Questions, Expository Essay

Feel free to post questions about the expository essay below, as always

Expository Essay


Q&A

1. Q. Are we allowed to use our own personal experiences/memories of our place we are writing about?

A. This practice is encouraged. I want you to try and have a balance between objective information and subjective information. If the essay has too much 'objective' information, it is bland and boring, as in a pamphlet of the place. If the essay has too much 'subjective' information, it seems less able to expose the "information" about the topic, and makes the piece a tad 'touchy-feely.' In my mind, the best balance to cultivate is a balance between objective and subjective:

Objective (Background information that can be discovered, factually, off of existing resources)

Objective and Subjective (Description of Place / Person / Passion that can be both objective and subjective, based on the Exterior and Interior of the topic)

Subjective (the personal experiences and memories you discussed above)

2. Q. Is this essay about feelings? Do we need to compare it to something?

A. Your feelings or "vibe" of the place eventually becomes your thesis' value. The example I gave in class was as follows:

Replete with poi, lomi salmon, pipikaula, and squid luau but especially kind employees, Haili’s Hawaiian Foods at Ward’s Farmer’s Market possesses a warm sense of nostalgia—I will miss it when it disappears.

If I didn't have feelings towards this place, strong, passionate feelings, it would be largely difficult to write the thesis statement.

For the essay prompt above, I might compare if I wanted to: a good comparison might be mainland-type companies such as Safeway and Whole Foods.

3. Q. I really want to write well and be a stronger writer. How can I accomplish this? Read more? Write more?

A. I think it's great to cultivate a inner 'salon' or 'writer's group,' but that's hard, because we are often busy and don't make the time to workshop our 'inner thoughts and feelings' with other people, but I'm not sure if there are any Harry Potter-esque secrets to your question. If I knew the answer, maybe I myself would have written the next best thing and be living in my Kahala Mansion right now, sipping my mojito, eating chips and salsa. At least in my mind, just to show you that I struggle with the same issues that all of you do, I think the best answer is as follows:

Silence your inner voice that tells you, "This writing sucks." (e.g. subtext: "I suck." )

Once you quiet that yapping, urusai voice, you have crossed a major hurdle. In my own case, I have bitter issues about how my own writing is silly and long-winded and a bunch of drivel.

See your writing in a spectrum of "Strengths" and "Improvements," not "Good" and "Bad." "Good" and "Bad" as a binary conjures up ideas of good and evil, and again takes us to a point of "suck" / "does not suck"
Work slowly on the improvements side, but really play up your strengths side.

Always remember that the first grade I ever got in college writing was a 62, a D. Perhaps in a later blog, I can explain why that was the best grade I ever got in my college career, at least the one I remember THE MOST.