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Expository Essay
When you write an expository essay, you are explaining something to
your audience. It is different from technical writing (also known as
process essays), which explains how to do or use a product. Expository
writing is also different from argumentative writing, which is meant to
convince the audience to agree with the writer’s perspective. News
articles are good examples of expository writing, as are any pieces that
focus on the 5 Ws (who, what, where, when, and why).

Types of Expository Essays

Even though expository essays are meant to inform, they can serve
different purposes depending on the writer’s objective. Here are the four
different kinds of expository essays.
Cause and Effect: The writer details the reasons for an event or situation
before discussing the effect(s). These essays are common in literary
essays or social studies reports.
Problem and Solution: After identifying a problem in today’s world, the
writer poses a possible solution. The problem/solution essay is similar to
the cause/effect essay. It can become an argumentative essay depending
on the writer’s tone.
Descriptive: A descriptive essay requires the writer to describe
something in their own words. The topic can be an event from the
writer’s own life, a relationship in a book, or a significant moment in
history. Though the essay can be from the writer’s perspective, it does
not tell a story like in narrative writing.
Compare and Contrast: How is this different than that? A compare and
contrast essay takes two subjects and explains how they are similar and
different. It is a more analytical version of a descriptive essay.
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Expository Essay Format

Expository essays typically follow the standard five-paragraph format.
After you outline the three main points of your essay, you’re ready to
start writing. Your essay should include these sections:
Introduction: Start with a ―hook‖ to get your reader’s attention. In one or
two sentences, transition to a strong thesis statement to tell your reader
what the essay will be about (but don’t start with ―My essay will be
about….‖).
Body: Each of body paragraphs typically start with a topic sentence that
directly links to the thesis statement. Discuss different information in
each paragraph, leading up to your most compelling or relevant point.
Be sure to include quotes from credible sources along with insightful
commentary. End with transition sentences that introduce your next
topic sentence.
Conclusion: Restate your thesis statement before making a broader
statement about your topic. Do not introduce new information here; if
you didn’t cover a point in your body paragraphs, you may not need it in
the essay.
The Cause and Lasting Effects of World War I
It’s almost impossible to imagine a war that involved 32 countries, 40
million fatalities, and 186 billion dollars. But World War I, also known
as The Great War or The War to End All Wars, ended up being one of
the costliest global conflicts in terms of both funds and human lives.
While it’s difficult to understand the magnitude of World War I, it’s
even harder to comprehend how the actions of Gavrilo Princip, a
Bosnian assassin, could trigger such an international chain event.
Though there were many underlying causes to World War I, the events
of June 28, 1914 are considered the inciting incident. Princip’s
assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie in
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Sarajevo was designed to influence the creation of Yugoslavia. As a

result, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia one month later during
the July Crisis.
Though Serbia effectively accepted all of Austria’s demands except for
one, the Austrian government broke diplomatic relations with the other
country on July 25 and went ahead with military preparedness measures.
(―Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia,‖ History.com)
When Austria-Hungary entered the war, Germany was immediately
involved. Serbia’s ally, Russia, posed a significant threat to Austria-
Hungary’s objective. What could have been a small-scale skirmish
turned into a larger operation when Germany then declared war on
Russia.
His Majesty the Emperor, my august Sovereign, in the name of the
German Empire, accepts the challenge, and considers himself at war
with Russia.‖ (―The German Declaration of War on
Russia,‖ wwi.lib.byu.edu/)
By bringing Russia to the war, Germany found itself at war with
Russia’s ally, France. Soon after, Germany began ―The Rape of
Belgium,‖ in which it illegally invaded Belgium in an attempt to bring
its troops to Paris. The atrocity quickly attracted international attention,
including that of Britain, who declared war on Germany on August 4,
1914. Britain’s declaration of war is considered the true beginning of
World War I. The assassination that caused the initial conflict was left
behind long ago, as its effects were rapidly escalating long past that
fateful day.
The effects of Princip’s actions quickly ricocheted around the world.
The Ottoman Empire entered the war after making a secret alliance with
Germany, and Montenegro and France declared war against Austria-
Hungary. The Battle of the Marne in 1914 between Germany, France,
Russia, and Britain began four years of constant trench warfare. Soldiers
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suffered from the advances of chemical warfare, as detailed by nurse

Vera Brittain in her 1933 memoir Testament of Youth.
―I wish those people who talk about going on with this war whatever it
costs could see the soldiers suffering from mustard gas poisoning. Great
mustard-coloured blisters, blind eyes, all sticky and stuck together,
always fighting for breath, with voices a mere whisper, saying that their
throats are closing and they know they will choke.‖ (Brittain)
Operations continued in the Pacific as Japan, New Zealand, and South
Africa declared war against Germany. Italy, having already proclaimed
their neutrality, declared war on Germany after the Treaty of London. In
1917, Germany tried to coerce Mexico to declare war against America,
leading President Woodrow Wilson to finally bring the United States
into the strife.
But the right is more precious than peace, and we shall fight for the
things which we have always carried nearest our hearts—democracy. . . .
.‖ (Wilson)
Immediately following the United States’ entrance into the war was
Cuba and Panama, who declared war on Germany the next day. Greece
followed suit in June 1917, followed closely by Liberia and China. Over
the next year, countless battles and operations pushed boundaries and
lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers to the cause. The final offensive
of World War I, the Hundred Days Offensive, led Germany to the brink
of defeat. After Germany signed the Armistice of Compiègne on
November 11, 1918, the fighting was officially over – but the effects of
the war were just beginning.
World War I may seem like it took place over four very busy years, but
the effects of the international strife would come to define the 21st
century. By the time the Paris Peace Conference began in January 1919,
Germany’s economy and morale had plummeted. They had fought
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against nearly 30 countries and had come close to complete destruction,

only to feel cheated by the Versailles Treaty.
The social and economic upheaval that followed World War I gave rise
to many radical right wing parties in Weimar Germany. The harsh
provisions of the Treaty of Versailles led many in the general population
to believe that Germany had been "stabbed in the back" by the
"November criminals." (―WWI: Aftermath,‖ encyclopedia.ushmm.org/).
The discouraged nation was resistant to the provisions of the treaty and
to their new democratic rule. Many German citizens longed for more
authoritarian rule as they’d had prior to World War I. A ruined economy
led to hyperinflation, which made Germany fearful of Communism as
well. Adolf Hitler, an Austrian extremist and leader of the Nazi Party,
became a welcome voice in right-wing nationalist politics.
Beyond Marxism he believed the greatest enemy of all to be the Jew,
who was for Hitler the incarnation of evil. (―Rise To Power,‖
britannica.com)
Hitler’s leadership in the years following World War I was a direct
result of the war’s events. The next global crisis, World War II, would
result in atrocities far beyond the scope of its predecessor. The world
would spend the second half of the 20th century recovering from the
enormous costs of both of these wars.
One assassin on an ordinary day in 1914 ended up starting an
unfathomable chain of events. The wars that resulted would define an
entire century, several generations, and countless government actions.
It’s important to consider the effects of any action, political or not, to
decide whether it’s the best path to take.