Example of Expository Writing

 

Exposition provides an explanation or tells how to do something. The simplest examples of exposition are instructions for completing simple tasks. More complex examples are manuals that guide a reader through multiple steps of assembly or operation or technical descriptions that describe and explain the operation of a mechanism. Expository essays are often called by the name of a How To paper. One only needs to have had to follow a set of poorly written instructions or to have been lost in a confusing explanation of a new technical term to appreciate the beauty of clear, concise expository writing. Not all of the items in the checklist below will be used for every expository writing task you might encounter, but following those that do apply to a specific situation will help you keep your readers away from that frustration you yourself have felt when, for example, you have said, "I can't follow these instructions!"

Expository Essay Checklist:

 

Know if you are writing for an informed or an uninformed audience.
Decide on the level of formality or informality in the language and tone of the essay.
Give a title to the expository essay.
Introduce the topic by clearly labeling it and explaining what the outcome will be attained if directions or explanations are followed.
Write a formal sentence definition that defines your subject by item, class, and differentiation.
Define unknown terms related to the subject or process.
Use a step-by-step process for instructions. Number steps if appropriate.
Use commands as sentences when appropriate.
Use parallel structure.
Avoid redundancy.
Use illustrations where appropriate to support directions or explanations, but never substitute an illustration for written text when or if text is necessary or preferable.
Troubleshoot difficult steps in a process; use comparisons to explain difficult concepts or ideas; use helpful hints that ease the completion of a process or task.
Leave plenty of white space on your paper for easier reading comprehension.
Beware that a writer's familiarity with a process blinds the writer from seeing the omission of details, steps, or explanations in a process.

Example

 

The Value of Saving 

 Give the essay a Title.

 Introduction

 Introduction
       The wise money manager pays herself first. She knows that if she does not save money now that when she goes into her account later she will find the nothing that is not there.
     As it is with money, so should it be with saving electronic information when using a personal computer. The habit of saving, and saving often, insures that when you want to find the work today that had been done yesterday, that work will be there, in the bank-account like file where you saved it. Follow these steps for saving material when using a PC. If you develop the habit of saving, you will easily find, retrieve, and avoid the pain of losing valuable information.		  Use a Hook to interest the reader.




 Label the Topic.
 Here the writer assumes the audience is familiar with PCs.

 Tone is familiar, friendly, yet earnest.



 State the Outcome for following instruction.

 Body

 Body
 1. When creating a new file, label it accurately.
    The task of labeling is more difficult than it seems. To give a precise label that accurately explains the contents of a file will insure that you can know what a file contains long after it was created. For example, if you labeled this particular paper a date, a year from the date you would have forgotten what you had done on that particular date.		 Number the Step.
 Redundancy (1. First, when...) is avoided.




 Explanation clarifies the concept of labeling.
 2. Save, and save often, as you work in a file.
    One never knows when the power will go out or when the lights will flicker, but if either event happens, there goes all unsaved material in that file. Find the habit of saving in a time frame that seems to suit you as you work at the computer, say every 30 seconds or so.
Working longer stretches of time in a file without saving just leaves that much more information for you to lose. Save command is found in the Edit menu. Save shortcut is Command S on a Mac and CTL S on a PC.		  Maintain the Sequence.




 Explanation troubleshoots a potential problem.




 Hints are helpful for completing a process.
 Parallel Structure is used for commands.
 3. Back up your work.
    Following steps one and two does not insure that you will always have an electronic file when you want to retrieve it. All disks fail, and the files on failed disks are often irretrievable. Copy files onto a disk separate from that at which you normally work so as to have two copies of a file. When you update a file, be sure to update the back-up copy. Like FDIC protects bank investors, backing up protects the PC user.		  Explanation troubleshoots a potential problem.

 Comparison is used to emphasize the value of the process.