8 types of expository writing

Expository writing, as its name implies, is writing that exposes facts. In other words, it’s writing that explains and educates its readers, rather than entertaining or attempting to persuade them.

When you read a scholarly article, a textbook page, a news report, or an instructional guide, you’re reading expository writing.

What is expository writing?

Expository writing is writing that aims to inform its reader.

As we mentioned above, this includes all types of factual writing, like textbooks, news stories, technical guides, and pieces of business writing.

Types of expository writing pdf

Many journalistic pieces are pieces of expository writing, but not all are—advertorials, opinion pieces, and many pieces of political writing are not pieces of expository writing because their primary goal is something other than providing unbiased facts.

An easy way to understand expository writing is to compare and contrast it with other types of writing. Three other commonly recognized types of writing are descriptive, narrative, and persuasive. Each of these ty