Explanatory Writing
Essays explaining concepts feature a kind of explanatory writing that is especially important for college students to understand. Good explanatory writing acquaints you with the basic strategies or modes of development common to all types of explanatory writing—definition, classification or division, comparison and contrast, process narration, illustration, and cause/effect. Concepts include abstract ideas, phenomena, and processes. Concepts are central to the understanding of virtually every subject—we create concepts, name them, communicate them, and think with them. For your assignment, write an essay on a concept that interests you. Learn more about the concept, and consider carefully what your readers already know about the concept: add to their knowledge.
Remember that your purpose in writing this essay is not to persuade readers to change their minds about a topic. Therefore, you would be wise to choose an idea that readers are less familiar with. Your goal is to inform, engage, explain, and allow readers to understand the concept in a new way-perhaps in a way they had not considered before reading your essay.
You must accurately cite at least three credible research sources. For additional information on researching, taking notes, and documenting research essays, see pages 490-526 in Reading Critically, Writing Well. For additional information on planning, writing, and reflecting on this type of essay, see pages 226-237 of Reading Critically, Writing Well. Please submit your draft essay (using MLA format with an attached Works Cited list) prior to 11:59 p.m. on the due date in Canvas. It should be typed, double-spaced, and at least 1,000 words in length. Place a word count at the end. The version you submit must include a Works Cited list.
