What is an Expository Essay?

An expository essay explores various angles of a specific topic to provide information in an objective manner. For example, if the subject is universal healthcare, the paper would provide information on what universal healthcare is, how it works, which countries use it and how it differs from privatized healthcare. All of these issues would be expressed in a neutral tone, without trying to convince the reader of either one side or the other.

Expository vs Argumentative

Many students confuse these types of essays. Your goal with the argumentative essay is to convince the reader of your chosen position. In an argumentative paper, using the same example of universal healthcare, you would choose either to convince the reader that universal healthcare is the better healthcare system or that privatized healthcare is better. In short, the main difference between the expository and argumentative essays is that one is objective (expository) while the other is subjective (argumentative).