How to Write an Expository Essay on the History of Art

What is the Expository Essay?

The expository essay is something in which you explore a subject and allow the research to determine the direction of your writing. Your work here should present an exploration of a concept rather than proving things that you know.

What is the Purpose?

The purpose of this type of essay is to build upon your critical and analytical skills. In its course you are forced to look at a range of arguments and contribute to them, rather than focusing on a single element or argument at a time. Some essays ask that you look at one argument, but the expository essay asks that you review the whole conversation instead.

How Is It Written?

Well, the focus is the question and not a thesis statement like so many other writings. That being said, students have one of two ways to compose their essay effectively. The first is the “in-process” method which provides more immediacy while the second is the “retrospective” method which produces a more artistically designed writing piece.

Remember that expository essay is meant to be chronical about your thoughts and the completed research which influenced them. Your work should address the questions related to content and responses to those questions that are currently under academic consideration. You should write about the strengths and weaknesses of the potential solutions that other people have provided to the problem.

That said, below are some steps to follow in your writing:

1. Think of a Topic

   Try and find a topic that stands out, a question or idea, broad of course, which you find amusing or interesting. Researching something, no matter how huge, will go much easier if the matter is interesting to you.If you are unable to think of something off the bat, try a “free writing” exercise in which you set an alarm for roughly three minutes. Within these you keep your pen on the paper and simply write down all of the thoughts that you have until you’ve cleared enough space in your consciousness for your subconscious ideas to kick in and topics to come up. When the alarm goes off, look over your paper to see if there are any suitable topics.

2. Start Taking Notes

   As you begin your research, chronicle your findings. Take notes on the things you have read. Include everything. Afterwards, review the potential problems or questions within and the suggested solutions or answers for them. Review the debates and see what stands out to you. Reach a conclusion based on taken notes and findings.

3. Start Writing

   With notes out of the way, you can begin the draft of your work which should be easily done thanks to the research method you have used up until this point. The first draft will need some mending of course. All initial drafts do so be on the lookout for punctuation or grammatical errors as well as the flow and coherence. If undecided about your future paper you should check our collection of facts for an expository essay on the History of Art along with 20 potential topics accompanied by one complete sample essay.