The expository essay is a genre of nonfiction writing in which a writer aims to explain a topic or concept. In this genre of essay writing, the writer is not required to put forward an original argument, but rather aims to educate the reader on a topic. This contrasts with the argumentative and persuasive essay genres, in which the writer takes a clear stance on a controversial topic, with the goal of swaying the reader toward agreeing with their position. An expository essay may cover a controversial topic, but in this genre, the writer will not take a hard stance on the topic, but rather provide a holistic overview of it. 

Expository writing aims to be objective and thorough in its analysis. The term “expository” means to explain, describe, or define. In effect, the author should try to present a balanced perspective on the topic at hand. Expository essays most often appear in textbooks, in encyclopedias, in journalistic articles, and in scientific or technical writing. 

In academic settings, expository essays are often assigned in high school or university courses to assess students’ understanding of a given topic. An expository essay prompt will typically ask the writer to “explain,” “define,” or “explore,” a given subject.

In this article, we’ll discuss the style, substance, and structure of expository essays.

Style of Expository Writing

In an expository essay, the writer aims to present information as impartially as possible. As a rule, expository essays generally avoid the use of subjective phrasing and vocabulary. They are centered around the presentation of facts and provide less analysis than other forms of writing. 

In an argumentative or persuasive essay, writers will typically present facts in conjunction with an analysis. In this context, facts are used as evidence in support of a specific claim or argument, with the intention of leading the reader to a specific conclusion.

In expository writing, facts stand on their own. Any analysis is used toward the purpose of clarifying or explaining the factual information that is presented, not for the purpose of persuading the reader. Expository essays on controversial topics should therefore be dialectical in the sense that they give equal voice to all perspectives on the issue. 

Because expository essays strive for this objective tone, they are virtually always written in the third person. The third person enables the writer to remove their subjectivity from the writing as much as possible. In other forms of writing, the writer’s voice may play an important role. In expository writing, the writer should aim to remove their voice as much as possible from the writing, allowing the information presented in the essay to speak for itself.

Process of Writing an Expository Essay

Choose a Topic

The process of writing an essay always begins with choosing a topic to write about. Expository essays generally seek to explain a phenomenon, event, idea, or object. There are a variety of sub-genres of expository writing, including but not limited to:

• Definitional Article: Provides a detailed description of a phenomenon, event, idea or object (for example, an encyclopedia article)
• Journalistic Article: Provides a detailed explanation of a current event or situation (for example, a newspaper article)
• The How-To Article: Describes a process in a series of steps (for example, a recipe)
• The Comparative Essay: Compares and contrasts two or more subjects in an impartial and informative manner
• Analysis of an Issue: Describes an issue and various positions on or solutions for the issue, backed by evidence and data

In all of these sub-genres, the primary purpose of the essay — to inform and educate the reader about the subject of the essay — remains constant. 

Research

The research phase is the most important, and often the lengthiest stage in the development of an expository essay. During the research phase, the writer aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of their topic by consulting a variety of sources. 

The research process may vary depending on the topic and the type of article. For example, a reporter covering a local crime for a newspaper will likely gather information through interviews of eyewitnesses and the police. They may also include background information about crime in the area by analyzing police records and public databases that provide crime statistics.

In contrast, a graduate student writing an essay on the American economy during World War II would research their topic by reading several books that provide various perspectives on the topic and by analyzing primary sources in research libraries. 

A food blogger writing a recipe for peanut butter cookies would consult and experiment with various other recipes in order to develop the best process for making a peanut butter cookie.

In all cases, writers use the research process to develop expertise on the topic of their writing, so that they can then educate their readers.

Organize Information

After completing the research phase, you can start to compile and organize the information you’ve gathered during their research. During this transitional phase, you should start by thinking about how you can present your topic most clearly and logically.

The way information is presented to the reader can vary depending on the writer’s approach. Using our previous example of an essay on the American economy during World War II, the writer may see it fit to present their information chronologically — that is, organized sequentially by time. This approach enables the writer to emphasize changes in the economy at different stages of the war. 

Alternatively, the writer could organize their research by categories. In this example, they might organize their paper by different industries in World War II and discuss the features of each industry during this time period in depth.

