Expository Writing

1. Expository Writing Expository writing is a type of writing that is used to explain, describe, give information, or inform. The text is organized around one idea and explained in detail. The writer of an expository text cannot assume that the reader or listener has prior knowledge or prior understanding of the topic that is being discussed.

2. My Task: • To write an essay that provides the reader with information about the origins of Halloween traditions in America. Sample body paragraph on next slide

3. Sample Body Paragraph Pumpkins are an essential tradition to Halloween. Halloween night would not be complete without a slew of lit jack-o-lanterns about the neigborhood. As the sun goes down Halloween night, the neigborhoods with the best Halloween spirit glow rich with these embers from the past. During the Samhain fire festival of old, sacred bonfires were lit on the tops of hills in honor of the Gods. Townspeople would take an ember from the bonfire to their home and re-light the fire in their family hearth. The ember would usually be carried in a holder - often a turnip or gourd. Nervous about walking home in the dark and afraid of evil spirits, they dressed up in costumes and carved scary faces in their ember holders. They hoped that the spirits would be frightened away.

4. Introduction Use anecdote: a relevant, humorous, or moving story to provide context and allow the reader to get to know you, or the person or thing you're writing about, a little bit better.

5. Sample Anecdotal introduction- "When I was a young boy, my father worked at a coal mine. For 27 years, he made it his occupation to scrape and claw and grunt his way into the bowels of the earth, searching for fuel. On April 19, 2004, the bowels of the earth clawed back."

6. Sample Anecdotal introduction- - Sergei Filin was walking home on a cold Moscow morning when a man in black approached him. With his hand held behind his back, the man in black muttered something menacing. Before he knew what hit him, Filin was on the ground, tossing snow in his face, his skin literally burning off. Filin had been attacked with acid."

7. Within your introduction paragraph, there must be a THESIS one sentence placed in the introductory paragraph of an essay that states the essay's overall discussion point.

8. Sample Anecdotal introduction- "When I was a young boy, my father worked at a coal mine. For 27 years, he made it his occupation to scrape and claw and grunt his way into the bowels of the earth, searching for fuel. On April 19, 2004, the bowels of the earth clawed back." • Thesis

9. Sample Anecdotal introduction- - Sergei Filin was walking home on a cold Moscow morning when a man in black approached him. With his hand held behind his back, the man in black muttered something menacing. Before he knew what hit him, Filin was on the ground, tossing snow in his face, his skin literally burning off. Filin had been attacked with acid." • Thesis

10. Conclusion The big “so what” Summarize the main points of the essay. This can be done by restating the thesis statement in different words or by addressing each idea individually. Be sure to include all of the major ideas presented in the body of the paper in your conclusion.

11. Final Product 3 paragraph, 1 page essay Organized and scored as follows: • Introduction (anecdotal style, contains thesis) • Body (provides information on one aspect of Halloween/ flows/ uses “show, not tell” strategy) • Conclusion (restates/ summarizes purpose)