English Language I (Comision D) Refining Composition Skills Mila Oriana

The Expository Paragraph: O In popular paperback books or Hollywood movies, the stories and images show mainstream American culture. However, many people, especially minorities and those from other countries, feel that these stories and images so not accurately reflect their experience. O To remedy this situation, writers and filmmakers from other countries are depicting the lives and interests of people in their home countries and attempting to gain some recognition in the United States as well as at home.

O Not all topics are best developed into narrative or descriptive paragraphs. Sometimes the topic sentence does not suggest that you tell a story or describe a scene or a person; rather, it suggests that you support the controlling idea with information, explanation, facts, or illustrations. A paragraph that explains or analyses a topic is an expository paragraph.

O Although explaining a topic can be done in several ways, specific details and examples. No matters what type of paragraph you are writing, you will need specific details and examples to support the controlling idea in your topic sentence. The controlling idea is the word or phrase in the topic sentence that states an idea or an attitude about the topic; thi idea or attitude is frequently referred to as a generalization, which is a statement that applies in most cases to a group of things, ideas, or people. A generalization can be a value judgement or an opinion or a factual statement.

Unlike narratives and descriptions; the sentences in the expository paragraph follow no prescribed or set pattern of organization. The ordering depends on the subjects and often on the author’s logic. There are, however, some common patterns that might be considered guidelines.

O Order of importance; saving the best for last: when one of the examples is more impressive than the others. And since readers generally remember what they read last; it is a good idea to leave a good impression on the reader by placing the most impressive example at the end of the paragraph. O Order of time; from the past to the present: when the details and examples in a paragraph are taken from history or are events that have taken place in the past, it is often a good idea to order the examples according to chronology.