Are you going to write an explanatory essay and are confused about its outline or format? What approach do you need to follow when working on these essays, and what type of information will you include in them? Before answering these questions and presenting you with the outline and examples, please remember that explanatory essays are synonymous with expository essays.
According to Scribbr, when a student writes an expository-explanatory essay, they must include five paragraphs or sections. Each paragraph will have a different purpose to explain, and a student can’t explain the idea in the fourth section; it is essential to write in the second or third paragraph. Following the sequence is essential to make your explanatory essay a success.
This article will uncover the best format for an essay that will empower you to curate one if you want to bring further improvement to your academic excellence. Stay connected till the end to learn about the best outline!
Explanatory Essay Format Every Student Must Follow While Writing
The purpose of an explanatory essay is to inform or describe a topic. In these essays, a student doesn’t have the option to add countless stats and back every point with solid evidence. On the other hand, they will explain a topic in a way that will be easy for the reader to understand. It’s common in colleges and universities that they ask students to create the explanatory essay outline first and then write it comprehensively.
Creating an outline for an expository essay may seem like an above-the-surface task. However, many students struggle with this because they don’t know their strategy for the introduction. Similarly, they don’t know how to conclude an essay or what information to include. Acquiring essay writing services for these students can be a knight in shining armour, safeguarding their academic excellence.
To enhance your knowledge, we will outline the structure and unveil how to start the explanatory essay introduction and what will be the way to explain the body paragraph will entail. Here is some quick information about the short structure of an expository essay:
- Introduction
- First Body Paragraph
- Second Body Paragraph
- Third Body Paragraph
- Conclusion
- The Introduction
The introduction is the most important part of any writing. It plays a decisive role in whether a reader will continue reading your essay or skip it. Considering its importance, most students ask how to start an explanatory essay and what their approach will be to engage the reader till the end. A good introduction to an interesting and easy-to-read and understand essay will contain these points:
- Hook: If the introduction is the backbone of an essay, consider the first line of it the heart; without it, your introduction will be dull or a redundant piece of writing, killing the interest of the reader in your essay. According to St. Louis Community College, a hook is the introductory line that captures the reader’s attention immediately. There are multiple types of hooks, such as question-based, quotation, or metaphor-based hooks, and you can use any of them based on the topic of your essay. However, question-based hooks perform better than others as they urge the reader to explore the topic further.
- Background Information: As a student or research professional, you will provide the reader with the background of the topic to understand it. Let’s say you are conducting a study on the effects of exercise on mental well-being. You can write it like this: “The researchers from Harvard University first tried to understand how exercise is beneficial for individuals who want to improve their psychological well-being without relying on medications”. This will provide your readers with a clear background.
- Thesis Statement: A student must state the idea that he is going to discuss in the essay. Considering the example mentioned in the second bullet point, you can state that “We will discuss the effects of exercise on adults who are living a hectic lifestyle”.
Example of the Introduction
“Do you know that individuals working and sitting in offices for eight to night hours usually go through stress? Due to this continuous psychological burden, they start experiencing symptoms such as erectile dysfunction and bad effects on the stomach. Some professionals are concerned about overcoming this problem without the use of medications.
Previous scientific studies around the world have proved that exercise is the best way to overcome stress and associated problems. In this essay, we will uncover how exercise can help these professionals treat stress and live a happy and satisfactory life”. This is an example of an introduction that can engage the reader and make your essay an effective piece of writing.
- The First, Second, & Third Body Paragraphs
To write an effective explanatory essay, you need at least three points for the main topic. As mentioned above, this essay will have three body paragraphs, and you can explain every point in each section. For instance, the most important idea related to the topic will appear in the first body paragraph. In addition to that, you will need to provide supporting information for it, and then you will conclude it. You can write this conclusion in two ways: concluding the first point or giving a short idea for the second paragraph.
Please remember that you will follow the same approach in the second and third paragraphs, where you will introduce the main point, provide supporting data, and conclude according to your topic. Considering the example mentioned in the introduction, we will create the first body paragraph, and you can follow the same approach in the second and third paragraphs.
Example for the Paragraphs
“Stress is among the most common health symptoms that most people, especially professionals, go through. It may lead to further complications if you don’t take timely measures to overcome it. Treating stress is not difficult as you can use some natural remedies or adopt healthy habits to combat it. According to a recent study, people who exercised regularly were better able to get rid of stress. By making exercise your habit or eating healthy and nutritious foods, you can treat stress and live a healthy life”. Please note that this is just an example!
