English 104

ENGLISH 104

Expository vs. Argumentative

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PURPOSE

•Expository

– Used to inform, describe, explain, compare, orsummarize in a neutral and objective way

•Argumentative

–Used to persuade the reader that your opinion iscorrect

–Opinion is clearly stated, rather than appearingneutral

•Expository = Facts

Argumentative = Opinion

FOCUS

•Expository

–Focused on information

–Main point: To tell the reader of the facts

–Consider:

•What does the reader need to know about the topic?

•How can I clearly summarize the topic?

•Argumentative

–Focused on an opinion, a debatable claim

–Main point: Convince the reader of the validity of youropinion using concrete evidence (studies, news articles,expert opinion, statistics, etc.)

–Consider:

•What real-world examples can I use to support my thesisstatement?

•What experts in the field might agree with me?

•How can I address and refute the opposition’s claims?

STRUCTURE

•Expository

–Introduction: Introduces the reader to the topic

–Body: Describes, explains, informs, classifies, summarizes,and/or compares various issues regarding the topic

–Conclusion: Reminds the reader of main points and givessense of closure

•Argumentative

–Introduction: Leads the reader to your opinion on thetopic, which is clearly stated in a thesis statement of 1-3sentences

–Body: Discusses the ways in which external sources (ex.studies, news articles, journals, interviews, etc.) areevidence that support your thesis statement. Refutesopposing arguments, saying why counterarguments areincorrect.

–Conclusion: Restates overall argument and gives sense ofclosure. (Do not introduce a new argument.)

ARGUMENTATIVE

•Example:

–Thesis: “Mark Pagel is correct that language is uniquely human andall his claims are true.”

•Paper then goes on to summarize Pagel’s speech, inserting quotations fromPagel

–A weak thesis statement that demonstrates little insight or individualthought, and an overall essay that is highly expository in merelysummarizing what Pagel has already said.

–Thesis: “As Mark Pagel says, language is uniquely human; althoughother species have their own forms of communication, none are assophisticated as human communication so cannot be classified as‘language.’”

•Paper then goes on to explain why Pagel is correct, using studies of human andanimal communication as evidence that human communication is more complex,and therefore other species do not have language the way humans havelanguage.

–A strong thesis statement that clearly states why the author agrees withPagel, addressing the counterargument that other species also havelanguage. Overall essay supports the thesis statement using concreteevidence from external sources.

–Does not simply repeat Pagel’s claims, since Pagel never examines thelanguages of other species in-depth.

REMEMBER

It is not enough to simply state whether youagree/disagree with the author or speaker.Instead, you must clearly articulate why youagree/disagree.

Always provide evidence from valid externalsources (newspaper articles, studies, interviews,statistics, etc.) to support your thesis.

CHECKLIST

oThesis statement:

Clear

Focused

Takes a position

oBody paragraphs:

Thesis statement is supported using external sources (newspaper articles, interviews,studies, statistics, etc.)

How these external sources support your thesis statement is clearly articulated

Quotations and paraphrases are accurately documented in the MLA style

Counterarguments are refuted

oGeneral:

Free of spelling, grammar, and citation errors

Avoids first person narration

Overall paper is not expository

Does not extensively summarize the text or speech

Is not a mere repetition of what the author or speaker has already stated

Is not just a compare and contrast