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How to Write an Explanatory Essay

Only victors write the history. Although every story, situation, topic or a single event can be viewed from different aspects, depending on the chosen approach. It is hard to just ruin some ideology or change the generally accepted way of thinking.

However, you can do it by presenting an argument supported by evidence, facts, or logic to make your idea seem reasonable. The explanatory essay will help you to do that.

How do we define the explanatory essay

This kind of essay is all about presenting some idea on certain event, phenomena,  or situation. It is not necessary for the writer to agree with the thing they write about, but it must include logical statements and research data to make it plausible.

The writer usually chooses to set a topic, then approaches the notion from a specific angle. The angle should be complicated to give the space for a discussion. Now, the writer should present their point of view in the way that explains why a specific result was reached.

Don’t make a mistake of defending one side of the story and criticizing the other side. The explanatory essay must reveal a neutral point of view based on logical self-created theory and thorough analysis of the issue.

The overall goal is to give the clear explanation how and why something has happened. The reader should get the main idea of the essay, even if they have opposite opinion on it.

Do the research

If you are a confident paper writer you probably know that before writing any type of essay you have to make some pre-writing steps. Thorough research and data collection are the fundamental things you should take care of before starting your explanatory essay. Remember that your essay, besides your personal ideas, should include some external information. Try to research your topic completely, find a few sources that have the same approach to the issue and defend your position.

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At this point, your main task is to write a strong thesis statement. This is a very important step, as your thesis statement should present the general idea about your point of view. Make sure you explained clearly what your essay is about.  Don’t forget that you don’t criticize or argue, you just state the facts with a little bit of personal explanation.

Outline for Explanatory Essay

After you performed two tasks it is time to take care of an outline for your explanatory essay. The outline is based on the data you are trying to describe and on the length of the essay topic.

Usually, the explanatory essays are page or two in length, it means that the essay includes around five paragraphs.  Let’s explore every paragraph in more details, so you can be sure about every part of it.

Introduction of the explanatory essay

This part includes three main components and is as a gateway to the following content of the paper. First of all, interest the reader by writing a hook statement.  Typically writers use an interesting quote, or relevant fact, or something that will grab reader’s attention.

Then write some general information you’ve found during research, but that doesn’t have to seem like a common knowledge. This will create a picture of the essay. Finish the introductory part with the thesis statement that will give more clearness about the essay’s content.

Body paragraphs

As a rule, there are three paragraphs of your body part. Sometimes it can include more if the writer tries to reveal topic in-depth.  For some students, three paragraphs sound scary as well. Don’t worry the general style of every paragraph is identical, just come up with different approaches.

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Give the general information that you’ve found during your research, but the not one that seems like a common knowledge. Add the thesis statement to keep the focus on the topic.

While representing different thoughts through the paragraphs, don’t forget about the smooth transition. The reader shouldn’t feel lost in the text. Make sure the paragraphs have the connecting sentences that help the readers to perceive the text as a whole. At the end of the third paragraph write a concluding sentence that shows the significance of your ideas and thoughts.

Arriving at the concluding

Breathe in, breath out. By now you’ve done pretty much of writing. However, don’t leave this part without making the efforts. The conclusion is an important part of your essay as it gives the final impression about the whole essay.

Restate the thesis statement and summarize the points you’ve presented in the body paragraphs. This will help to show the reader that your text has the general strong idea and logical order. Explain the points from the global perspective. And make sure you left your reader with something to think about after reading your explanatory essay. Once you’ve done it, there are few things you have to do as well.

Make it perfect

When your essay is ready, the first thing you should do is to reread it. Of course, you’ll find some mistakes, correct them immediately and then reread again. Use grammar checker to be completely sure about your essay quality.

The next step is to give your essay to some strong, experienced writer. We don’t recommend you to ask for feedback parents or friends. Give it to someone independent person, indifferent, who can give a reasonable response and tell you what needs to be changed.

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Now, you’re ready to write the explanatory essay, plus if you know How to Write an Impressive GRE Essay, there won’t be any obstacles for you!