What is an Expository Writing?

‘Expository’ is a synonym of ‘explanatory’. An expository essay or

article, thus, is a piece of writing that explains or informs. It is meant
to be based on fact and free of the writer’s prejudices. Opinion is
often expressed, but only if it is backed by fact. For example, if
someone asked you to write an essay on the causes of World War II,
you would write about Germany’s losses in World War I, the Treaty
of Versailles, the fall of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Hitler
led Nazism. In other words, everything would be based on verifiable
fact – an expository essay.

The expository writing process is centered on four activities:

 Generate a rough idea or hypothesis.

 Find evidence to back up this idea.
 Expound on the idea.
 Present an argument to back up the idea.

Thus, if you were to say that the Treaty of Versailles was the chief
cause of World War II, you would first talk about the conditions of
the Treaty of Versailles, the financial condition of Germany after
WWI, the ineffectiveness of the Weimar Republic, and how they all
led to the rise of Nazism.

Structurally, a piece of expository writing has the following

components:

 An introduction that introduces the central idea you’ll talk

about in the essay or article.
  The main body that presents evidence to back up the idea.
This is the meat of the essay and should be at least 3-4
paragraphs long.
 A conclusion that presents your idea again in the light of the
evidence.

Thus, the central thrust of expository writing should be to build

towards proving an argument, fact by fact, evidence by evidence.

Expository Essay Characteristics

The most important feature to remember when writing an
expository essay is that you will not need to write about your own
personal opinions. The main objective of an expository essay is to
inform your reader and back up all your facts with things like
examples, graphs, charts and statistics.

Descriptive Essay Topics

Descriptive essays are probably the easiest essays out there to write
about since they tend to be more personal and involve less research.
They are your chance at some creative writing, even if the essay topic
you choose looks pretty boring at first glance. When it comes to
choosing some descriptive essay topics, do not be afraid of those
generic topics. Just be aware that you will have to work really hard at
creating something that readers will enjoy reading.
Example
1. our best friend

2. Your favorite vacation

3. Your ideal date

4. Your favorite fishing spot

5. A photograph
6. A painting

7. A room

8. Your favorite book/movie/television character

9. The best restaurant in town