Writing for an English course in a Canadian or American university is not like writing an e-mail to a friend. The college (or university) essay is highly structured and must be evidence-based: your personal, unsupported opinion will not be enough. You must prove your thesis with facts, examples, and quotations which you discuss in the body of the essay. Ouya Education is here to help you get started, and will provide you with useful suggestions about how to make your writing more academic. Many universities expect an SOP (statement of purpose) essay as part of their application process.

“Expository writing” means writing (composition) that is “intended to explain or with facts and examples, rather than just the writer’s unsupported opinions.”

An expository essay should provide a clear, focused explanation of a particular topic, process, or set of ideas, summed up in a “main claim” or “thesis.” It does not give one side of argument; it is balanced and objective as it addresses the thesis statement.

Do not confuse exposition with argument because an argumentative essay will emphasize certain points, provide counter-arguments, and appeal to external (trusted) authority in order to drive home an argument.

“Expository” means “intended to explain or describe something.” An expository essay provides a clear, focused explanation of a particular topic, process, or set of ideas. It does not set out to prove a point; rather, it will give a balanced view of its subject matter.

Expository essays are usually short to medium-length compositions intended to test the student’s compositional skills and understanding of a particular subject. They tend to involve less research and original arguments than argumentative and research essays.

The first body section or paragraph should focus on one of your main points and provide evidence to support that point. There should be two to three supporting points: reasons, facts, statistics, quotations, examples, or a mix of these. Both the second and third body sections should follow the same pattern.

An expository essay allows the writer the opportunity to explain his or her ideas about a topic and to provide clarity for the reader by using:

• Facts
• Explanations
• Details
• Definitions

Illustrative Examples include the following:

Reasons (because….),

Pertinent facts,

Relevant statistics,

Quotations from the text discussed,

Examples drawn from history and current affairs,

Definitions offered by authoritative sources such as a reputable dictionary

Features of Expository Writing

• Cause and effect
• Comparison and/or contrast
• Description
• Presentation of a solution to a problem

AN ESSAY DEFINED

An essay is a piece of writing (a composition) that delivers the author’s own argument or point of view. However, that definition is vague, overlapping with definitions of a letter, a term paper, a newspaper article, even a pamphlet. It is NOT a short story because a short story is fiction designed to vivify or illustrate a theme, not to defend a thesis.

Sometimes you as a post-secondary student will be asked to define a particular term or concept, or you will wish to limit the meaning of a key term in order to manage your expository discussion more cogently.

Providing a viable definition means more than just copying down a dictionary definition; you will be expected to explore different ideas surrounding the term, as the essay prompt or question emphasizes. You may wish to wait to provide a fully developed form of this definition until you have reached revision stage of writing as you must ensure that the definition matches the precise examples you have used to illustrate your key points.

Writing the Body (Central) Paragraphs of the Essay

The body of the essay is where the writer covers the topic in depth. It often consists of three to five paragraphs, but may involve more paragraphs in a longer essay. The body is where the writer presents the details of the process, idea, or topic that he or she is explaining.

Make sure that each paragraph covers its own clearly defined topic, and that you have introduced it with a topic sentence. In these central paragraphs the writer should present different subtopics (all related to the overall subject matter of the essay) in a logical order, with clear transitions between paragraphs.

Hover over different parts of the example paragraph below to see how a body paragraph is constructed.

Concluding the Essay

The conclusion of an expository essay serves to summarize the topic under discussion. It should not present any new information or evidence but should instead focus on reinforcing the points made so far. Essentially, your conclusion is there to round off the essay in an engaging way.

Instructors often use expository essays as short assignments intended to test the student’s compositional skills and understanding of a particular subject. Such essays tend to involve less research and original arguments than argumentative essays, and are not obviously slanted or biased, but objective and balanced in their approach to the subject being discussed.

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