Exposition
What is Exposition?
The purpose of exposition is to:
- Explain
- Inform
- Define
- Research reports
- Compare/ Contrast essays
- Cause and Effect essays
Examples of Exposition from Literature/ Media
"It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire. During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet.
Pursued by the Empire’s sinister agents, Princess Leia races home aboard her starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can save her people and restore freedom to the galaxy…." |
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Excerpt from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams
“A towel, [The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy] says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-boggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.”
Douglas Adams
“A towel, [The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy] says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-boggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.”
Key Topics
- What are the modes of discourse?
- What is expository writing?
- How is an outline organized?
- How is a topic outline different from a full sentence outline?
- The three points-of-view: first person, second person, & third person
- The three basic functions of language: Informative, expressive, & directive
- Satire vs. comedy
Process-Analysis
In this section, we will look at essays, articles, excerpts from literature, and poetry that have one thing in common--They all explain how to do something. We will practice writing from different points-of-view and for a variety of audiences and purposes. We will also learn how to structure, plan, compose, and polish a process-analysis piece of writing, which will be either a piece of non-fiction prose or a piece of fiction prose.
Process-analysis writings explain how to do something, step-by-step, and they can serve either a directive function or an informative function. Process-analysis is a specific type of exposition.
Process-analysis writings explain how to do something, step-by-step, and they can serve either a directive function or an informative function. Process-analysis is a specific type of exposition.
- A directive process-analysis piece gives directions to the reader. This style of essay commonly uses second person point-of-view.
- An informative process-analysis piece informs the reader about a process. This style of essay commonly uses third person point-of-view.
Passage from Laura Esquivel's novel, Like Water for Chocolate:
CHAPTER ONE
JANUARY
Christmas Rolls
INGREDIENTS:
*
1 can of sardines
1/2 chorizo sausage
1 onion oregano
1 can of chiles serranos
10 hard rolls
*
JANUARY
Christmas Rolls
INGREDIENTS:
*
1 can of sardines
1/2 chorizo sausage
1 onion oregano
1 can of chiles serranos
10 hard rolls
*
PREPARATION:
Take care to chop the onion fine. To keep from crying when you chop it (which is so annoying!), I suggest you place a little bit on your head. The trouble with crying over an onion is that once the chopping gets you started and the tears begin to well up, the next thing you know you just can’t stop. I don’t know whether that’s ever happened to you, but I have to confess it’s happened to me, many times. Mama used to say it was because I was especially sensitive to onions, like my great-aunt, Tita. . .
Take care to chop the onion fine. To keep from crying when you chop it (which is so annoying!), I suggest you place a little bit on your head. The trouble with crying over an onion is that once the chopping gets you started and the tears begin to well up, the next thing you know you just can’t stop. I don’t know whether that’s ever happened to you, but I have to confess it’s happened to me, many times. Mama used to say it was because I was especially sensitive to onions, like my great-aunt, Tita. . .
Download the first chapter of Like Water for Chocolate if you'd like to read more from Laura Esquivel. This book is an excellent example of magical realism (combines real-life and supernatural) by an acclaimed Mexican writer, and it is structured around a calendar year's worth of family recipes and stories.
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