There is a great variety of essays students write at college. Some of them may be quite hard to complete. They require a lot of aspects to consider in the process of writing. The presentation of your research usually goes together with using stylistic devices aimed at creating images. This is not the case with an expository essay. Here, the ultimate goal of an essay writer is to explain something. That is why there are only two things you need to concentrate on while writing this essay:

• In-depth research that gives you the ground to explain what you are writing about and how it works;
• Total objectivity that doesn't allow you to give any personal opinions.

The Notion of an Expository Essay

Before you start writing your essay, you probably want to find the answer to the question: ‘What is an expository essay?' Cutting a long story short, this is a type of academic writing aimed at providing the reader with information. There is no need to prove your rightness or make any point. You don't have to find a solution to the problem described either. Mind that not proving your point of view is a must. This can be somewhat tricky, as it is sometimes easier to persuade people than to stay objective.

How to Choose the Best Expository Essay Topics

Another difficulty that students may have with an expository essay is picking the right topic. Although it is not hard to define expository essay, choosing a topic can be rather tough. It has to minimize the argument. For this purpose, you have to pick a topic that presupposes a single point of view.

Expository Essay Topics Examples: History

The most beneficial topics for such essays have to do with history. It can be the history of a country, city, college, or anything else. An essay writer who has conducted in-depth research is sure to find some misconceptions is the description of historical events. If it is a political conflict, it will be seen differently by different parties and by ordinary people who get information from different sources. No one says you cannot have your own opinion. But as it is clear from the expository essay definition, your point of view can't be the focus of your expository essay.

Consider the following topics:

• The History of the College
• Describe the History of Your Campus. Write about the Monuments It Has
• The Historical Background of the American Democracy
• Describe the Stages of Textile Industry Development
• The History of the Radio

Be very attentive! Don't stick to controversial arguments. If you choose the history of the radio as the topic of your expository essay, for example, don't mention discussions about who was, in fact, the inventor, which are fierce up to this day. Describe the contribution of every scholar whose experiments and findings influenced the radio as we know it now.

Topic Examples for an Expository Essay: How It Works and Why It Happens

This is one of the most interesting and clear clusters of topics for these essays. These are the best topic examples:

• How the Internet Works
• The Principles of the Legislation System in the US
• What Processes Take Place in Our Brain When We Are Asleep

On the other hand, you have to be extra cautious with the topics that don't have enough evidence. If you choose a vegan diet as the topic, don't try to invent arguments for or against it. Choose reliable grounded sources. Also, take into consideration that different researchers often PROVE opposite ideas. The best way out is to include different points of view in your expository essay outline and then, try and describe them in an unbiased manner.

The same thing should be done with topics of the following kind:

• How the Relationships in the Family Influence a Child’s Academic Performance
• How to Help a Friend Who Thinks of a Suicide
• How Various Movie Genres Affect Our Perception of the World
• Why Teenagers Smoke
• Why Lactose Intolerance Is More Widespread in Some Countries than in Others

Each of these topics can be seen through the lens of personal views. Our bias and experience form our opinions about family life, relationships, and all the other spheres of our lives and interests. However, it is critical to remember that there is always a field of knowledge that deals with this or that aspect of life: psychology, neurolinguistics, sociology, etc. You can't just state in your expository essay that comedies make us happy, while thrillers don't or vice versa. This would be your personal opinion. Base your arguments on statistics, research findings, the theory and history of cinematography. This will be the right answer how to write an expository essay/

How to Write an Expository Essay: Step By Step

After you choose your topic, it is time to start writing your expository essay. The stages of writing are as follows:

1. Get inspired. Search for expository essay examples. Note that your essay is to be 100% original. It, obviously, means that you can't copy and paste the text written by someone else. It also means that you cannot copy the ideas you find in expository essay examples either. But using such kind of material is a great way to see how you can write such an essay of your own. Define expository essay peculiarities that can be hard to deal with.
2. Brainstorm. Now, when you can answer the question ‘What is an expository essay?’, it gets obvious that it has to be as neutral as possible. That is why you have to give enough thought to the way of presenting the information. Phrase your thesis statement and ask your friends and family to evaluate it from this point of view. You can also consult your teacher if possible. Comparing different opinions will help you stay on the safe side.
3. Create an expository essay outline. Your essay should contain five main parts: the introduction, three body paragraphs, and the conclusion. The outline of introduction has a thesis statement and the hook. Each body paragraph should have a topic sentence indicated in the outline. You can also think of transition sentences when you are outlining the body paragraphs. The outline of the conclusion should, at least, contain a restated thesis. As you can see, the outline is much more than the table of contents. It is the plan of action you use in your research.
4. Research. As we have mentioned above, the sources you choose have to be credible. Don't use Wikipedia articles. Although there is plenty of useful information, basing your arguments on it is frowned upon in the majority of schools all over the world. The main reason for this is that articles are written by contributors who inevitably have their personal views. If you are familiar with more than one language, you can compare different versions of the same article and see that some arguments vary a lot. The same thing concerns dictionaries contributed by their users. The Dictionary by Merriam-Webster, for example, is a more trustworthy source to find out the etymology of a term than a range of free dictionaries. This gets even more important when it comes to an expository essay, which must be objective.

Although the expository essay definition is easy to understand, the writing process can be somewhat challenging if you fail to stay unprejudiced. It is vital to pick the right topic and present it without a shadow of personal preferences. Following our tips will make it easier for you to create an excellent expository essay.