Five-Paragraph Expository Essay Model

       ESSAY FORMAT:                                            ESSAY MODEL:

Essay Title: Paragraph 1: The Introduction (which states): 1. Topic Sentence (Main Idea for your paper) 2. Example Sentence #1 (Subtopic) 3. Example Sentence #2 (Subtopic) 4. Example Sentence #3 (Subtopic) 5. Concluding Sentence that repeats the Main Idea Paragraph 2: Example #1 6. Topic Sentence Example #1 (from the Introduction) 7. Examples/sentences that prove your Topic Sentence 8. Concluding Sentence that repeats Example #1 Paragraph 3: Example Paragraph #2 9. Topic Sentence Example # 2 (from the Introduction) 10. Examples that prove your Topic Sentence 11. Concluding Sentence that repeats Example #2 Paragraph 4: Example Paragraph #3 12. Topic Sentence Example #3 (from the Introduction) 13. Examples that prove your Topic Sentence 14. Concluding Sentence that repeats Example #3 Paragraph 5: Conclusion (a summary of main points): 15. Topic Sentence (Main Idea for your paper) 16. Example Sentence #1 (Subtopic) 17. Example Sentence #2 (Subtopic) 18. Example Sentence #3 (Subtopic) 19. Concluding Sentence that repeats the Main Idea

My Dog, Romeo 1. My dog, Romeo, is the best pet anyone could have. 2. He is beautiful and easy to care for. 3. Playing with him is lots of fun. 4. He always takes care of me. 5. There isn't a better pet anywhere. 6. Romeo is a beautiful tricolor Sheltie. 7. He is mostly black with white and a bit of brown. Caring for him is easy because I simply have to make sure he has fresh water and food every day. I exercise him by throwing his toys. 8. Romeo is a good pet because he is nice looking and doesn't require much care. 9. Romeo is lots of fun to play with. 10. He loves to play catch. He follows me around the house with a toy and drops it on my foot so I will kick it. He can catch just about anything, but his favorite is chasing a Frisbee. 11. I really have fun playing with Romeo. 12. Romeo takes care of me. 13. He always follows me when I leave a room. When I am sitting on the couch he plops down right beside me. When we are outside in the woods he always makes sure that I keep up with the rest of the family. 14. He always watches out for me. 15. As you can see, Romeo is a great pet.  16. I am proud of him and he doesn't require much care.  17. Playing with him is always enjoyable.  18. He watches over me and keeps me safe.   19. Romeo is absolutely the best pet anyone could ever have! ________________________ Remember that after you have written your ideas down in this format, you can make your writing stronger by combining sentences, varying sentence structure, and using a thesaurus to locate powerful words.

My Dog, Romeo

Black White Sheltie

My dog, Romeo, is the best pet anyone could have. He is beautiful and easy to care for. Playing with him is lots of fun. He always takes care of me. There isn't a better pet anywhere.

Romeo is a beautiful tricolor Sheltie. He is mostly black with white and a bit of brown. Caring for him is easy because I simply have to make sure he has fresh water and food every day. I exercise him by throwing his toys. Romeo is a good pet because he is nice looking and doesn't require much care.

Romeo is lots of fun to play with. He loves to play catch. He follows me around the house with a toy and drops it on my foot so I will kick it. He can catch just about anything, but his favorite is chasing a Frisbee. I really have fun playing with Romeo.

Romeo takes care of me. He always follows me when I leave a room. When I am sitting on the couch he plops down right beside me. When we are outside in the woods he always makes sure that I keep up with the rest of the family. He always watches out for me.

As you can see, Romeo is a great pet. I am proud of him and he doesn't require much care. Playing with him is always enjoyable. He watches over me and keeps me safe. Romeo is absolutely the best pet anyone could ever have!

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Written collaboratively with 4th grade students about Mrs. Barnard's dog, Romeo.

FOR ILLUSTRATION PURPOSES ONLY: Contact Paula Barnard at Pioneer Elementary School, Arlington Public Schools, Arlington, WA, USA Updated 09/22/2010

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Expository Essay

The purpose of an expository essay is to present, completely and fairly, other people's views or to report about an event or a situation. Expository writing, or exposition, presents a subject in detail, apart from criticism, argument, or development; i.e., the writer elucidates a subject by analyzing it. Such writing is discourse designed to convey information or explain what is difficult to understand. Exposition usually proceeds by the orderly analysis of parts and the use of familiar illustrations or analogies.

Such an analysis requires:

1. Reading with understanding the ideas developed in an article by clearly stating another's thesis, outlining the facts used by the author to support that thesis, and the "values" underlying the ideas.
2. Putting what is read into a larger context by relating another's article or book to other work in the field, i.e. citing external sources in a similar field to support main thesis.
3. Clearly and effectively communicating this information to a defined audience. In other words, you must write clearly and fully enough for your readers to know how you have arrived at your analyses and conclusions. They should never have to guess what you mean; give your readers everything they need to know to follow your reasoning.

OOW

2011