Exposition writing : important points to note
- It is important that you write an essay from your own perspective, unless the question states otherwise. This means that you shouldn't need to write an exposition from the viewpoint of an adult.
- Students are normally encouraged to write expositions that are below 1000 words, as it is the quality that counts, and not the quantity. So don't worry if you find that your essay does not exceed 2 pages, unlike your Chinese compositions!
- The first thing you should do when you decide on a question to write is to plan out what you are going to write in your essay.You can do so by drawing a quick sketch of a Mindmap or Argument Tree to help you decide the stance that you should take.
- Write using the knowledge that you have in your head, and not using your heart to decide which stance you take. This is so as to avoid having an overly biased essay.
- You must take a stand. It can be either agreeing or disagreeing with the question. In the event that both sides make sense, you may want to consider mitigating factors, deciding criteria, or suggestions.
- You should have your thesis statement in your first paragraph. It should mention all the points you plan to write in the essay.
Skill focus - Writing introductions
YOUR INTRODUCTION MUST:
Example
God, whoever he my be to the millions of believers around the world, shows mercy and forgiveness. The same way God forgave Christians for their sins with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, humans too should forgive their enemies. The world's religions place great emphasis on teaching forgiveness, especially towards our enemies. However, to err is human, and to forgive, divine. I believe that the attitude of forgiveness and letting go of past disputes is a divine action, and hence an unrealistic task for humans. This can be explained through an understanding of human nature.
*Also try to make sure your ideas flow from one element to the next, so that readers will not get lost in your train of thought*
- Include Appropriate and relevant general opening remarks - make sure you are able to grab onto your audience, so that they will want to continue reading
- Show grasp of issues inherent in the question - paraphrase the question
- Define: Key words and the topic (when necessary)
- *Have a thesis statement*
Example
God, whoever he my be to the millions of believers around the world, shows mercy and forgiveness. The same way God forgave Christians for their sins with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, humans too should forgive their enemies. The world's religions place great emphasis on teaching forgiveness, especially towards our enemies. However, to err is human, and to forgive, divine. I believe that the attitude of forgiveness and letting go of past disputes is a divine action, and hence an unrealistic task for humans. This can be explained through an understanding of human nature.
*Also try to make sure your ideas flow from one element to the next, so that readers will not get lost in your train of thought*
Ways to write introductions
Use a brief but descriptive anecdote. This strategy gets readers emotionally involved.
Eg. For twenty-seven years, Mao Zedong's corpse has rested peacefully in a mausoleum in the center of Beijing's Tiananmen Square, disturbed only by tourists and city residents who have passed by to pay their respects to the first leader of communist China. But now a group of prominent Chinese intellectuals wants the government to finally bury him - along with many of his ideas.
Eg. For twenty-seven years, Mao Zedong's corpse has rested peacefully in a mausoleum in the center of Beijing's Tiananmen Square, disturbed only by tourists and city residents who have passed by to pay their respects to the first leader of communist China. But now a group of prominent Chinese intellectuals wants the government to finally bury him - along with many of his ideas.
Create am interesting. attention grabbing scenario (an imaginative projection of the future, or some hypothetical moment you want to create to make a point).
Eg. Imagine a snowstorm close to the summit of a 6100-meter peak in the Andes. On the descent, your climbing partner slips in treacherous conditions, His leg is badly broken. For hours you struggle to winch him down the mountainside. Then disaster strikes afresh: tethered to the rope, your friend slips over an unseen cliff. The sound of his cries is lost in the blizzard. As he angles below, you cannot know whether he is alive or dead, but his weight is pulling you inexorably to the edge. Without prompt action, you will die. Do you cut the rope?
Eg. Imagine a snowstorm close to the summit of a 6100-meter peak in the Andes. On the descent, your climbing partner slips in treacherous conditions, His leg is badly broken. For hours you struggle to winch him down the mountainside. Then disaster strikes afresh: tethered to the rope, your friend slips over an unseen cliff. The sound of his cries is lost in the blizzard. As he angles below, you cannot know whether he is alive or dead, but his weight is pulling you inexorably to the edge. Without prompt action, you will die. Do you cut the rope?
