Expository Essay Assignment
In this unit, instead of taking a position and making your own claims about a pro/con topic, you’ll present a
survey of ideas on a single topic. Your goal is to provide your reader with a well-rounded idea of what various
positions and information are current on a specific topic of public debate.
ï‚· Audience: Your audience is any English 102 student in the U.S. Assume your reader has graduated from
high school and is pursuing higher education. What are the other things do you know about that
reader?
ï‚· Sources: Use a minimum of six sources from the Opposing Viewpoints Research Center database,
offering an array of approaches to the topic, and accurately representing current positions on the
topic.
ï‚· Essay style: The essay should be a traditional essay, with an introduction, body, and conclusion based
on a single thesis supported by factual evidence. It is not a list of separate discussions of sources. You
must evaluate and discuss every source you use “ but you will do this as part of a discussion of the
topic, in narrative form.
ï‚· Documentation: Use parenthetic citations and a Works Cited page. Remember, the WC is different
from your Annotated Bibliography. The easy way to manage this is to place the sources on your
Annotated Bibliography as you find them. Annotate and copy them and copy what you need to your
WC as you cite them. Don’t copy the annotations to your WC.
ï‚· Pitfalls: It is easy when you have freedom of topic choice to choose a topic you feel passionately about
and run with your side of the argument. But in this assignment, one-sided arguments will fail. The
central purpose of this assignment is to avoid the one-sided argument and present a holistic look at the
topic.
ï‚· First Draft: Your first draft should be at least six pages, typed, double-spaced and margined according
to your textbook’s MLA standards.
ï‚· Instructor’s Draft: You’ll receive instructor comments and write a thorough revision, the Instructor’s
Draft. The Instructor’s Draft should be 6-8 pages long. It will receive a letter grade.
Claim your story on the Dibs List! Every student must write about a different topic.
