Expository Essay Writing
Student Name: _________________________Date: ________Period: ________
Which 4 tests will you see
this on?
1.
An expository essay is . . . .
2.
3.
4.
PROMPT: SAT Style
Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.
Families are difficult. They are groups of people forced to interact because they share the same blood. There is
no guarantee that these people will have anything else in common. In fact, differences within families often
lead to painful, life-long conflict.
And yet, George Moore, an Irish novelist, once said: “A man travels the world over in search of what he
needs, and returns home to find it.”
Are family relationships necessary for personal happiness and satisfaction? Write an essay in which you
answer this question and EXPLAIN your answer with reasoning and examples from literature, the arts, history,
politics, science and technology, current events, or your experience or observation.
SAMPLE ESSAY:
Families fail. Our families are tasked with the job of raising us, protecting us, loving us, and teaching us how to
live. In theory, families lead to happiness; however, the connection of blood does not guarantee understanding and
acceptance. Family relationships are not necessary for personal happiness and satisfaction because families fail to
provide necessary support and end up causing more harm than good.
Joyce Carol Oates writes of a failed family in her short story “Where are you going? Where have you been?”
Connie, a young teenager, fails to find satisfaction in any of her family relationships. Connie’s mother pushes Connie
away by nagging her and comparing her to her perfect sister, June. June cannot offer emotional support because the
comparison causes Connie to resent her sister. Connie’s father is at best a distant parental figure. Because Connie’s
family relationships fail to provide her with satisfaction, she seeks self-fulfillment through unhealthy relationships with
boys. The failure of her family relationships results directly in Connie’s downfall as perpetrated through the “boy” Arnold
Friend. Her family has caused her more harm than good.
Similarly, in Shakespeare’s famous drama The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, family relationships fail. However,
here, romantic relationships provide happiness where family relationships cannot. Romeo and Juliet are born of feuding
families. Each of these two young people is misunderstood by their families. Romeo’s father cannot fathom the cause of
Romeo’s depression so sends Romeo’s friend Benvolio to his aid. Juliet’s family attempts to force her into an unwanted
marriage with Count Paris which not only fails to make Juliet happy but, in fact, causes her harm. Failing to find
understanding in their respective families, Romeo and Juliet find satisfaction and happiness in each other. The young
lovers go to extreme lengths to protect this happiness. Their family relationships are not necessary for personal
happiness. In fact, their family relationships are the root of their problems. Only in their romantic relationship do they
find joy.
In “Where are you going? Where have you been?” family relationships cause the opposite of self-fulfillment,
despair and depression. In Romeo and Juliet the lack of fulfillment in family relationships pushes the two lovers into a
romantic relationship that does give happiness. Although relationships in general are necessary for self-fulfillment,
family relationships are not.
1. What is the overall purpose of this specific essay above in your own words?
2. On a basic or fundamental level, how is an expository essay different from a literary analysis essay (literary analysis
writing is the type of writing we have done thus far in the class)? List two different ways.
3. What do the first three sentences of the introductory paragraph accomplish?
4. How is the thesis different in an expository essay from a literary analysis essay? Hint: The thesis is the last sentence
of the introductory or first paragraph. List two different ways.
5. Using the topic sentences in the example essay above as examples, how do you write a topic sentence for an
expository essay?
6. What is one convincingly specific detail that the author uses in body paragraph 1?
7. What is one convincingly specific detail that the author uses in body paragraph 2?
8. What evidence did the author use to explain his or her thesis statement? Where did this evidence come from?
9. Using the concluding paragraph above as an example, what are three things that a concluding paragraph should
include for an expository essay?
NOTES ON EVIDENCE SELECTION
Strong Evidence
NEVER USE:
Weak Evidence
THINK ALOUD
STEP 1: READ THE PROMPT
Read the following quotation.
Take risks. Ask big questions. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes; if you don’t make mistakes, you’re not reaching far
enough.—David Packard, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard
Taking a risk means acting without knowing whether the outcome will be good. Think carefully about this
statement. Write an essay explaining why it is sometimes necessary to take a chance.
Be sure to —
• clearly state your thesis
• organize and develop your ideas effectively
• choose your words carefully
• edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling
STEP 2: BRAINSTORMING
What are different kinds of chances that people take? What are different reasons that taking chances can be good?
Think of evidence in which people take chances and what the results of those chances are. Why do those people take
chances? What good comes of those chances? You should brainstorm as many pieces of evidence as you can think of!
STEP 3: EVIDENCE
Decide on your three strongest pieces of evidence and what each one proves. Fill in the chart accordingly.
STEP 4: THESIS
Decide on an argument that answers the prompt. Your thesis should be specific and include support or explain why your
argument is true. Hint: Include a “because” statement that hints at both pieces of evidence you will use. Look at
example from essay above for help.
