How to write an explanatory essay: Writing guide with topic and outline samples

Writing an explanatory paper is as easy as sharing a recipe or describing your past job experience in an interview. Still, this assignment can give you trouble if you aren’t too familiar with the genre and have never been able to score high marks on writing tasks.

So, what is an explanatory essay? What topic should you choose? How do you write it? Read on to find answers to these and other questions.

What is an explanatory essay?

An explanatory paper is also known as an expository essay. It’s one of the four basic genres of writing that provides readers with facts and objective information without imposing opinions or trying to argue a point. You can think of this assignment as a news report or a Wikipedia entry full of useful details.

Sometimes explanatory writing may seem similar to descriptive or narrative genres, but there are subtle differences. For instance, descriptive writing relies on rhetorical tools to paint a vivid picture, while expository writing focuses on facts. Similarly, narrative pieces generally focus on characters and plot. Both descriptive and narrative papers can be subjective, but an explanatory piece must be objective and supported by credible evidence.

High school teachers and college professors like the explanatory essay format because it helps them assess your knowledge of the topic while testing your research, critical thinking, and writing skills. It’s a common assignment across most classes and majors, whether you study Business, Medicine, or Engineering.

Five types of explanatory essays

There are five common types of explanatory essays:

• Definition. These are typically short in-class pieces designed to test your understanding of a complex concept. As the name suggests, you need to define a process or an item and provide enough background information about it to inform a reader.
• Classification. These assignments require you to analyze several issues, evaluate their characteristics, and assign them to different categories. For instance, you may be asked to classify different types of hot brewed drinks, such as tea, coffee, hot chocolate, etc.
• Process. These pieces are common examples of explanatory writing that require you to provide the readers with clear instructions on achieving desired outcomes. Culinary recipes, how-to blog posts, and DIY tutorials are all examples of the process explanatory genre.
• Compare and contrast. This popular type of expository writing calls for an in-depth comparison of the similarities and differences of two or more subjects. For instance, you can compare and contrast the effects of caffeine and lack of sleep on psychological and physical health.
• Cause and effect. Another common type of explanatory paper that requires you to analyze the roots and consequences of actions or events, focusing on the underlying causation relationship. For example, you can write an explanatory thesis about the different causes of heightened stress levels and anxiety among college students.

Explanatory essay topics

In case professors let you choose the assignment topic, remember to keep it relevant to the class you’re taking to stay on the instructors’ good side, but make it interesting enough for you to ensure your writing is exciting. If you have enough time and want to impress the professor, consider a relevant cutting-edge issue, but if you’re out of time and energy, you can go with the tried-and-true classics or recycle one of your past assignments.

Below, you’ll find a list of explanatory essay topics for different types of assignments to give you a better idea of what the prompts can look like. You’re free to choose any of these ready-made ideas, but if you want something custom and tailored to your school and class, contact us to get any help with paper you need.

1. Analyze the reasons behind the decreasing fertility rate in developed countries
2. Define the differences between neural networks and artificial intelligence
3. Categorize different revenue streams for startups and small businesses
4. Explain the effects of the increased screen time on teenagers’ health
5. Describe the differences and similarities between the ebook and paper book reading experience
6. Provide instructions for creating a YouTube channel and uploading a video
7. Define the limits of ethical genetic manipulations of human DNA
8. Classify college classes by their relevance, effectiveness, and effort required
9. Find similarities and differences in online and offline college classes
10. Provide instructions for changing oil in a combustion engine vehicle

Explanatory essay outline sample

Considering there are at least five different sub-genres of expository writing, the specific explanatory essay outline will depend on the prompt details, word count, and other factors. However, the standard three-part structure applies across the board. Your paper will need an introduction, a body, and a conclusion, each with its own unique structure.

