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4: Expository Writing

  • Page ID
    108898
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    Rhetorical modes refer to the different styles and techniques we use when we write. This chapter will discuss different modes of expository writing, explaining the specific aspects and techniques involved in these methods of communication. As you read about these, remember that the rhetorical mode a writer chooses depends on his/her purpose for writing. Some assignments ask students to use a specific rhetorical mode, such as contrasting two concepts, but most essays incorporate several different rhetorical modes to express an idea. Overall, the rhetorical modes are a set of tools that allow you different methods to effectively communicate information to your audience.

    • 4.1: Compare and Contrast
      Comparison in writing discusses elements that are similar, while contrast in writing discusses elements that are different. A compare-and-contrast essay, then, analyzes two subjects by comparing them, contrasting them, or both.
    • 4.2: Comparison and Contrast Essays
    • 4.3: Cause and Effect
      A cause is something that produces an event or condition; an effect is what results from an event or condition. The purpose of the cause-and-effect essay is to determine how various phenomena relate in terms of origins and results.
    • 4.4: Cause and Effect Essays
    • 4.5: Classification
      The purpose of classification is to break down broad subjects into smaller, more manageable, more specific parts. We classify things in our daily lives all the time, often without even thinking about it.
    • 4.6: Classification Essays
    • 4.7: Process Analysis
      The purpose of a process analysis essay is to explain how to do something or how something works. In either case, the formula for a process analysis essay remains the same. The process is articulated into clear, definitive steps.
    • 4.8: Process Essays
    • 4.9: Definition
      The purpose of a definition essay may seem self-explanatory, to simply define something. But defining terms in writing is often more complicated than just consulting a dictionary. In fact, the way we define terms can have far-reaching consequences for individuals as well as collective groups.
    • 4.10: Definition Essays


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