Expository text
Expository text is a specific form of writing aimed at informing or explaining a subject to the reader, often presuming that the audience lacks prior knowledge about the topic. The primary goal of expository texts is to clarify or describe events, objects, or concepts in a clear and organized manner. Common examples include textbooks, encyclopedia entries, news articles, how-to guides, and scientific reports. This type of writing is categorized into five main structures: descriptive, sequential, compare and contrast, cause and effect, and problem and solution. Each structure serves a distinct purpose; for instance, descriptive expository writing appeals to the senses, while sequential writing presents information in chronological order. Although expository writing seeks to educate, it is important to note that it reflects the author's perspectives and potential biases. Ultimately, expository texts play a crucial role in enhancing reader comprehension and facilitating learning across various subjects.
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Subject Terms
Expository text
An expository text is a piece of writing that seeks to describe or explain an event, image, person, or thing. The purpose of an expository text is to inform and educate the reader about a single subject. Expository texts are often written with the assumption the reader does not have prior knowledge about the subject. Authors of expository texts try to write as clearly as possible, in a highly organized fashion, to aid reader comprehensionreading comprehension. Examples of expository texts include textbooks, encyclopedia entries, news stories, how-to instructions (such as user manuals and recipes), scientific studies, business letters, and press releases.
Overview
Expository writing is one of four primary rhetorical modes (the others are argumentation, description, and narrationnarration). Although the purpose of expository writing is to explain an event or topic, it never produces a purely objective text. Rather, exposition always reflects the particular stance and biases of the writer and can be used rhetorically to persuade readers. However, in expository texts, an author usually does not make an overt argument.
The five primary forms of expository writing are descriptive, sequential, compare and contrast, cause and effect, and problem and solution. Expository writing that has a descriptive aim usually appeals to the senses senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, etc.) as it describes the characteristics of the form and content of the subject or topic in question. For example, encyclopedia entries describe the object or subject under consideration.
Expository writing can also be sequential in structure. In an essay essay with a sequential format, topics or events are listed and described in chronological order, usually with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. News stories are usually written in sequential order to inform the reader about the way in which the event unfolded. Recipes are also written in sequential order, as they guide readers through a chronological, step-by-step process.
Expository writing can also appear in the form of comparative and contrasting essays. In these essays, the author places two ideas or subjects together to explore how they are alike or unalike and why. An example of a compare and contrast expository text is a blog blog post that compares and contrasts the features of different models of computer monitors with the purpose of informing potential consumers about their purchase.
Expository writing which has a cause-and-effect structure is implemented to analyze the connection between two situations. These texts can focus on both the cause and effect of an event, or they can consider just the cause or effect of a single event. For example, an article might state the top ten reasons why people get cavities, but it might not analyze the link between these activities and tooth decay.
Finally, in problem and solution structured expository writing, the author states a problem and then lists and describes potential solutions. An example of this type of writing is an article that details the best methods to get stains out of clothing.
Expository texts use different structures to consider different subjects, but they have the shared purpose of educating the reader.
Bibliography
Freeman, Marcia S. Listen to This: Developing an Ear for Expository. Gainseville: Maupin, 1997. Print.
Hartman, Joan, John C. Brereton, and Linda H. Peterson, eds. The Norton Reader: An Anthology of Expository Prose. New York: Norton, 1995. Print.
Hubbard, Frances K., and Lauren Spencer. Writing to Inform. Rosen: New York, 2012. Print.
Koehler, Susan. Crafting Expository Papers. Gainesville: Maupin, 2013. Print.
Mather, Marjorie, and Brett McLenithan, eds. Clear Writing: Readings in Expository Prose. Buffalo: Broadview, 2008. Print.
Roberts, Tammy, Mical Moser, and Julia Gaunce, eds. The Broadview Anthology of Expository Prose. Buffalo: Broadview, 2011. Print.
Schmidt, Diane E. Expository Writing in Political Science: A Practical Guide. New York: Harper, 1993. Print.
Tham, Diana. Expository Eureka: Modeling Expository Essays for Today’s Secondary School Students. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Intl., 2013. Print.