Characteristics of Expository Essays

The first essay that I read is "Setting the Table" using the http://www.artofcookery.com/settingthetable.htm link. This essay has several characteristics that make it an expository essay. Within the introduction, the thesis is well defined. It is narrowed to how to properly set the table when entertaining guests. The bulleted statements within the body of the essay detail each step in setting the table properly. The type of organization used within this essay is the informative process. This is evident by the use of bullets and each detailed statement describing each step in setting a table properly. The informative organization is the most logical to use for a "How To" essay. The author could have also used the topic type of organization. This would have worked well also because of the nature of the essay and information being presented.

The second essay that I read is "How to Clean Fish" using the http://capmel.com/how_to-fillet_fish.htm link. This essay has several characteristics that make it an expository essay. Within the introduction, the thesis is well defined. It is narrowed to how to clean a fish based on the type of cut that you need for your recipe. The body of the essay contains paragraphs that provide the details for each method of cleaning a fish based on the end result. The type of organization used within this essay is the topic organization. Each paragraph contains the details of how to clean the fish based on the final cut desired. The informative organization could have been used to provide more of a "How To" organization and the essay would have been just as successful.

These two expository essays are very much alike in that they are both informative and provide the details of how to do something. They are different in that the information is presented in different ways. While the authors provide the necessary information, they do it using different types of organization. The first uses the informative type while the second uses the topic type.