Parts of the Expository Essay

What must I include to make sure I receive that perfect ‘8’?

The Prompt

•Write an essay explaining whether failure can strengthen a person.

THE PARTS

• Hook

• Thesis

• Transitions

• Topic Sentences – Body Paragraph

• Examples – Body Paragraph

• Conclusion

HOOK/THESIS

Why add more to my introduction?

• If you have a neat idea to quickly hook your reader’s attention, then you may want to start with that and then give your thesis.

• A good attention grabber shows your creativity, analysis, and control of language.

• If done poorly, it wastes space and time. Practice a few hooks for each essay, and then choose whether it helps you.

Anecdote (brief story)

You’re on the field, down 1-0 with one minute left on the clock. A playoff game like this one is one that no one wants to lose. There’s ten seconds left and you frantically chase after the ball. The clock winds down and it’s over. All that’s left is regret, sorrow, and your sweaty jersey. What do you do now? Well, one must learn that when you’re knocked down and feel like you’ve lost it all, you’ve got to stand back up because you will have become a stronger person.

Metaphor

In the pantry of life, success is the candy, while it tastes good in the beginning, it can do a lot of harm in the end. Failure, however, is the multivitamin you must take everyday, it may taste bitter to start, but it will strengthen you for the future.

Interesting fact

Many people believe that in life, there are two paths to take: failure and success. They are wrong. The truth is that failure is a key step along the path to success. It is an unavoidable certainty that everyone in the world makes mistakes, but what counts is how we choose to utilize them. Failure is only a lesson that teaches people what not to do and how to become stronger.

Connecting the Pieces: Use Transitions

• Use transitions to help ideas flow. Transitions can be of 2 types:

• 1) Transition words or phrases that introduce new ideas

• 2) Synonyms or phrases that rename an idea in order to take it deeper into development.

• Refer to your cheat sheet for some examples

TOPIC SENTENCES/EXAMPLES

What do I do with this body paragraph?

• The body needs development. Just like you work out to stay healthy and develop muscles, your essay body paragraph needs to be healthy and have muscles too.

How do I give a paragraph muscles?

• Let’s think about Short Answers.

•With those, you give evidence and deep thinking to explain yourself. This is a great way to develop a body paragraph.

But I am not writing about a text this time—where do I find evidence?

• Examples from real life situations

• Examples from personal life

• Examples from history

• Examples from current events

• Examples from literature

• Examples from movies

Explanation of thinking/Background information

Failures without a doubt help someone recognize their faults. As soon as you realize where you went wrong, it is easier to build yourself up and advance in new ways. Failure is one of the few things in life that puts character in perspective to build a stronger, more powerful person.

CONCLUSION

Ready for it all to be over?

•Conclusions end the essay by giving a sense of importance and completeness to the idea.

• You want to finish, not just end or run out of lines. A good conclusion makes the essay and your thoughts feel complete.

WARM UP: HIGHLIGHT PARTS OF THE ESSAY

• HOOK = PINK or GREEN

• THESIS = YELLOW

• TOPIC SENTENCE AND EXAMPLES = BLUE

• CONCLUSION = ORANGE

The Prompt:

Write an essay explaining whether failure can strengthen a person.

REFLECTIVE QUESTION

What must I include to make sure I receive that perfect ‘8’?

Record your response on a sheet of paper. Be sure to put today’s date.