Pre-Writing Activity for the Expository Essay

After you have a topic idea, what next? You have to develop information that you will put into your essay and
decide on your audience and purpose. Then you will need to decide the point of view, tone, and style of writing
you will use. Sound confusing? Don't worry. Just answer the following questions to get ready to write. You can
open up a word processing program, copy these questions, and then answer them, or do it the old-fashioned
way with paper and pen.

1.

Topic idea: Eating Healthy: How to and why its important_______________ (write yours out).

2.

What kind of expository essay is this? (How to? How it works? Definition? Fact? Cause? History of?)

This is going to be a how to and why its important.

Gathering Ideas
1.

List or cluster different aspects or parts of your topic.

What is considered healthy? How many fruits, veggies, minerals, vitamins, and water you need a day? Why
does your body need these things? What happens when you dont get proper nutrition?

2.

Circle the aspects which are most interesting to you. Cluster those.

How many fruits, veggies, minerals, vitamins, proteins, carbs, grains, etc. you need to consumer every day?
Why it is important to get all of these and what happens if you dont get enough?

Topic Evaluation
1.

Do you have enough to say or too much? Do you need to narrow your topic or expand it?

I have a lot of things to talk about and expand on. I need to narrow down.

2.

What sources can you use? Where can you find them?

Library Database: Alt Health Watch (EBSCOhost)

Health Source: Consumer Edition (EBSCOhost)
Internet: http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/N/Nutrition.html
http://www.cookinglight.com/healthy-living/healthy-habits/how-many-fruits-vegetables-a-day
Audience Evaluation
1.

What are some things your audience would be familiar with which you can compare your topic with?

Everyone eats but not many people eat healthy.

2.

What do they already know?

You need fruits, veggies, proteins, carbs and water to survive.

3.

What would they be interested in knowing?

Why it is some important to get these?

4.

What kind of tone would be best for this audience? (informational, satiric, humorous, folksy,
professional?)
Informational

5.

Considering your audience, which point of view would be the most effective one to write in? Would it
be better to write in first person ("I" or "we"), second person ("you"), or third person (impersonal)?

Second Person

Write Your Thesis

1.

Your purpose (What do you want audience to think, do, or know after reading? This will be related to
what your audience doesn't know.)

2.

Turn your topic into a question: Are you getting proper nutrition?

3.

Answer that question: Mostly not, only about 33% of Americans get the proper nutritional
requirements?

4.

Write a thesis statement: Only about 33% of Americans get their proper nutritional requirements, what
are these requirements and why is it so important?

5.

Essay map: sentence(s) which list main sub-topics (these can be headers for sections of the paper)

Fruits and Vegetables, Vitamins and Minerals, Water

Essay Organization
1.

Which sort of organization would work best for you? Examples: chronological (in time), spatial (in
space and time), process (step-by-step), topical (part-by-part), cause/effect, historical overview,
comparison and contrast, or reverse expectations.

Topical
2.

Write a brief outline for how you will structure the body of the paper.
I.

Intro
A. What is nutrition?
B. Why dont adults get proper nutrition?
C. Thesis statement

II.

Body Point #1
A. Fruits
B. How many and why?
C. Veggies
D. How many and why?

III.

Body Point #2
A. Vitamins
B. How many and why?
C. Minerals
D. How many and why?

IV.

Body Point #3
A. Water
B. How much and why?
C. Research/source
D.

V.

Body Point #4 (if needed)

A. Why a lot of Americans dont eat healthy?

VI.

Conclusion
A. You need to eat healthy.
B. You need the right amount of fruits, veggies, etc. to be healthy

Intro and Conclusion

1.

Which of these introduction and conclusion ideas could you use? Reverse expectation, expectation
fulfilled, scenario (imagined typical story, also called a case study), personal story, frame story, vivid
description, conversation, definition, comparison and contrast, analogy, startling statistic or fact,
quotation, story from book or movie.
My aunt was overweight and unhealthy because she wasnt getting the proper nutrition. She then started
to eat healthier and workout and now has lost over 70 pounds in the past year and a half.

2.

Choose the best one(s) for your essay and explain what you will do.

I will included a brief story about my aunt to show others how making good choices will impact
your life in such a big way.