The Many Writing Types
Published September 13, 2017. Updated August 18, 2020.
Overview
In this lesson you will learn the difference between expository and argumentative writing.
Expository Writing Defined
Expository writing is designed to inform the reader by explaining or describing something. This
style of writing produces informational, nonfiction texts.
Expository writing is not meant to convince the reader to take a position or to accept a particular interpretation of an event. Instead, the goal is to
explain how or why an event happened in the past.
Writing to Inform
Authors frequently write to inform others. This is called exposition; you can think of exposition as the author “exposing” or
showing you information about a topic.
Exposition appears in a variety of places, including textbooks and news sources. Exposition can also be expressed verbally, for example if you listen to a historian
talk about the background of an event.
Forms of Organization in Expository Writing
Expository writing can be used for a variety of reasons:
- to present a chronological narrative or sequence of events
- to explain cause and effect
- to describe a pattern or a theme
- to describe a problem and a solution
- to present the steps to a process
- to compare and contrast
Each of these formats and structures help to frame the way information is presented in an expository essay.
Expository Writing Example
Read the sections “Land Battles” and “Naval Support” from the article Spain in the American Revolution, located at TeachingHistory.org. As you read,
think about how the author, John Buescher, uses expository writing to explain and describe the Spanish role in the American Revolution.
Expository Writing Analysis
As you read the article Spain in the American Revolution, you may have
noticed the brief and factual nature of the account.
Each section begins with a topic sentence about Spain’s role in the Revolutionary War. Following the topic sentence, the author explains this role of Spain
through descriptions and examples. Note how the author is not trying to convince you of a point; instead he is informing you about how the Spanish aided the colonists during the
war.
Argumentative Writing Defined
Unlike expository writing, argumentative writing takes a position on a topic. The author then works to persuade the reader to accept their position
as true.
Argumentative writing stakes a claim, and presents reasoning and evidence to support that claim. The argument must be logical; all reasoning and
evidence should be relevant and support the claim.
Qualities of Argumentative Writing
In argumentative writing, the author includes claims, reasoning and evidence to convince the reader of a certain position.
When writing an argument, authors also need to take the time to consider possible objections to their position from the audience. Because argumentative writing has
to cover multiple perspectives and provide explanations of these perspectives, these texts generally require a lot of research to find sufficient evidence.
Argumentative Writing
Authors produce argumentative writing for many purposes.
In history, authors often debate pieces of evidence and the interpretation of events. They will write lengthy papers arguing why they believe an event occurred.
These argumentative texts are often presented at academic conferences or published in journal articles.
Historical debates can shape how history is understood and taught.
Argumentative Writing Example
Here is an example of argumentative writing on the same topic as the expository writing example: Spain’s role in the Revolutionary War.
Read the first three paragraphs of Mildred Murry and Chuck Lampman’s article “Spain’s Role in the American
Revolution from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.”
The authors are making a claim that because of Spain’s experiences in the French and Indian War, the country was compelled to help the Colonists in four
ways.
Argumentative Writing – Example 2
Here is another example of argumentative writing. Read the first four paragraphs of Scott Bade’s answer to “Did Britain Treat All Its Colonies Equally?” on Slate.com.
The author’s claim is stated in the first sentence. He says, “In short, the British treated their colonies in vastly different ways, both across different regions
and within the same colonies over time.”
He uses the American Revolution as a means for comparing the British colonies in the Americas.
Comparing Expository and Argumentative Writing
Below is a Prezi that explains the differences between expository and argumentative essays. Press play and then use the arrows to click through.
Conclusion
There are many different types of writing in social studies and history. In this lesson, you learned to differentiate between expository and argumentative writing by
looking at examples of each writing style.