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The learning path never ends, especially when you are in school or college. There is a compulsion to do better than your peers to stand out from the crowd. The fruits of literary labor do not end there as the skills learned even through compulsion equip students to become better professionals tomorrow.
Expository writing baffles students but mastering its art and craft can open new avenues for success. There was a lack of a reliable resource for students where they could learn the dynamics of expository writing. This blog post will bridge this gap by providing a simple guide to long academic expository essays as well as their different approaches.
An expository essay is the simplest to define but the hardest to master. In a nutshell, an expository essay provides informational and actionable information to the readers. There is no ornamentation and subjective perspective to the subject as writers only rely on facts and figures.
The hallmarks of expository essays include neutral language and tone, an objective approach toward the subject, and organized information. Writers can only shine through the soundness of their arguments alone because there is no room for novel prose and expression.
The purpose of expository writing is to inform and educate the readers. Some of the common examples of expository writing include scientific papers, newspaper stories, how-to articles, manuals, and so on. One of the purposes behind such writing is to equip the reader with the knowledge that can be practiced in the real world and meet the same results. By keeping true to its hallmarks, expository essays provide factual information to the readers.
When it comes to other essays, such as descriptive and narrative essays, there is no further classification of their types. One narrative essay differs from other narrative essays based on the subject or theme of its contents. Contrary to this, expository essays have different types based on the approaches toward the subject matter.
Students may not get a detailed account as to which approach they need to follow for their expository essays. This is where this section helps them in identifying the types and learning the ropes.
If the name is any indication, these essays go through the steps of a process to help readers understand it. It can be about changing the oil in a car engine or a confection recipe. These essays aim to provide a detailed account, including the preliminaries, the essentials, and the cautions. Process essays are commonly in manuals and how-to articles as well as scientific papers. Each body paragraph will cover a major milestone until the process is done.
Classification essays may sound tricky but they are rather simple and basic. They deal with the classification of the subject under consideration based on its traits and characteristics. The best way to illuminate the subject’s class is by comparing it with similar things as references as well as contrasting it with the things that differ from it completely. This will paint an unambiguous picture for the readers as they navigate through the similarities and differences of the references concerning the subject.
Cause-and-effect essays are one of the most complicated approaches to writing expository essays. They require a lot of research to determine the causes and effects of phenomena and developments. In many cases, they are similar to action and reaction studies because writers need to trace the chain of events connecting one happening or incident to the other. The elements and time-space play a great role in setting the pace and premise of the cause-and-effect essays.
Compare and contrast essays share many traits from other types of expository essays but differ in the most basic one. In this, the writers support these by examining the differences and similarities between the sources of citations and references. For instance, if you want to write a compare and contrast essay on the primary education policies of two districts, you may have to examine the differences and similarities as well as the processes and operations through which those policies come into action.
There is no standard length for an expository essay. The five-paragraph structure roughly dictates that an expository essay can be around 1000 to 1200 words. If your instructor has not specified the length of your expository essay, you can follow the common practice.
Expository essays are among the most commonly used essays in schools and colleges to gauge the writing, researching, and thinking capabilities of students. It is considered to be harder than other types because it requires a lot of research and presents no room for personal commentary.
An expository essay provides factual and unadulterated information to the readers in an objective manner and neutral voice. An argumentative essay, on the other hand, can be charged in language and sentimental in approach. The common thing between the two is that they both provide empirical evidence to prove a point.
An expository paragraph or essays are known for their detached and facts-only approach. Writers do not provide comments or suggestions regarding the subject matter but merely facts and figures. So, you cannot use emotional language in expository essays to make a point.
The primary motive behind expository writing is to convey actionable and factual information. There is no room for flowery prose and figurative language. The best expository essays have hard-boiled evenly-stated facts with supporting evidence.
Here are some common pitfalls that students face while writing expository essays:
Out of all essay types, expository essay writing is considered the hardest by writers. When you are tasked to write a long academic expository essay on a topic, it is natural to be worried but there is no need to panic. In this blog, we have shed ample light on the nature of expository writing, different approaches to expository essays, and how to write one – from start to finish. Each step is clearly explained so students will not have a hard time understanding the individual parts.
We hope that this blog will help readers to secure maximum scores in their essay writing class along with acquiring life-long skills.
