An essay is a small paper with a free composition in which the author’s personal thoughts and impressions are expressed on a specific issue or occasion. The essay does not seek to give an exhaustive interpretation of the subject, it expresses the personal opinion of the author.

Expository paper is different from other types of essay. The first and the most important difference is the absence of the need to present arguments.

This makes this type of essay much easier, but, at the same time, with expository essay students often have difficulties.

Five common mistakes in writing expository essay

– Inattentive check of work. It is not enough to check only the spelling and punctuation. Re-read your own essay and make sure that there are no bad metaphors or ambiguous expressions.

– Lack of detail, long and tedious entry. An interesting essay can lose if it lists statements that are not supported by examples.

– Excessive amount of words.

– The presence of arguments and analysis of the facts that is not required in an expository essay.

– Too long phrases, “overloading” of the essay with terms and definitions. Long sentences with a lot of metaphors are not proof of the author’s point of view, in most cases they distract the reader from the problem, lead him away.

Do not be too detailed

The essay should be brief. Expository essay should contain common description of some specific theme. The volume of the essay is limited to a specific number of words, so the available volume should be managed wisely. In some cases, you can refuse the details of any fact, especially if they are not directly related to the case. Do not distract the reader from the main topic of the essay.

Do not choose too broad topic

An expository essay must have specific topic. It can be a person, a subject, an event or a place. You can use your own experience. For example, choose a significant event and turn it into a theme for your essay. This event could have happened recently or many years ago. Write about a case that influenced you or changed your views.

Lack of structure

An expository essay should have a specific order and the story should be logical. Make a plan in chronological order in accordance with the passage of time. The narrative will move from one scene to another, describing events and situations in the order in which they occur. Such a plan is perfect for writing with a description of the event or memory.

Another way of organizing such an essay can be a spatial structure. Such a plan is subject to spatial order, and your essay is divided into paragraphs in accordance with the place of action. The movement of the plot in such an essay remembers the work of the operator in the film and reports the details of each place. Such a plan is perfect for describing a meaningful place.

Culmination sequence is also an option. In this case, the points of the plan are arranged in order of importance from the least important to the most significant moment. Due to this, the most important or intense moment of the plot comes at the end of the composition.

You should have a thesis

Any type of essay needs a thesis. Thesis will be required regardless of the type of essay structure chosen. The main statement is contained in the first paragraph and is repeated in the final part of the essay. A perfect thesis will tell a key idea or topic and serves as a kind of map for navigating through the rest of the text of the essay.

Lack of context

Sometimes it is very hard for reader to understand the theme of the essay because of the lack of needed context. The author can be able to solve this problem. Provide brief information about the chosen topic so that the reader understands the context. Provide information that will allow the reader to understand the full importance of the subject, place, event or memories. It is the context that helps to understand the feelings and emotions of the author, to see the world through your eyes. A very important element of a good descriptive essay is an abundance of details. Fill the first paragraph with lots of sensual details. Describe the surrounding sounds or your taste sensations. Try to show, and not to tell – it will help you to avoid all possible mistakes.