Expository Essay
Assignment objective: Your goal in this assignment is to write an expository essay in the style described in Units VI and VII. As discussed in Unit VI, Lesson 1, the expository essay is a general term for an essay that conveys information to the reader by explaining a topic, process, or issue. Your topic should be related to your career or major field of study. Your paper should take one of three organizational types: cause and effect, problem and solution, or sequential. The thesis statement should reflect the chosen organizational structure of the paper.
Length: Your submission should be 750 to 1,000 words, or roughly 3 to 4 pages, not counting the cover page and references page.
References: You must use at least one scholarly source from the CSU Online Library (eBook, academic journal article, periodical, etc.), though you may use more sources if you choose. All sources used must be cited in APA Style 7th edition
standards using in-text citations and a references page.
Details: Process: For the expository essay, you will complete the following steps:
- Choose a topic related to your career or major field of study.
- Create a plan of action: see Unit VI, Lesson 3, for strategies for assessing what you already know and assessing what you need to know.
- Research the topic: see Unit V, Lesson 4, and Unit VI, Lesson 4, for instruction on research methods.
- Choose the organization of your essay: cause and effect, problem and solution, or sequential organization types. See Unit VI, Lesson 1, for a list of the three organizational forms, and see Unit VII, Lesson 1, for a description of thesis statements written according to the organizational form of the essay.
- Create a thesis statement: see Unit VII, Lesson 1, for a description of thesis statements written according to the organizational form of the essay.
- Draft the essay: see Unit VII, Lesson 1, for brainstorming tips and Unit VII, Lesson 2, for more on the drafting process and description of each essay section.
Stylistic details: All essays must meet the following requirements:
- Write in Times New Roman, 12-point font.
- Include 1-inch margins on all sides.
- Use double spacing (top-to-bottom every page, to include above and below titles and centered words).
- Include an APA Style title page with six-line title block and references page that includes all of the sources used in the essay.
- Include page numbers (upper-right corner only).
- You must use at least one academically credible source from the CSU Library, though you may use more sources if you choose. All sources must be cited using in-text and reference citations.
- Adhere to APA Style 7th edition convention and documentation style.
The following document will assist you in creating this assignment:
- Expository essay example
Additional Helpful Resources: Transcripts are available once you access the tutorials.
- Formatting Formal Assignments tutorial
- In-Text Citations tutorial
- References tutorial
