Expository Essays

Elements and Analyzing Prompts

What is an Expository Essay?

An essay that explains

Could be a concept, big world issue, emotions

Your writing should reflect your own thinking about life and the world around you

Can use first or third person POV

What is an Expository Essay?

Remember that you are explaining something about life or the world around you.

Not trying to persuade the audience to do something

Yes, the prompts will be boring! So, be creative!

Elements of an Expository Essay

Introduction

Thesis statement (last sentence of your introduction)

Body paragraphs

Conclusion

Watch it! #Badessay

Weak or missing thesis statement

Repeating an idea, wordiness, meaningless introductions and conclusions

Too many different ideas in a short essay

Vague and general ideas (make a point!)

Weak capitalization, punctuation, and grammar

Go for it! #Greatessay

Strong thesis statement

“Narrow and deep” development no wasted words or space (every word counts for something)

Short, but effective, introduction and conclusion

Appropriate tone more formal, not casual

Strong spelling, capitalization, grammar

Where’s the Prompt?

Read, Think, Write, Be sure to… structure

Read a synopsis about a topic

Think about a short quote that takes the general idea of the synopsis

Write about a specific idea related to the Read and Think pieces

Prompt Write

Think: about the following quote:  “Remember the two benefits of failure. First, if you do fail, you learn what doesn't work; and second, the failure gives you the opportunity to try a new approach.”

Write: an essay explaining whether or not it is beneficial to fail.

Be sure to—

clearly state your thesis

organize and develop your ideas effectively

choose your words carefully

edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and sentences

Read the following:

Michael Jordan’s biography on the NBA website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time.“ However, when he tried out for the varsity basketball team during his sophomore year in high school, he was considered not good enough, and was cut from the team. Motivated to prove his worth, Jordan worked hard during the off-season, and the following year became the star of the varsity squad, with several 40 point games.

Mother Teresa is generally considered to be a model of service and volunteerism.

Think  about the following quote:  ”We are prone to judge success by the index of our salaries or the size of our automobiles, rather than by the quality of our service relationship to humanity.” ~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Write an essay explaining whether or not it is worthwhile to volunteer your time to help others in your community.

Be sure to—

clearly state your thesis

organize and develop your ideas effectively

choose your words carefully

edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and sentences

Read the following:

Mother Teresa was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950. For over 45 years, she volunteered full time to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying. Following her death in 1997, she was declared a saint by Pope John Paul II and given the title "Blessed Teresa of Calcutta".

In 1979, Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, "for work undertaken in the struggle to overcome poverty and distress, which also constitutes a threat to peace." She refused the conventional ceremonial banquet given to laureates, and asked that the $192,000 funds be given to the poor in India, stating that earthly rewards were important only if they helped her help the world's needy.

Think:  about the following quotes:  

“It is good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it's good too, to check up once in a while and make sure you haven't lost the things money can't buy.” ~ George Lorimer

“Money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants.” ~Benjamin Franklin

Write: an essay in which you explain whether or not it is important to have money to be happy.

Be sure to—

clearly state your thesis

organize and develop your ideas effectively

choose your words carefully

edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and sentences

Read the following:

How much money does one need to be happy? According to a study from Princeton University, it’s $75,000 (US dollars) a year. The study claims that the lower a person’s annual income falls below that benchmark, the unhappier he or she will be. Researchers found that lower income did not cause sadness itself but made people feel more ground down by the problems they already had. The study found, for example, that among divorced people, about 51% who made less than $1,000 a month reported feeling sad or stressed the previous day, while only 24% of those earning more than $3,000 a month reported similar feelings. Among people with asthma, 41% of low earners reported feeling unhappy, compared with about 22% of the wealthier group. Having money clearly takes the sting out of adversities.

Review

With your partner, answer the following questions:

What is an expository essay?

What must I do to write a good essay?

What should I avoid?

Thesis Statements

Coming up Tomorrow…

Thesis statements

What are they?

Why are they important?

How do I write one?

Can I tell the difference between an example of a thesis statement and a non example?