The Task: You are going to write an expository essay. Think of “expository” as “exposing” or uncovering truths, if you like. Think of “Exposition,” which is the part of plot in any story that gives us what we need to know to understand what is going on. This is a personal essay inspired by essays that we have read in class so far. It will contain elements we’ve been practicing in your low stakes assignments: narration and reflection. This means you will be recounting “a sequence of events that are linked in time” (Aaron & Repetto), and you will also be examining and describing the significance of those events. In other words, you will be telling us a story from your personal experience, but you will not only be telling a story; you will also be reflecting on how those experiences affected you. Did you change because of the events in your narrative? Did you learn? Did you grow? How? In other other words, this is another form of discovery through writing. You may not recall every detail of your story until you begin to tell it (or go back and revise it). You may not fully understand or be able to express the ways the events of this narrative affected you until you reflect back on them. Our class discussion, Chapters 5-7 of our text, class writing prompts, and several example essays will provide writing instruction, ideas, and valuable examples of exposition, narration and reflection.