Present a startling statistic - shocker readers out of their ho-hum complacency. It's up to the writer to make readers care!
Eg. Four billion people will be diagnosed with HIV this year. As if this number weren't staggering enough, consider this. In any given college classroom, statistically one in every four students will be diagnosed with HIV.
Eg. Four billion people will be diagnosed with HIV this year. As if this number weren't staggering enough, consider this. In any given college classroom, statistically one in every four students will be diagnosed with HIV.
Begin with a meaningful, colourful, or famous quotation - it establishes your credibility and sometimes challenges your readers
Eg. Time stands still for no man. Time takes its toll. Time is of the essence. During a recent visit to Burma's Shan state, the heart of the infamous Golden Triangle, I thought often of those commonplace English expressions - partly because almost none of the clocks told me the correct time.
Eg. Time stands still for no man. Time takes its toll. Time is of the essence. During a recent visit to Burma's Shan state, the heart of the infamous Golden Triangle, I thought often of those commonplace English expressions - partly because almost none of the clocks told me the correct time.
Ask a question - involved the reader immediately.
Eg. Are today's young women and men more skeptical of authority than their parents were and more inclined to rebel against conformity? The question arose recently in an undergraduate philosophy class in Freedom and Responsibility I was teaching at the University of Toronto. We had just watched the tapes of the infamous Stanley Milgram to test the moral malleability of other wise upstanding citizens in the face of coercive, patriarchal authority of Science. Milgram himself was shocked by the result: over 50 percent of the residents of New Haven, Connecticut, appeared willing to electroshock a fellow citizen into unconsciousness, perhaps even death, simply because a man in a white coat told them to. . .
*Rhetorical questions can be used in the introduction to captivate your readers. This is a question that does not need to be answered, and can add colour your introduction, making it more captivating. However, be careful how you use this device. If it is clumsily used, such as rephrasing the question in the rhetorical guise, the effect is lost. Repeated use of such a device will also cause it to loose its uniqueness.*
Eg. Are today's young women and men more skeptical of authority than their parents were and more inclined to rebel against conformity? The question arose recently in an undergraduate philosophy class in Freedom and Responsibility I was teaching at the University of Toronto. We had just watched the tapes of the infamous Stanley Milgram to test the moral malleability of other wise upstanding citizens in the face of coercive, patriarchal authority of Science. Milgram himself was shocked by the result: over 50 percent of the residents of New Haven, Connecticut, appeared willing to electroshock a fellow citizen into unconsciousness, perhaps even death, simply because a man in a white coat told them to. . .
*Rhetorical questions can be used in the introduction to captivate your readers. This is a question that does not need to be answered, and can add colour your introduction, making it more captivating. However, be careful how you use this device. If it is clumsily used, such as rephrasing the question in the rhetorical guise, the effect is lost. Repeated use of such a device will also cause it to loose its uniqueness.*
Give your readers background information they may need. Provide a context for your discussion by establishing a frame of reference.
Eg. When ENRON launched an era of scandal in 2002, Old Europe had a good sneer about the ugly excesses of American capitalism. Now Europe has a scandal as large as any uncovered in the United States. An estimated 8-14 billion have gone missing at Parmalat, a global dairy conglomerate based in the northern Italian city of Parma. CEO Calisto Tanzi is now in a Milan jail along with a dozen other executives.
Eg. When ENRON launched an era of scandal in 2002, Old Europe had a good sneer about the ugly excesses of American capitalism. Now Europe has a scandal as large as any uncovered in the United States. An estimated 8-14 billion have gone missing at Parmalat, a global dairy conglomerate based in the northern Italian city of Parma. CEO Calisto Tanzi is now in a Milan jail along with a dozen other executives.
