Expository Writing SPI ID individual writing selections as technical, narrative, persuasive, and/or descriptive in mode.

Expository Writing Related Words:Expose, explain, expostulate… Based on the three words above, what is the purpose of expository writing?

Expository Writing PurposeThe purpose of expository writing is either inform or explain.

Expository Writing Examples of Expository Writing Essays (SS Fair Essays) Lots of magazine articles, non-fiction writing

Expository FormatAt least in middle school, expository writing is taught as the “5 paragraph essay”

Expository 5 Paragraph EssayParagraph 1: Introduction Paragraph 2: Body Paragraph 3: Body Paragraph 4: Body Paragraph 5: Conclusion

Paragraph 1: Introduction In the introduction, you give Your main idea An overview of your three main supporting details that back up your main idea Some kind of attention getting hook. More about this later…

Paragraph 1: Introduction For example… pretend we are going to write an essay about things we can do to reduce the high school drop out rate in Sevier County Think about three things that contribute to students dropping out of high school. Maybe… Apathy (students not caring, not seeing why school is important) Poverty (not having enough resources or support at home to suceed in school, having to work instead of do school work) Attendance (not coming to school) There are other possibilities… teen pregnancy, etc.

Paragraph 2: Body This paragraph takes one of your supporting details and goes into detail on it. This is the meat of your essay. Apathy (students not caring, not seeing why school is important)

Paragraph 3: Body This paragraph takes the second of your supporting details and goes into detail on it. Poverty (not having enough resources or support at home to suceed in school, having to work instead of do school work)

Paragraph 4: Body This paragraph takes the third of your supporting details and goes into detail on it. Attendance (not coming to school)

Paragraph 5: Conclusion This paragraph Summarizes your main idea Ideally, it ties back in to the introduction somehow. If your attention getter in paragraph 1 was something like…

Paragraph 5: Conclusion “Have you ever wondered why 35% of students in Sevier County never graduate high school?” then the conclusion will want to tie back in to this message somehow. Maybe, “If we can find a way to overcome the obstacles of apathy, application, and poverty, then maybe we can find a way to increase graduation rates in our County.”

To write an expository essay… You need to… Have a main idea and supporting details Plan ahead… use a graphic organizer for pre-writing Research… find info to back your points up Use transition words between ideas/paragraphs

Practice: Think of a main idea and three supporting details for one of the following topics: Why we should (or shouldn’t) be allowed to have electronics in school Why we should (or shouldn’t) be allowed to have gum at school Why we should (or shouldn’t) have a specific dress code at school Why we should (or shouldn’t) have PASS at school

More Practice: Write the introductory paragraph to an essay on your chosen topic. Write one of the supporting paragraphs Write the conclusion