The basic 5-paragraph explanatory essay outline looks like this:

• Introduction

1. Hook
2. Background information
3. Explanatory thesis

• Body paragraph 1

1. Topic sentence
2. Supporting evidence
3. Analysis of reference data
4. Transition

• Body paragraph 2

1. Topic sentence
2. Supporting evidence
3. Analysis of reference data
4. Transition

• Body paragraph 3

1. Topic sentence
2. Supporting evidence
3. Analysis of reference data
4. Transition

• Conclusion

1. Summary of the major points
2. Reiteration of the thesis
3. Final thoughts

You’ll need to rework this basic structure depending on the data you unearth during the research stage. For example, if you’re working on a cause-and-effect paper, you may pair causes and effects in each body paragraph or keep causes in one passage and effects in another. The same applies to compare-and-contrast papers. You can lump similarities and differences into two paragraphs or alternate them. Use the outlining stage to make sense of the information you have and find the best way to organize it. Otherwise, you will end up reworking the whole paper from the ground up, which will waste your time and may lead to missing deadlines.

How to write an explanatory essay step by step

Like any other assignment, expository writing becomes much easier once you break it down into small, manageable chunks. So let us walk you through how to write an explanatory essay in three steps that include prewriting, writing, and post-writing.

Also read: How to write an opinion essay

Pre-writing: research and outline

Most students struggle with essays because they don’t know where to begin. That’s because papers need a lot of preliminary work that has little to do with getting closer to the required word count. Here are a few things you should do before you start working on your paper:

1. Analyze the prompt and make sure you have all the necessary data and requirements to complete the assignment. Ask your professor for clarification if you’re not sure about the deadline, references, formatting style, etc.
2. Choose the topic if your instructor does not provide one. We’ve already covered the basics of choosing a good subject for your paper and shared a few samples.
3. Research the topic, collect references, and take note of the information you’d like to cite in your paper. Organize the notes and sources into rough categories.
4. Create an outline to guide your writing. Refer to our recommendations above and remember to adjust the basic structure to a specific essay type and topic.
5. Write a preliminary explanatory essay thesis based on your outline. It should hold the main guiding idea of the paper, as well as the major points you’re going to cover throughout the body paragraphs.

If that seems like too much work, you can always outsource the task to professional writers, like the SpeedyPaper Business, Medicine, STEAM, and Law essay writing service. If you don’t want us to take over the whole task, we can suggest an exciting topic, collect relevant references, or create a one-page outline for you to follow.

Write the paper

If you don’t know how to start an explanatory essay, skip the introduction and start directly with the first (or second) body paragraph. Considering you have all your research data at hand, and a clear outline, completing the body passages should be easier than finding a good hook and perfecting the thesis statement. You can always return to the opening paragraph later once the rest of the piece is complete.

You can also try the freewriting or “brain dump” writing approach. Instead of trying to formulate each sentence perfectly, write down everything that comes to mind as quickly as possible. Your goal is to reach the required word count and have at least 20% extra you can shave off at the post-writing stage.

Post-writing: edit, proofread, and format

You cannot submit the paper as soon as you write an explanatory essay and type the last period. Instead, take a short break or have a good night’s sleep to clear your head and revise the paper with a fresh pair of eyes.

First, reread your brain dump sections and clear them up. You need to eliminate redundancies and repetitions, illogical transitions, and arguments. You may even need to delete whole sentences to replace them with new ones that fit the narrative better.

Next, use professional software to catch grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. One or two typos may not reduce your grade, but if you leave a few dozen in, your professor will not appreciate the sloppiness.

Finally, look up the required formatting style recommendations and make your paper look perfect and professional. Pay special attention to the title page, heading, and in-text citation requirements. You can try using automatic citation generators but double-check the entries to ensure they are correct before submitting the paper.

Final thoughts

Explanatory essays aren’t as complex as they seem at first glance, especially when you have a handy writing guide with actionable tips, topic samples, and an outline template. But if none of that helps or the deadline is too near for you to make the most of our advice, contact speedypaper.com and have our writers take over the assignment for you. We’ll deliver an A-worthy paper to your inbox in under 24 hours!