Expository writing tells all And it is found everywhere
Almost all written material ordinary people read and write is
exposition.
Memos, e-mails, letters to the editor, notes to Kyle's teacher
all are examples of exposition. So are Kyle's algebra text,
your employee manual, and the daily paper.
Each of those forms of writing is an example of nonfiction informative
prose. In each case the writing exposes or explains
opinions or ideas.
It is non or not fiction because the writers present
it as true and believe that it is true. They may be mistaken,
but that's a different matter.
Good exposition does for ideas what supermarket tabloids for
celebrities' bodies: lays them out where nobody can miss a freckle
on them.
Exposition can occur in both fiction and nonfiction, but
the term expository writing refers only to nonfiction.
The ELA curriculum is full of such terminology traps for unwary
teachers and students.
More pages on expository writing
This thread discusses definitions and other background information
that teachers with minimal formal English study may find useful:
There are as many varieties ofexposition as there are cereal
brands, each with their own patterns of organization. Fortunately,
you and I don't have to teach them all or write them all. We can
limit ourselves to teaching one that can be adapted to
many other uses.
Limiting our focus makes teaching writing and learning to write
much easier for all parties. We teach a process that works nearly
all the time for nearly all nonfiction writing required in school
and work. In my experience, the kid who is smart enough to figure
out he's got one of the 5% of situations in which the standard
process won't work is smart enough to figure out an alternative.
To succeed as a writing teacher, you need to know some basic
terminology like nonfiction
and essay, mainly so you use
lingo with the least chance of confusing students.
You also need to know a few other things as well:
An appropriate writing
process for teaching nonfiction writing.