Organizational Approaches For Expository Writing (page 23 in IAN)

Expository Writing:  One of the 4 main purposes of writing.  It can be used to EXPLAIN:  Division-Classification  Process Analysis  Comparison-Contrast  Cause-Effect  A Definition

How to Organize Your Expository Essay…  If you have to explain an event or situation, tell it chronologically.  If you have to explain a concept in depth, explain the ideas from simple to complex.

Chronological:  Start at one point and give events in time order as they happened. (i.e. narrative or process analysis piece).  Flashbacks can be used if needed or stylistically.

Chronological Examples:  Narrative: An experience with prejudice.  Process Analysis: How to deliver an effective speech.  Both writing concepts need to be told/written in a chronological way to make sense to the reader, and are most effective this way.  Can you think of other concepts that would use chronological organization?

Simple to Complex Approach:  Start with simple ideas and move to more complex ones.  By starting with easy-to-grasp, generally accepted evidence, you establish rapport with your readers.  It assures the reader the essay is firmly grounded in shared experience.

Simple to Complex Example:  Assume you plan to write a paper arguing that your college has endangered students’ health by not making an all-out effort to remove asbestos from dormitories and classroom buildings.  It would NOT be a good idea to begin with a medically sophisticated explanation of precisely how asbestos damages lung tissue.

Instead…  Start with an observation that would be familiar: a description of asbestos - as readers might see it – wrapped around air ducts and furnaces or used as electrical insulation and fireproofing material.  Then go on to explain the complicated process by which asbestos can cause chronic lung inflammation.

Your Turn:Page 22  Create a News Cast/Story about the information you wrote in your notes. OR  Create an Advertisement about the information you wrote in your notes.

Practice 1. Break down the following prompt. 2. Pre-write 3. Organize the information in an outline chronologically or simple to complex or both depending on the need.

Prompt #1  Young people try new activities in school, at work, at home, in sports, in hobbies. These activities, whether successful or not, become learning experiences. Select one such activity that you have tried and write a paragraph explaining the situation and what you learned from this experience.

Prompt #2  Write an essay in which you tell about someone you respect.

Prompt #3  Bill works in a sporting goods store. On at least two occasions he thought he saw two boys from school steal expensive items. The owner has insisted that suspected shoplifters be reported. If he reports them, he is afraid of what others will think. Write a paragraph explaining how Bill should handle the situation.