They Know?

Although the audience for writing assignments – your readers – may not appear in person, they play an important role. Even in everyday writing activities, you identify your readers' characteristics, interests, and expectations before making decisions about what you write. In fact, thinking about the audience has become so common that you may not even detect audience-driven decisions.

For example, you update your status on a social networking site with the awareness of who will digitally follow the post. If you want to brag about a good grade, you may write a post to please family members. If you want to describe a funny moment, you may write with your friends' sense of humor in mind. Even at work, you send emails with an awareness of an unintended receiver who could intercept the message.

In other words, being aware of "invisible" readers is a skill you most likely already possess and one you rely on every day. Since in an expository essay, you are defining or informing your audience on a certain topic, you need to evaluate how much your audience knows about that topic (aside from having general common knowledge). You want to make sure you are giving thorough, comprehensive, and clear explanations on the topic. Never assume the reader knows everything about your topic (even if it is covered in the reader's field of study). Providing enough background information without being too detailed is a fine balance, but you always want to ensure you have no gaps in the information so your reader will not have to guess your intention.

Consider Your Word Choice for Tone and Mood

Tone identifies a speaker's attitude toward a topic or another person. You may detect a person's tone of voice fairly easily in conversation. A friend who tells you about her weekend may speak excitedly about a fun skiing trip. An instructor who means business may speak in a low, slow voice to emphasize her serious mood. Just as speakers transmit emotion through voice, writers can transmit through writing a range of attitudes, from excited and humorous to somber and critical.

These emotions create connections among the audience, the author, and the subject, ultimately building a relationship between the audience and the text. To stimulate these connections, writers consider their vocabulary choices carefully depending on their connotation and level of formality. Keep in mind that the writer's attitude should always appropriately match the audience and the purpose.

Choosing Interesting, Appropriate Content

Content refers to all the written ideas in a document. After selecting an audience and a purpose, you must choose what information will make it to the page. As noted earlier in the lesson, content may consist of examples, facts, definitions, and observations, but no matter the type, the information must be appropriate and interesting for the audience and purpose. An essay written for elementary-level students that summarizes the legislative process, for example, would have to contain brief and simple content.

Remember that content is also shaped by tone.. When the tone matches the content, the audience will be more engaged, and you will build a stronger relationship with your readers. Consider that audience of elementary-level students. You would choose simple content that the audience will easily understand, and you would express that content through an enthusiastic tone. These same considerations apply to all audiences and purposes.

Pattern of Organization & Matching Transition Words

The method of organization you choose for your essay is just as important as its content. Without a clear organizational pattern, your reader could become confused and lose interest. The way you structure your essay helps your readers draw connections between the body and the thesis, and the structure also keeps you focused as you plan and write the essay. Choosing your organizational pattern before you outline ensures that each body paragraph works to support and develop your thesis.

A solid organizational pattern gives your ideas a path that you can follow as you develop your draft. Knowing how you will organize your paragraphs allows you to better express and analyze your thoughts. These patterns of organization match the main purpose of the essay and help you select suitable transition words and phrases to guide your readers through your ideas. Let's see some specific examples.

1. Description
   1. The organization of the essay may best follow spatial order, an arrangement of ideas according to physical characteristics or appearance. Depending on what the writer describes, the organization could move from top to bottom, left to right, near to far, warm to cold, frightening to inviting, and so on. For example, if the subject is a client's kitchen in the midst of renovation, you might start at one side of the room and move slowly across to the other end, describing appliances, cabinetry, and so on. Or you might choose to start with older remnants of the kitchen and progress to the new installations. Maybe start with the floor and move up toward the ceiling.
   2. The following are possible transitional words and phrases to include when using spatial order:

2. Narration or Process
   1. Major narrative events are most often conveyed in chronological order, also called temporal order, in which the order of events unfolds from first to last. Stories typically have a beginning, a middle, and an end, and these events are typically organized by time. Using transitional words and phrases helps to keep the reader oriented in the sequencing of a story.
   2. The following are possible transitional words and phrases to include when using chronological order:

3. Illustration or problem/solution
   1. Most essays move from the least to the most important point, and the paragraphs are arranged in an effort to build the essay's strength. Sometimes, however, it is necessary to begin with your most important supporting point.
   2. The following are additional possible transitional words and phrases to introduce facts and examples in an essay:

Now that we have a better understanding of the relationships between easy structure, purpose, organization, and word choice, let's put it all together in practice

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Content adapted from:

LibreTexts , https://human.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Composition/Introductory_Composition/Writing_for_Success_(1st_Canadian_Edition)/4%3A_What_Are_You_Writing_to_Whom_and_How/4.01%3A_Expository_Essays
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Public Pals , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy9x2u6g8GU
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John Graney , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oMRws0JnC4
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LibreTexts , https://human.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Composition/Introductory_Composition/Writing_for_Success_(1st_Canadian_Edition)/5%3A_Putting_the_Pieces_Together_with_a_Thesis_Statement/5.4%3A_Organizing_Your_Writing
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