Expository Essay: Surviving Freshman Year The requirement is on the attach document. Please read before you start Rev 1-9-19 Writing a Good (short) Exposit
Expository Essay: Surviving Freshman Year The requirement is on the attach document. Please read before you start Rev 1-9-19
Writing a Good (short) Expository Essay
The expository essay is used in a range of different academic courses. The concept is to have students
look back at what they learned through their application of material covered in class, and describe this
experience on paper. Expository essays are a form of pitching, or “story telling” – it is essential that you
practice new things that you have learned, and be able to tell insightful stories about these experiences.
What is an expository essay?
An expository essay is intended to teach. Another term for a short expository essay is “executive
summary” – a document which encapsulates, in about two pages, the outcome of an experience. Your
reader is expecting a description of your experience over some period of time, and one or more
conclusions. The goal is to be specific, this is not creative writing, but the essay should still be exciting
and interesting. This is key, your potential audience does not want to read a boring story.
When writing your expository essay, follow these eight basic steps:
▪
Organize and sketch out the essay:
Begin by listing the major divisions which the body paragraphs in your essay will discuss; then fill
in the primary supports that each body paragraph of the essay will contain
▪
Furnish a paragraph of introduction:
An introductory paragraph should state the thesis of the essay, introduce the divisions in the body
paragraphs of the essay, and gain the interest of the reader.
▪
Write topic sentences for the body paragraphs of the essay:
For each body paragraph, furnish a topic sentence that directly relates to the thesis sentence.
▪
Write the body paragraphs of the essay:
Each body paragraph should develop the primary support covered in that paragraph’s topic
sentence. Introduce specific details and what was done, and what was observed/learned.
▪
Write a paragraph of conclusion:
• Restate the thesis
• Restate the main outcomes, or what you have learned, from the experience
• Bring the essay to an appropriate and effective close
• Avoid digressing into new issues
▪
Review your draft, make corrections, and embellish weak spots.
▪
Double check spelling and grammar
• Use word processing software – e.g. Word, or Grammarly, which automatically detect
spelling and grammar errors – it makes life much easier)
▪
Print and submit.
Rev 1-9-19
Tips for developing effective reflective essays:
• Don’t forget to use evidence to support your opinion and feelings.
• Avoid slang words in your work. This is a serious paper so even in you bring some humor inside
it, write the whole text as an essay for your readers, it is not a personal journal.
• Use transitional phrases to introduce details. Include to your work such phrases as “for example”,
“as a result of it”, “the opposite point of view is”, etc.
• Get to the point quickly, if you want to include a long discussion of “why” rather than “what”,
place it at the end of the essay.
• Know your reader – do not explain topics which your reader likely already knows, focus on the
unusual.
• Keep your story bright, but short: usually, this work should be around 500-700 words long.
Check out if you have followed the specific requirements for the assignment.
Other formatting considerations for ease of reading
• Margins – 1 inch on all sides;
• Spacing – 1 ½ line spacing (full space between lines)
• Print on standard letter size paper – 8.5×11 inches;
• Use Times New Roman 12-point font.
• Keep the length of the essay to about two pages (759-1000 words)
Purchase answer to see full
attachment