SUBRAMANIAN: Do not hate on Expository Writing
Column: Whadda I Know
Expository Writing: the bane of many first-year Rutgers students' lives. This makes many Rutgers students despise the class, the horror stories of past students already internalized. Initially, it is very easy to buy into this mentality, but as I started taking more writing classes and tutoring other students in Expository Writing, I realized that this class served a more significant function than most give it credit for.
I will preface my comments throughout the article by saying that Expository Writing is hard for many students. I do not deny this fact. This is probably one of the more challenging classes students will take during their first semester. But, looking at this class from a different perspective might help readers understand the necessity of taking this course.
When students enter college, they come in with high school-style writing. While this may have worked from grades nine to 12, in college, it certainly demands different skills.
For example, many high school students write a one-sentence thesis statement that lists the reasons why they support one side or the other. A high school thesis, for instance, would look something like this: Dogs are better than cats because they are friendlier, cuter and you can do more things with them. This thesis at the college level is highly problematic for a few reasons.
One of the biggest reasons is that the future body paragraphs work independently of each other, thus there is a lack of flow between paragraphs. This takes away from what could be an impactful and complex thesis from which newer, more interesting ideas could come. The other major issue with this thesis is that there is a lack of significant impact on the reader.
When writing a thesis, the goal is to address why this thesis or idea matters. Confining oneself to the high school thesis does not give a thesis the weight it truly deserves. Connecting this back to Expository Writing, a thesis that is a list will often earn students a C+ or a fail. But expanding on a thesis, which often requires one to use more than one sentence, creates a stronger argument that can earn a student a higher grade.
Expository Writing is also difficult because the analysis required is at a much higher degree when compared to high school writing. Oftentimes, in high school writing, the analysis was just a summarization of the quote that you used for the essay. This means that no real analysis has occurred. In Expository Writing, the expectation is that the writers have to provide a worthwhile and deep analysis.
This means that students have to take a quote and find out what is important that someone would not be able to get from a simple read-through of the quote. This is the time to pull out interesting ideas and ask deeper questions. Once students enter Expository Writing with this kind of surface-level analysis, this puts them in a bad place because they will not be able to do the serious critical thinking that is required for a stronger writing style.
Pushing students to actually engage in serious critical thinking puts students on the highway to success. Regardless of what profession students end up doing, critical thinking will be necessary, and failing to encourage students to build up those skills will stifle future success.
The fact of the matter is that Expository Writing is difficult and pushes students to write and think in a completely different way. That is the point. No longer are list theses and surface-level analyses permitted. Throughout this class, it certainly does reward improvement, and there are many resources, such as the Rutgers Writing Centers, that provide students with the help that can build up their skills.
If you still doubt the benefits of Expository Writing, I would highly suggest going back into your old essays and seeing how they look, especially your high school writing. You would most likely see that your high school writing is significantly weaker and that your current writing has significantly improved. While Expository Writing may not be your favorite class, it is probably the unsung hero of the writing curriculum. But hey, whadda I know?
Kiran Subramanian is a junior in the School of Arts and Sciences majoring in economics and political science. His column, "Whadda I Know," runs on alternate Tuesdays.
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