EXPOSITORY WRITING

EXPOSITORY essays are simply essays that

EXPLAIN something in a

FACTUAL MANNER rather than persuade.

DESCRIBE HOW to do something. ANALYSE events, ideas, objects, or

written works. DESCRIBE a PROCESS. EXPLAIN/DESCRIBE an HISTORICAL EVENT.

CONSIDER and EXPLAIN different POINTS OF VIEW on a proposition (Prompt.)

to PROVIDE A BALANCED DISCUSSION of different views

to PRESENT THE PROS AND CONS so readers can make up their own minds

PURPOSE

ESSAY PERSONAL REFLECTION PERSONAL LETTER BIOGRAPHY INVESTIGATIVE PAPERS OR REPORTS FEATURE ARTICLES FOR JOURNALS, NEWSPAPERS OR MAGAZINES

MOST COMMON FORMS

DIARIES can be a form of EXPOSITORY writing as they often DESCRIBE people’s feelings or ANALYSE events that have happened.

HOWEVERAVOID THIS AS THE EXAMINERS DO NOT LIKE THIS FORMAT AS IT IS OFTEN BADLY

EXECUTED.

WORD OF WARNING

AS A RULE FORMAL LANGUAGE STYLE AND GRAMMATICAL

SERIOUS or DISPASSIONATE TONE

REASONED CONSIDERED EXPLORATION OF TOPIC

SPECIALISED LANGUAGE – DEPENDS ON AUDIENCE

LANGUAGE FEATURES

◦Analogy- comparison or similarity – “Why the heart is like a pump.”

◦Analysis – detailed examination of the specific parts of something – What were the key events that led to Sandra Liang being rejected by her family?

◦Cause and Effect – What causes family breakdown and how does this impact on children.

STRATEGIES AND TECHNIQUES

◦Classification – identifying and sorting into groups. How to identify the “in- crowd.”

◦Comparison – “What were the differences between being “black” in apartheid South Africa and in post-apartheid South Africa.

◦Definition – What is prejudice?

STRATEGIES AND TECHNIQUES

◦Examples - “A good sport is ….”◦Process Analysis – Breaking down the various steps of a specific task or outcome and drawing a conclusion. “Why did my recipe fail?”

◦Research – “What are the five main stressors in the lives of teenagers?”

STRATEGIES AND TECHNIQUES

Hot Hands From "The Streak of Streaks"* by Stephen Jay

GouldStart with a phenomenon that nearly everyone both accepts and considers well understood--"hot hands" in basketball. Now and then, someone just gets hot, and can't be stopped. Basket after basket falls in--or out as with "cold hands," when a man can't buy a bucket for love or money (choose your cliché). The reason for this phenomenon is clear enough; it lies embodied in the “maxim”, “When you're hot, you're hot; and when you're not, you're not." You get that touch, build confidence; all nervousness fades, you find your rhythm; swish, swish, swish. Or you miss a few, get rattled, endure the booing, experience despair; hands start shaking and you realize that you shoulda stood in bed.

EXAMPLE

http://www.happychild.org.uk/acc/tpr/features/0210exam.htm

http://www.wikihow.com/Sample/School-Bio http://

www.abc.net.au/health/thepulse/stories/2006/09/14/1740634.htm

OTHER EXAMPLES

The Turkish President and Gallipoli veteran, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, wrote a tribute to the Anzacs killed at (Gallipoli) :

Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives … You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us. Where they lie side by side now here in this country of ours … You mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away the tears. Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace after having lost their lives on this land. They have become our sons as well.

EXPOSITORY HYBRID

Check the LMS for this and other presentations on forms and structures of expository, persuasive and imaginative writing

Investigate and locate your own examples of expository writing – magazines, newspapers, letters

Think about the purpose and audience for expository texts and then select format – essay, speech ETC

WHAT NOW

EXPOSITORY WRITING IF DONE WELL OFTEN DELIGHTS THE EXAMINERS.

PRACTISE! READ THE EXAMINERS’ REPORT CONFERENCE AND CONSULT

THE END