I have made this letter longer than usual, only because I have not had the time to make

it shorter. -Blaise Pascal, Lettres Provinciales (1657)

What is the point?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrrrmWnTwnY
Since we were babies, listening to Sesame Street

monsters, we have been searching for answers. Why is the sky blue? Why am I hungry? Why am I in college?
Though the answers are not always easy, someone has

to answer us.

Exposition as a Genre
There are various genres of writing, just as there are

various genres of music, dance, literature, art, etc. Expository explanation site As Daniel Richards writes in your College Composition books on pg 191, We are expected to not only to retain information being communicated to us in classrooms by professors with highly specialized knowledge, but also find answers to our own questions and be able to effectively summarize and communicate our thoughts and ideas on a given topic.

Exposition in our Daily Lives

Whenever you read an article in a reporting

periodical or magazine, listen to the news, or read non-fiction, the author is writing to inform you about a particular topic. Communication: In school, you turn in assignments explaining your knowledge, interpretation, or summary of a topic. In business, firms, or in medical environments, you turn in memos, scripts, forms or business reports, catalogue designs, charts, etc. Exposition is the ability to inform, explain, or report your information. The point is, its valuable whether you like it or not.

Oral Exposition
Oral Exposition, as you can probably assume, means

communicating verbally in both the academic and professional world. Occasionally in college (in this class), you will be required to speak in front of people. Seize the Day In any type of career, most notably the interview process, you will have to face oral exposition.

Purpose
Ultimate goal is to: inform, educate, and explain.
Inform, educate, and explain what?? A concept, a process, idea, event, place, or person to your audience.
First and foremost, identify your audience. Secondly, learn how you can relate your topic in a simple

way, which with all the facts would otherwise be complicated.

Audience
Do not assume that the audience knows everything, or at times, anything about your topic.
However, at times, you will be required to write

and/or speak about things of which the audience is well aware. Questions you should be asking before writing/speaking? Continued on next slide

Questions you should be asking

What does my audience know?
What are the key aspects one needs to know

about? Can they understand my work because of the fundamental terms Ive listed? How can I explain things easily? What information is completely vital to this topic? When attempting to understand me, do they need the extraneous or unnecessary information?

How to Approach the Essay

Connect all 5 sources formulate a main idea or

thought that explains your subject matter. After extrapolating a main idea from each source separately, how can you connect each one? How can you transition between the main ideas? You should be asking again who is my audience? Why do they wish to know anything about Columbine? About feminism or womens rights? Now how do I combine the information Ive gathered into a concise, thoughtfully formulated explanation?

 While analytical essays ask you to expand,

discuss, and elaborate in your expository essay, you will need to define, explain, or compare your given subject matter. You are following a deductive rather than inductive form Your goal: take all of your information and condense, filter, and trim the content into a concise text for your audience who knows nothing on the subject Clarity requires organization. Focus on structure!

Introduction, Thesis, Conclusion

Intro.- should be quick, to the point, but capture

interest in the subject Thesis- your focus, main point that connects your sources (can be a fact or point you are going to elaborate on). See page 194 for more details
Tells reader what essay will be about Neither too broad or too narrow Supportable, interesting, engaging

Conclusion serves to close, not summarize, your

article; perhaps even suggest further implication of topic (should be short, concise, to the point)

Quoting Sources
You are required to use 2 quotes in your

essay. Choose wisely See Everyday Writer (pgs. 425-475 ) for any help with specific citations in MLA format. Example Quotation within essay on next slide.

Quote: After the shootings, it was reported that Eric and Dylan wanted to kill nonwhite students and athletes, but many of the victims didnt fall into either category. Source: Adams, Devon. Mourn for the Killers, Too. Newsweek 23 Aug. 1999: 41. Academic Search Premier. Web. 9 Apr. 2010. Within essay: You want to both introduce your quote and explain the reason for it within your essay. It is never a good idea to randomly throw a quote in the middle of the paragraph without giving ample reasoning for its purpose. Though the media claimed the Columbine shooting was an act of racism and an issue of class, several witnesses of the event stated facts to the contrary. A student who attended Columbine at the time of the tragedy wrote an article entitled Mourn for the Killers, Too and claims, After the shootings, it was reported that Eric and Dylan wanted to kill nonwhite students and athletes, but many of the victims didnt fall into either category (Adams 2). We see here that personal reports of the occurrence from actual witnesses suddenly became more reliable than the media.

Examples
(see pages 243-260 for a Detailed Project

Sequence example. ) Transitional Sentences: being able to make strong connections between ideas Transitions help and examples website

 When considering your audience, remember:

Your audience is not only your instructor, but also any college-educated individual. You should cut any obvious or introductory informationyour audience needs not, for instance, a paragraph-long tutorial on the detailed background of your topic if it does not relate to your main idea. Choose your words deliberately; make the essay as easy and enjoyable to read as possible. Maintain a formal tone, employing a large range of vocabulary, and avoiding the likes of clichs, slang, text lingo, contractions, and textbook definitions.

Audience Consideration Activity

We inevitably adjust our tone, word choice, and

the formality of our writing when preparing different types of messages; the style commonly used in texts, blogs, e-mails, and letters, for instance, differs from that which typifies academic essays or business reports. Like all effective communicators, successful writers take the time to tailor their varying messages to suit their specific, anticipated audience(s).

Video:

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/343125/august-04-2010/threat-

standdown---monkey-terrorism

This exercise will help you see how the media editorializes

its reports of current events to please particular audiences. Like individuals, news networks often put their own spins on stories to accommodate their target audience. Try to understand why the Colbert Report may have presented the story in this fashion. Why might they take this (comedic) perspective on the current event? Are they protecting or praising certain political figures or parties? (hint: Why sarcasm? What is he mocking?) What are their respective intended audiences? Do they effectively capture attention? Prepare a 3 min. informal presentation on your findings.