Prompt #
Three Pieces of Convincing Evidence
EXAMPLE
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Thesis
1. STAAR Style
Read the following quotation.
"Things are never quite as scary when you've got a
best friend." ― Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes
Think carefully about the quotation. What are the
benefits of friendship? Write an essay explaining the
importance of friendship.
2. STAAR Style
Read the information in the box below.
Jane Austen (1775-1817) and Franz Kafka (1883-1924)
are considered great writers. Their books continue to
sell, and they are widely read and studied in schools
everywhere. Neither of them, however, received much
recognition while they were alive.
Should people do things only to be recognized? Think
carefully about this question. Write an essay explaining
whether a person must always be acknowledged in
order to have accomplished something.
3. STAAR STYLE PROMPT
Read the information in the box below.
In 1955 medical researcher Jonas Salk introduced an
effective polio vaccine. At the time polio was considered
the biggest threat to public health, yet Salk refused to
profit by patenting the vaccine because he was more
concerned with preventing disease than with personal
gain.
Although many people work to benefit themselves, some
people choose to put others first. Think carefully about
this statement. Write an essay explaining whether people
should be more concerned about others than about
themselves.
Be sure to —
• clearly state your thesis
• organize and develop your ideas effectively
• choose your words carefully
• edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and spelling
4. SAT STYLE
Think carefully about the issue presented in the following
excerpt and the assignment below.
Being unwilling to change is often seen as a limitation.
For example, a common accusation people often make in
arguments is that the other person refuses to even
consider taking new positions on issues. But being
consistent is not always a bad thing. In fact, firmly
supporting a position or point of view shows that one is
stable and constant and does not change one's position
whenever circumstances change. This consistency is far
more important than a willingness to adjust one's
thinking.
Assignment: Is it more important to remain consistent
than to change one's mind when circumstances change?
Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point
of view on this issue. Support your position with
reasoning and examples taken from your reading,
studies, experience, or observations.
5. SAT Style
Think carefully about the issue presented in the following
excerpt and the assignment below.
Getting people to work well in teams is crucial to
accomplishing ambitious goals. Teams work a kind of
magic in developing important ideas and getting hard
work done, and they give us the close human contact and
shared purpose that we all need. But there’s a dark side
to teams too: group identity can be too powerful. The
desire to be an accepted member of a group can prevent
individuals from forming their own moral judgments.
Adapted from Peter S. Temes, The Power of Purpose
Assignment: Are teams or groups beneficial for
individuals, or does group membership prevent
individuals from forming their own moral judgments?
Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point
of view on this issue. Support your position with
reasoning and examples taken from your reading,
studies, experience, or observations.
6. SAT STYLE
Think carefully about the issue presented in the following
excerpt and the assignment below.
The old saying “be careful what you wish for” may be an
appropriate warning. The drive to achieve a particular
goal can dangerously narrow one’s perspective and
encourage the fantasy that success in one endeavor will
solve all of life’s difficulties. In fact, success can
sometimes have unexpected consequences. Those who
propel themselves toward the achievement of one goal
often find that their lives are worse once “success” is
achieved than they were before.
Can success be disastrous? Plan and write an essay in
which you develop your point of view on this issue.
Support your answer with reasoning and examples from
literature, the arts, history, politics, science and
technology, current events, or your experience or
observations.
7. SAT STYLE
Think carefully about the issue presented in the following
excerpt and the assignment below.
It has been said that "All that is needed for evil to
triumph is for good people to do nothing." This
statement suggests that people should do more than
merely think about themselves and a few others, that
they should feel responsible for issues and concerns that
affect the larger society or community. But aren't most
people already doing a lot more than "nothing" by taking
responsibility for their own well-being and that of their
families and friends?
Assignment: Should individuals take responsibility for
issues and problems that do not affect them directly?
Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point
of view on this issue. Support your position with
reasoning and examples taken from your reading,
studies, experience, or observations.
8. AP Style
Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in
prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.
—Horace
Consider this quotation about adversity from the Roman
poet Horace. Then write an essay that defends,
challenges, or qualifies Horaceʼs assertion about the role
that adversity (financial or political hardship, danger,
misfortune, etc.) plays in developing a personʼs
character. Support your argument with appropriate
evidence from your reading, observation, or experience.
9. AP Style
For centuries, prominent thinkers have pondered the
relationship between ownership and the development
of self (identity), ultimately asking the question, “What
does it mean to own something?”
Plato argues that owning objects is detrimental to a
person’s character. Aristotle claims that ownership of
tangible goods helps to develop moral character.
Twentieth-century philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre
proposes that ownership extends beyond objects to
include intangible things as well. In Sartre’s view,
becoming proficient in some skill and knowing
something thoroughly means that we “own” it.
Think about the differing views of ownership. Then
write an essay in which you explain your position on
the relationship between ownership and sense of self.
Use appropriate evidence from your reading,
experience, or observations to support your argument.