How to write an exploratory essay
What you should keep in mind when your teacher assigns you an exploratory essay is the tone and the structure. You should stick to the neutral style and don’t be overemotional. Exploratory essays are written to shown an objective, unbiased point of view. You cannot voice a personal opinion, be it positive or negative, as you look at the problem from both sides.
Another striking feature of an exploratory essay is the target audience. This type of essay is aimed at different age groups and can cover issues, related to several social classes and layers. While your potential readers may vary in interests, the common language has to be found in the summary of the work.
Exploratory essays exist to remind us there is more than one view on the problem. For example, if you decide to create an essay on the burning topic of immigration in the USA, you should first mention the reactions of people, who were forced to leave the country. Then, you have to look at the argument from the perspective of the border patrol and their attitude to the issue. This way, you will produce a reliable and objective picture your readers are going to assess while studying the essay.
An exploratory essay. Writing steps
An exploratory essay is a challenge. It has the purpose of convincing the reader without actually sticking to one point. You should follow a certain structure to make your exploratory essay outstanding, and here are the main steps:
- Make an outline. With the outline, you will be able to track information and analyze it rationally, so that your readers understand the context and the plot. Link the issue to the current situation. The thesis statement has to grab the reader’s attention immediately and be catchy.
- When you finish writing an essay, always review your work for possible mistakes, and we are not talking grammar alone. You can go for the plagiarism check as well, if you are not certain about specific parts. Exploratory essays have to be neutral in tone and do not contain subjective judgement.
- Share with a friend. Read the essay aloud to your friend, and then decide if it needs editing. By looking at the paper from another angle you may spot flaws and minor inaccuracies and polish your work to the perfection.
- Write a draft. Drafts may seem like a dull work, but they do help us consider the problem from several sides. You should also remember about the author tags if you are a fan of quotations and want to specify a certain expression without copying and pasting paragraphs.
- Paraphrase. You don’t have to write from scratch if you lack ideas for your paper. It is important to transform popular ideas into something that is entirely yours, and by using different word constructions, you can shape your essay stylistically.
Features of an exploratory essay
In the introduction of an essay, you should present the most prominent features of an issue and describe the question to the reader. Here, you can also include an argument and the thesis statement as the main concept of your composition. Rhetorical questions are welcome as they engage the readers into thinking and train their memory.
Identifying and summarizing are the major steps in the conclusion of an essay. By reviewing the paper, you analyze the three main positions on an issue. The body of the work is created to illustrate the situation with the examples and present an alternative point of view. You can outline a personal interest in the question after you’ve provided the reader with sufficient argument and a valid explanation on the topic.