Both approaches are equally valid, but they provide different perspectives on the topic of the essay. It is important to think broadly about how you want to present your topic and more specifically about key points of emphasis as you organize your research.

Build Outline

After organizing your research in a logical order, you can start to build an outline. A complete outline should contain a draft of your thesis, topic sentences for each body paragraph or section, and evidence organized under each major claim you make throughout the essay. By the time you finish your outline, you should have completely finished gathering and organizing your evidence.

Write

With a complete outline in hand, you can start to write your essay in earnest. With a complete and thorough outline, the essay-writing process should mostly consist of connecting evidence and fleshing out sections of your paper with transitions. It is important that your paper has a natural and logical flow and reads clearly.

Revise/Edit

Once a full draft has been completed, you can start the revision and editing process. In the revision phase, the writer aims to improve the essay by making changes to organization, structure, and word choice. In an expository essay, you should revise with clarity in mind. Often this may mean simplifying sentence structure or word choice or rearranging the structure to flow more logically. Editing refers to the basic process of proofreading the essay and fixing grammatical and spelling errors. Essays will often go through multiple stages of revision and editing before being finalized. 

Structure of an Expository Essay

Like other genres of essay writing, expository essays are typically composed of an introduction that includes a thesis statement, body paragraphs featuring supporting details, and a conclusion. Some sub-genres of expository writing may feature variances on this structure. A “How-To” article, for example, may feature a bulleted list of steps in the body rather than traditional supporting paragraphs. However, most expository essays are written in a traditional essay format.

Introduction

The introduction of an expository essay should provide the reader with a general overview of the information that will be presented throughout the essay. The introduction of an expository essay will typically include three key features: a hook or topic sentence, exposition, and a thesis statement.

The hook is the first one or two sentences of an essay. In an expository essay, the hook serves to clearly present the topic of the essay. In some forms of essay writing, there is an emphasis on catching the reader’s interest early on in the essay, hence the phrase “hook”. In persuasive essay writing, for example, the use of an attention-grabbing quote or narrative component early on in an essay can serve to draw the reader into the writer’s perspective, thereby manipulating the reader. In an expository essay, this kind of dramatic flourish is generally unnecessary, and even distracting. Instead, the writer should attempt to introduce the reader as objectively as possible. 

After the hook, the writer elaborates on their topic in the exposition, forming the middle of the introduction. In this section, the writer introduces key concepts and characters, which will be analyzed further in the body of the essay. 

The thesis statement is typically contained in the last couple sentences of the introduction. In an expository essay, the thesis statement serves to state points of emphasis about the topic of the essay. In this genre of essay writing, the thesis statement does not need to be an arguable claim as it would in an argumentative or persuasive essay. Rather, the thesis statement should serve to bring the reader’s attention to key aspects of the topic that you want to highlight.

Body

The body of an expository essay is composed of separate body paragraphs that individually bring attention to an aspect of the topic. Each of the body paragraphs should present details that support the thesis. Typically, body paragraphs of an expository essay will include the following features: a topic sentence, evidence, and a transition to the next body paragraph.

In the topic sentence of a body paragraph, the writer will always make a general statement that ties back to the thesis or reinforces the thesis statement. Depending on how long the essay is and how it is organized, multiple body paragraphs may discuss the same sub-topic or theme, but they should always serve to introduce an idea or some information that relates to the thesis. Each body paragraph should put forward new information that is necessary to understand the paper’s thesis.

After the topic sentence, the bulk of each body paragraph will be devoted to presenting evidence or information that supports the statement made in the paragraph’s topic sentence. 

At the end of each body paragraph, the writer should write a brief transition to the next paragraph, allowing the essay to flow smoothly from one section to the next. The transition should be no longer than a sentence or two.

Conclusion

In the conclusion of an expository essay, the writer should reframe the thesis in light of the information presented throughout the essay. The conclusion should never present any new significant information or evidence. Rather, the writer should use the conclusion to tie together the information presented throughout the essay and to open up a discussion to broader implications.

In Conclusion

In an expository essay, the writer’s main purpose is to inform and educate their audience. In format and structure, expository essays typically resemble other genres of nonfiction essays. However, unlike similar genres like the argumentative or persuasive essay, the expository essay doesn’t aim to advance a position or argument, but rather to present information in as balanced and impartial a manner as possible.