Conclusion
Your conclusion wraps up the main idea and leaves the reader with the final thought. The conclusion is the second most important part of your essay, where your instructor checks whether you were able to conclude your topic or not. These are some essential parts of the conclusion:
- Restate the Thesis: A student will rephrase the thesis to remind readers of the main point of the topic.
- Explain Briefly: You can recap the major points shortly without going into details.
- Closing Thought: A student or researcher will end with a reflection, prediction, or call to further learning.
Here is a perfect example of a conclusion for an explanatory essay. You can get a better idea from this example and follow the same approach to conclude your writing.
Example for the Conclusion
“In conclusion, stress remains a major challenge for professionals who are dedicatedly working five days a week. By understanding the triggers for mental disturbance, they can easily overcome it within weeks with some simple steps. They can exercise in the gym, walk in the morning, or practice yoga before sleeping. Professionals experiencing stress will also focus on their diet. They need to avoid using harmful foods and start using healthy ones. With these effective measures, we believe that they will easily overcome stress”.
What Is an Explanatory Essay?
An explanatory essay is also known as an expository essay. The basic purpose of this writing is to explain a topic or idea clearly and objectively. When writing an essay, a student focuses on providing factual information and analysis for the topic. He will also explain every point with examples to make the essay more interesting and engaging.
Contrary to argumentative or generic essays, a research professional or student will not discuss a specific viewpoint. Moreover, he will not try to persuade readers with stats or solid evidence. Instead, a student will solely describe the topic, enabling the reader to understand it without facing issues.
How Do You Write an Explanatory Essay?
Writing an explanatory essay requires you to follow some essential steps. For instance, you will need to choose a topic that you want to explain in the essay. Students consult with their instructors to decide on a topic. After the topic selection, you go through some previously written essays to get a better idea of how they covered such topics.
In the third step, you will create an outline for an explanatory essay, including what you will cover in the introduction, which details are important to mention in the body paragraphs, and how you will conclude your writing. Following this approach will result in a perfect essay that will impress your class and the instructor.
How to Write a Thesis for an Explanatory Essay?
A thesis is the backbone of your essay. It should be unambiguous and concise every time you write in the introduction. It will explain the topic clearly, which you will cover in the body paragraphs. These are examples of weak and strong theses for an explanatory essay:
- Weak: “Exercise is good for human beings”. Can you please think why this is a weak thesis line in an essay?
- Strong: “Exercise improves your physical health and maintains your mental well-being”. Please contemplate for a moment and find out why this a strong thesis.
A vague and generic thesis line or statement in an expository essay will not make it engaging and interesting. Instead, you will have to make it more specific to a topic.
What Makes a Good Explanatory Essay?
A good expository essay is engaging, interesting, and well-structured. Several steps can make an essay good. Missing any of these measures will decrease the engagement rate of your writing. A clear structure, format, or outline is a must to make an essay effective. Usually, there is an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion in an explanatory essay.
You can ask your supervisor whether to follow the same format or not. Plus, you also ask him about the information essential to discuss in the body paragraphs. The rules for the introduction and conclusion will remain the same. Follow this structure, and your essay will be top-notch!
What are the Most Important Explanatory Essay Topics?
The most important explanatory essay topics will vary according to numerous study disciplines. For instance, topics for psychology will be different from media studies or biomedical sciences. Sometimes, you choose a topic for an explanatory essay based on your interest or expertise. You can also ask your supervisor to help you choose one that you can work on easily.
Choosing a trending topic will also go in your favour. For example, if you are a student of gender studies, you can choose a topic if a catastrophic condition occurs to a specific gender anywhere in the world. It will show that you have a strong interest in the topic and subject.
Wrapping Up
From creating an outline to gathering information, writing an explanation isn’t as easy as the name sounds. A student must curate an engaging introduction to introduce the topic, and in the introduction, they will start the first line with a hook. After that, he will focus on explaining important points in three body paragraphs, and then eventually add the conclusion.
Completing all these sections will require days and a jaw-breaking effort. As a student, you will also have other academic tasks to work on. In that case, you can ask London-based essay writing firms to write a perfect explanatory essay for you. These agencies have an experienced team of writers who help students achieve the academic excellence they want. So, get professional help and write an essay to impress the reader.
Author Bio
Jonathan David is an accomplished essay writer with expertise in curating explanatory and argumentative essays. With a strong grip on social science and psychology topics, Jonathan writes essays for students to shine on their academic journey. In his leisure time, he spends time with his family and reads books, newspapers, and novels.