The persuasive nature of expositions

Expositions are commonly used to persuade readers by presenting and justifying one side of an argument or debate with the truth. The basic structure of an exposition is as follows:

1. Title
2. Statement of idea or point of view (also known as a thesis)
3. Supporting points backed up by factual information such as statistics or evidence
4. Concluding statement that reinforces your point of view.

Use the PEEL method when writing and structuring your paragraphs:

Point – this is the first sentence of your paragraph which states your point.

Expand and elaborate – write about your point in more detail and give reasons for.

Evidence and examples – support the main arguments of your point with factual information.

Link – relate your point to your thesis statement.

Here is an example of an exposition from Literacy4Life (http://literacy4life.wikispaces.com/), an online teaching resource created for the staff of St Bernadette’s Primary School in Sydney’s Lalor Park:

Children Should Learn to Swim at School

Children should learn to swim at school for a number of reasons.

Firstly, I believe children should learn how to swim at school because it makes them fit and healthy. Swimming helps build muscles and it is good for asthma sufferers.

Secondly, I think they should learn this because good swimmers can help save other people.

Thirdly, I feel children should do this because they can have fun participating in water sports and water activities.

Finally, my opinion is children should learn how to swim at school because swimming can save your life. If you fall in the deep end, you won’t drown.

That is why I believe children should learn to swim at school.

Narrative expositions

In narratives, expositions are used to provide relevant background information to the audience about the characters, the setting or context, and the events that occur before the main plot. Expositions are also effective in creating and changing the mood and tone of stories. Flashbacks, back stories and thoughts of a character are just some examples of expositions that storytellers can use to better inform their audience and give a deeper insight to their narrative.

Expositions can be employed within a story in two different ways:

• Information dumping – this is where background information is not interwoven with the story. This technique is commonly used at the beginning of books or in news articles to update readers on important facts and events that have previously taken place.  
• Incluing – this is where the reader is gradually exposed to background information throughout the story.

Exercises for parents

For persuasive expositions: encourage your children to form an opinion or a point of view on a topic that interests them (for example, “playing video games is good for you”). Teach them to write a short exposition on their topic using the structure and example provided as a guide.

For narrative expositions: get your children to choose a chapter from their favourite book. Ask them to write a short summary of the events that have taken place in previous chapters of the story.