How to Write an Expository Essay for STAAR
If you are pursuing your studies in Texas, you should know how to write an expository essay for STAAR. STAAR stands for the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness. It is a testing program that the state implemented between the 2011/2012 school year- txetests.com.
An expository essay is a form of writing that requires the writer to investigate a given idea, evaluate the available evidence and then expound that idea before setting forth their argument regarding the idea in a concise and clear manner- owl.english.purdue.edu. When writing an expository essay for STAAR, you need to conduct some research first before responding to the given writing prompt.
A guide on how to write an expository essay for STAAR
Expository writing entails explaining what you think in a clear, concise and complete manner. The word expository comes from the word expose. To expose is to show something. Therefore, an expository essay is an essay that shows what you think. To write a good expository essay for STAAR, depict good organization of paragraphs, complete or thorough development of your ideas and controlled use of language – gcisd-k12.org.
While writing an expository essay for STAAR, follow these steps:
- Determine what the topic of your expository essay will be
If you already know what you should write about, just write down examples and explanations for your expository essay. However, if you are unsure of what you are required to write about, list possible ideas that are related to your writing prompt. Come up with several examples of every idea that you have regarding the topic. Choose the best ideas from your list and move to the next step of writing the essay.
- Plan your expository essay
Planning or outlining an essay is a vital step that you should not skip if you know how to write an expository essay for STAAR. Planning enables you to present your ideas and information in a more organized manner. Therefore, choose the strongest examples to use in supporting your ideas. Avoid using three or more examples to support one idea. Instead, include more details for one or two examples and then explain how the example and the idea relate to your writing prompt. Come up with an outline or a brief road map that will guide you in writing the essay. The outline or road map should indicate the content that you will include in each paragraph.
- Write the introduction or the set up
The introduction should have one or two sentences that lead your readers to the thesis statement. For instance, “A famous businessman and poet once said, “Teams win championships while players win games.” Think about that statement carefully. It simply means that while you can achieve good things alone, you can achieve better things by working with other people.
Such a sentence is ideal for the introduction of your expository essay if you want to explain why working with other people or a lone is better. Your thesis statement should be the last sentence in the introduction. A thesis statement is a sentence that summarizes your opinion about the essay writing prompt.
To write a thesis statement for your expository essay:
- Determine what the essay that you will write will be about.
- Write a sentence that explains your thoughts regarding the topic clearly
- Add the explanation for your thought
- Ensure that your thesis statement is supported by every sentence of the essay and example that you provide.
- Ensure that the writing prompt is related to the thesis statement directly.
- Write the body paragraphs
The body paragraphs of an expository essay provide the explanation of the prompt or the topic of the expository essay.
It should:
- Have a topic sentence
This is a sentence that leads your readers from your thesis statement to the example that will be used in explaining the thesis.
Example:
“You can see this in the popular movie and book, Ender’s Game, as the main character learns that he has managed to end the war that should have never happened.”
Sample transitions
For example, /Take for instance, / One can see this in / you can see this in
- Provide the necessary details to support the thesis statement of your essay while leading readers to the explanation.
- Explain
You can use various stems to explain your examples such as,
This example indicates the essence of…/ this example demonstrates the importance of…/ this is important because…/ this proves that…/ consequently…because…/ this implies that…
Example
“This example indicates that the effects of failing to listen or to consider the viewpoint of another person were devastating because the whole population was destroyed.”
- Write the conclusion
How you write the conclusion will easily tell your reader if you know how to write an expository essay for STAAR.
In the conclusion, you should:
- Restate the thesis statement of your expository essay using different words.
- State a true statement that relates to your thesis statement and what you stated in the introduction.
Example
“In most cases, there are several sides of an issue that should be considered. When a person fails to consider a situation from different angles, the effects of their actions can be devastating.”
Additional tips on how to write an expository essay for STAAR
Although writing an expository essay for STAAR can seem overwhelming, it becomes easy when you know the steps to follow and have tips to guide you- wikihow.com. You goal when writing your expository essay should be to consider the given idea or prompt, investigate it, explain it and then develop your argument around it. This can sound intimidating but these tips will make the task easier for you.
- Understand the writing prompt
Before you start writing your expository essay, make sure that you have read and understood the writing prompt. The prompt is usually presented in the part that starts with “Read” followed by “Think” and finally “Write”. Highlight these words so that you can know what exactly you are required to focus on while writing the essay. If there are words that you do not understand, look them up in the dictionary. Seek prompt clarification if possible- gcisd-k12.org.
- Ensure proper organization
Usually, an expository essay has three basic parts. These are the introduction, the body and the conclusion. Your thesis should be in the introduction. The body paragraphs should have topic sentences that are connected to the thesis statement and supporting ideas. The conclusion should explain or summarize the overall essence of the topic, issue or essay. To make your essay easy to read for your readers, ensure informational organization- sanantoniowritingproject.org.
- Ensure logical flow of ideas
Your essay should have a logical flow of ideas from the introduction to the conclusion. The introduction should start with engaging sentences and a thesis statement while providing a context. In the body paragraph, express the main points, supporting ideas and examples. To enhance clarity, have a topic sentence for each paragraph.
- Include examples and facts
Use supporting evidence and examples to elaborate your topic sentence or the main points of the essay. The body should provide factual analysis of the importance of every piece of evidence that you provide. Transitions from one paragraph to another and from one idea to another should be used properly throughout the essay.
- Write a strong conclusion
From the body, move to the conclusion where you rephrase and restate your thesis statement. Your thesis statement should be restated in the first sentence of the conclusion. However, do not just restate the thesis. Instead, tell readers about what evidence you provided in the body in a brief manner.
The conclusion should review and summarize the main ideas. No new information should be included in the conclusion. However, you can give your final thought on the issue or topic to your readers. For instance, you can explain how readers are affected by the topic. You can also explain how the narrow topic can be applied to a broader observation or theme. You can show your readers that you know how to write an expository essay for STAAR by writing a conclusion that draws a logical conclusion for your essay from the points that explained in the body section.
- Use a sample expository essay for STAAR as your writing guide
A sample expository essay for STAAR will enable you to easily grasp the steps of writing an expository essay because it acts like a practical writing guide. You can find sample expository essays for STAAR here.
Get help with your expository essay for STAAR
If you encounter difficulties while writing your expository essay for STAAR, talk to us for assistance. You can also visit our home page for more details regarding our academic writing services. Alternatively, keep reading for more guidelines on how to write an expository essay for STAAR on this blog.
Online Sources
http://www.txetests.com/faqs/FAQ.asp?ID=1&d=9999
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/685/02/
http://www.gcisd-k12.org/cms/lib4/TX01000829/Centricity/Domain/2414/englishieexpository.pdf
http://www.wikihow.com/Write-an-Expository-Essay
http://www.sanantoniowritingproject.org/ExpositoryWkshp/LA_7thGrade_Writing_on_the_STAAR.pdf
tea.texas.gov