The Expository Essay
- Heather Corman
- Sep 15, 2015
- 1 min read
Today we will be continuing to discuss expository writing: writing that attempts to explain, persuade, analyze, research or investigate a specific subject. We will be reviewing the expository essay.
Read Bertrand Russell's essay What I Have Lived For. It is a wonderful example of the five paragraph expository essay with its three part thesis, precision in language, vivid imagery and depth of evaluation. It also provides a humanitarian vision for our world. After reading the essay, working in groups, explore it using the questions provided.
What I Have Lived For Questions
Identify Russell’s thesis statement and the topic sentences of paragraphs 2, 3, and 4.
The number three is the basis for the structure of Russell’s essay. Three is an ancient symbol for unity and completeness and for the human life cycle: birth, life, death. Find as many examples as you can of Russell’s effective use of three’s. (Look at paragraph and sentence structure as well as content.)
Analyze the order in which Russell explains his three passions. Do you think the order is chronological, logical, climactic, or random? Why do you think this?
Which of Russell’s three “passions” has he been least successful in achieving? Why?
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