Come up with your own creative "hook"
Eg. The recent murder-suicides at Columbine High School have shocked the nation and left us wondering why someone, somewhere along the line had not seen the evil afoot and taken steps to stop it. The question has been directed particularly to the perpetrators' parents, The signs were there - exploding pipe bombs in the garage, a sawed-off shotgun barrel on a dresser, neo-Nazi messages left on the computer - yet no parent intervened. A possible explanation for such inaction may be found in an examination of dysfunctional family relationships in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. Instead of directly addressing an obvious problem, family members chose to play into a fantasy, a fantasy that culminates in suicide.
Eg. The recent murder-suicides at Columbine High School have shocked the nation and left us wondering why someone, somewhere along the line had not seen the evil afoot and taken steps to stop it. The question has been directed particularly to the perpetrators' parents, The signs were there - exploding pipe bombs in the garage, a sawed-off shotgun barrel on a dresser, neo-Nazi messages left on the computer - yet no parent intervened. A possible explanation for such inaction may be found in an examination of dysfunctional family relationships in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. Instead of directly addressing an obvious problem, family members chose to play into a fantasy, a fantasy that culminates in suicide.
Skill focus - Writing content paragraphs
A GOOD CONTENT PARAGRAPH HAS:
Example
Schools do show some usefulness in preparing students for life. Although the drilling that students go through in schools appears detrimental to their creativity and thinking ability, it does serve a purpose. Drilling teaches students discipline which they acquire when forced to sit down and study instead of engaging in a preferred or alternative activity. For instance, when examinations approach, university students may often spend up to eighteen hours a day studying. This is a feat that surely requires discipline- which is instilled by schools. Discipline is important in life as it teaches us to persevere through tasks we set out to do and to be more objective and focused in our daily work.. Without discipline, our lives would be like a haphazard trail made by a leaf floating through the stream of life. With it, we would be able to be more focused in achieving our aims.
1. Introduces the main idea of the paragraph
2 Topic sentence - drilling inculcates a sense of discipline
3. Example to sustain the argument
4. Justification - the importance of discipline
5. Interesting use of metaphor
6. Concluding sentence
- Topic sentence
- Elaboration or explanation of the main idea
- Examples to sustain the argument
- Concluding sentence
Example
Schools do show some usefulness in preparing students for life. Although the drilling that students go through in schools appears detrimental to their creativity and thinking ability, it does serve a purpose. Drilling teaches students discipline which they acquire when forced to sit down and study instead of engaging in a preferred or alternative activity. For instance, when examinations approach, university students may often spend up to eighteen hours a day studying. This is a feat that surely requires discipline- which is instilled by schools. Discipline is important in life as it teaches us to persevere through tasks we set out to do and to be more objective and focused in our daily work.. Without discipline, our lives would be like a haphazard trail made by a leaf floating through the stream of life. With it, we would be able to be more focused in achieving our aims.
1. Introduces the main idea of the paragraph
2 Topic sentence - drilling inculcates a sense of discipline
3. Example to sustain the argument
4. Justification - the importance of discipline
5. Interesting use of metaphor
6. Concluding sentence
skill focus - writing conclusions
A GOOD CONCLUSION SHOULD:
ExampleIn Conclusion, it can be seen that forgiveness is on ability that humans cannot completely possess. This is due to their selfish nature that most probably found its roots in Man's beginnings as cavemen hungry for survival of the fittest has led man to find ways to support himself and his own needs with little regard for those around him. Forgiveness that involves understanding and realization cannot be a realistic task for humans to accomplish because humans will only allow self-interest to take effect, regardless of the impact of time, history and the changing requirements of society.
- Reiterate your stand
- Summarize the main points of your argument/discussion
- Contain personal response to one aspect of the argument/discussion
- Leaves the reader feeling
ExampleIn Conclusion, it can be seen that forgiveness is on ability that humans cannot completely possess. This is due to their selfish nature that most probably found its roots in Man's beginnings as cavemen hungry for survival of the fittest has led man to find ways to support himself and his own needs with little regard for those around him. Forgiveness that involves understanding and realization cannot be a realistic task for humans to accomplish because humans will only allow self-interest to take effect, regardless of the impact of time, history and the changing requirements of society.