Writing with Ms.

Jan Marquez

Informative/Expository Writing Project

Informative/Expository Writing is a genre of writing that is to simply
inform or explain a topic in a logical and straightforward manner; a writers
opinions or feelings are generally never discussed in expository writing.
Expository writing is usually written in the third person point of view with the
exception of a how-to process project which can be written in the second
person point of view.

Writing Project Task: The director of our school (Ms. Catherine

Bowes) wants to show the school board, parents, and guests, who plan on
visiting our school sometime in the next few weeks, that GSDA students
know how to do a lot of great things. An idea she has in mind is to create a
how-to wall or how-to book that will be showcased which will
demonstrate what students know how to do. Your mission is to write a 5+
paragraph essay explaining how to do something that you know very well.
Please consider a topic that you are very passionate about and is worth
sharing so that others can learn from you. Your how-to essay must be a
topic that is beyond basic which requires a lot of concrete steps and
sensory details in paragraph form. Something that is considered not beyond
basic would be "how to boil water" for example. Some topic examples can
include: How to solve math problems dealing with fractions, how to make
pizza, how to make a website, how to make a comic book, how to plan a
vacation for under $100, how to play basketball, how to take care of a dog
etc...
Please consider the following as you prepare for your how-to essay:

1. Your essay should have an interesting and appropriate title with your
name, class, instructors name and date on the upper left-hand corner
(double spaced).

2. Your essay should have an introduction with a hook that will grab the
readers attention and entice him or her to read for more.

3. Your introduction should have some background that you think your
reader will need to know in order to understand your essay.

4. Your thesis statement on the topic must be clearly stated. The thesis
statement is a sentence that states the purpose of your writing and reflects
the process (how-to) to be described in your introductory paragraph.

5. The body of your essay is organized into clear steps and presented in an
effective and logical order in paragraph form.

6. Transitional words and phrases are effectively used to connect ideas

and make the order of steps clear.

7. All details necessary to perform the process are described and is

supported with several sensory details and/or examples.

8. Unfamiliar terms are explained in your essay, and the vocabulary is

appropriate and specific for the audience (not too general or vague).

9. Images, diagrams or illustrations are included only if it is appropriate,

relevant, and necessary for your essay.

10. Your essay must have a well-written conclusion with a unique

closing.

11. Your essay should be free from any grammatical, spelling, and
punctuation errors.

12. Your final draft must be typed, double-spaced with 1 inch margins all
around, using 12 point size font either in Arial, Verdana, Times New Roman
or Courier.