But why such a conundrum? Hasn’t expository writing been around for as long as the story or the narrative? Hmmm, which came first, the narrative or the exposition, the exposé or the expressive? People have been telling stories since the beginning of time, but so have people been seeking information and explaining to others how to do it. I don’t think that editorials or opinions are necessarily new forms of expression to mankind; rather it’s the formula that has been imposed on ways of thinking that has stilted expository writing today.
Furthermore, perhaps we, or is it just teachers and assessors who are confused about what expository writing really is. Should expository writing have an opinion? Some authorities would claim that expository writing should be neutral. Really? Maybe this opens up the conversation about what it means to be neutral. It is possible to look at both sides of the neutrality issue; and regardless of how you feel about how strong the personal “I” should appear in expository texts, suffice it to say that, if the writing does not mean anything to you, or the reader, then that piece could well be bland, void, empty, flat, and possibly even voiceless. It may well be a beautifully constructed piece of writing, a grammatically, and structurally sound composition, but without the presence of even the slightest hint of a personal stance or experience, I would agree, that expository writing is indeed stupid.
And if it is stupid, I might even venture to say that such writing may even be unworthy of expending the effort it takes to write, but that would violate everything I believe to be true about writing and composing. The act of writing is one of the most beneficial ways of developing thinking. So, if writing is thinking, then maybe it is just the tool required to work through the stupid or boring parts about expository texts. After all, it won’t become interesting until it connects, with the author and with the reader. And to do that the piece will need an audience, a purpose, and a voice.
So teachers, how do you make it happen? How do you go from flat to fabulous? How do you balance creating voice and neutrality in the expository writing you teach? How do you find the real “I” in expository while hiding the first person “I” that turns expository into a personal narrative. How do you keep expository from becoming just another stupid essay?
