descriptive expository essay topics

Expository Essay Writing

Expository Essay Topics

Good Expository Essay Topics to Impress Everyone

Published on: Apr 30, 2020

Last updated on: Oct 27, 2024

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An expository essay is a genre that investigates a topic in detail. This paper examines, evaluates, and expounds on an idea, concept, event, object, or subject. Writing this essay type is an important component of academic assignments.

If you are a high school or a college student, writing an expository essay  will be mandatory for you. The first thing to make your essay impressive is to choose an amazing title. After that, it is the writer’s first attempt to motivate the audience to read the entire document.

In case you are assigned to write an essay and are looking for some amazing themes. Continue reading this blog to get sample expository essay topics.

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How to Choose an Expository Essay Topic?

The importance of an interesting essay topic can not be overlooked. While reading an essay, it is the first thing that a reader comes across. With this, they would decide whether to continue reading or not.

Deciding on the topic for your writing piece can be challenging. Students often find themselves with writer’s block and cannot think of creative ideas for their essays.

Follow the steps given below to come up with an engaging expository essay topic.

• Brainstorm ideas and make a list -  Brainstorming is a great way to come up with a topic. Make a list of all the ideas that interest you and your audience. At this point, you do not have to gather only good ideas.
• Evaluate the topic -  After preparing a list of ideas, analyze which topic is appropriate. For writing an expository essay, make sure that the topic you choose can be explained in detail.
• Narrow down the topic’s focus -  Once you have chosen a topic, focus on specific aspects. Broad topics will make it difficult for the writer to explain and support the argument.
• Check for sources -  The last but most important step is to check for credible sources of information for your selected topic. Here, the writer needs strong supporting evidence to explain the topic in detail.

Expository Essay Topics for Students

Have a look at the following list of topics for expository essays to get a better idea.

Expository Essay Topics for Middle School

• Explain your first experience in the school?
• Describe your perfect place for vacations.
• Explain your experience of studying online.
• Describe the consequences of Covid-19 on studies.
• Explain what influences families have on the personality of an individual?
• Describe what productive hobbies a middle school student should have?
• Describe the qualities of a good instructor.
• Explain how role models can help you become a better person?
• Describe the advantages of having a pet in the house.
• Describe the meaning of true love.

Expository Essay Topics for Grade 7

• Explain why wearing uniforms can be beneficial for students?
• Talk about the things you want to change in the world, and why?
• Explain why some girls like wearing makeup in school?
• Describe how important it is for the children to spend time with their parents?
• Explain the impact of smoking cigarettes on teen’s health.
• Describe how a person can stay fit and healthy.
• Explain how important it is to have a balanced diet?
• Distant learning vs. traditional learning? Which is better?
• Explain why students should not be given homework?
• Explain how the education quality in public and private schools differs?

Expository Essay Topics for Grade 8

• Explain the theme of your favorite book.
• Explain how a seed becomes a plant?
• Explain why we should not consume processed foods?
• Explain the effects of social media platforms on our lives.
• Describe the effects of pollution on marine life.
• Explain how to keep oral hygiene?
• Why is being immortal a good thing?
• Using strong evidence, explain how to identify if someone is lying?
• Explain the things and habits that affect your memory?
• Describe the consequences of getting bad grades on academics.

Expository Essay Topics for High School

• Explain gunpowder invention.
• Describe the French Revolution.
• Discuss the causes and effects of the Vietnam War.
• How Jazz music affects our brain?
• Explain what characteristics make a person famous?
• Explain a particular psychological disorder.
• How different is it to connect with people online and in person?
• Explain how science helps people live a better life?
• Explain the pros and cons of artificial intelligence.
• Explain the invention of an object of your choice.

Expository Essay Topics for College

• Pick a planet and explain what it would be like to live there?
• Explain what you want to invent for the world?
• Explain how a particular lifestyle or dieting pattern affects the environment?
• Explain life in 25 years and the technological advancements that will take over.
• Explain why teachers should be available for students after school hours as well?
• Explain why there should be some restrictions on the use of social media for teenagers?
• Describe why an employee should be a good team player?
• Describe the consequences of selling drugs on campus.
• Explain why constant fighting between siblings can be alarming?
• Explain why the gang culture is spreading drastically?

Expository Essay Topics on Social Issues

• Describe the importance of learning social values.
• Describe how gun control laws can influence people’s lives?
• How do the needs of people change with time?
• Explain how to help the homeless and prevent homelessness?
• Describe a social work you took part in, and how did it make a difference?
• Explain how obesity socially affects people and their thinking?
• Explain one social issue that largely prevails in your country.
• Describe how people’s attitudes towards mental illnesses have changed during a decade?
• Have parenting roles changed over time? Explain how?
• Explain what can be the possible ways to control pollution.

Expository Essay Topics on Health

• Describe how dieting for weight loss can be dangerous for health?
• Explain why late-night munching is harmful?
• What are the causes and effects of obesity?
• How is fast food harmful to mental health?
• Explain how eating disorders result in disturbed sleeping patterns?
• Explain how AIDS and poverty are related?
• Explain how a healthy body impacts an IQ level of a person?
• How important is the environment for the stability of mental health?
• Explain what diet a student should have?
• What are the causes and effects of malnutrition?

Expository Essay Topics about Education

• Discuss the causes and effects of teaching techniques on learning.
• What are the causes and effects of teaching sex education in schools?
• Explain how can our education systems are modified?
• What is the significance of homeschooling?
• Explain why students should be given the liberty to choose their subjects in school?
• Should college scholarships be granted based on sports performances?
• Explain why higher education is important for a successful career?
• Explain how can the quality of education can be improved??
• Explain why students should be taught foreign languages in schools?
• Describe the qualities of a good teacher.

Expository essay writing can be challenging if your knowledge about the topic is limited. It is important to know that while writing such college papers, a writer has to share his point of view. Only stating the facts will be monotonous for the readers.

Also, keep in mind to follow a defined structure for the content. Moreover, the traditional essay outline of an introduction, body, and conclusion should be included in the document.

The introduction paragraph should be well written and provides a defined thesis statement. Then comes the body paragraphs that present all the explanations and descriptions of the topic. However, make sure to keep the body of your essay informative and organized.

Conclude your essay with strong closing lines to leave a lasting impression on the readers.

To better understand this, check out our blog expository essay outline now!

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61 General Expository Essay Topic to Practice Academic Writing

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• Teaching Resources
• An Introduction to Teaching
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• Community Involvement
• School Administration
• Technology in the Classroom
• Teaching Adult Learners
• Issues In Education
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• Homeschooling
• M.Ed., Curriculum and Instruction, University of Florida
• B.A., History, University of Florida

Expository essays discuss topics by using facts rather than opinions, requiring students to evaluate and investigate while setting forth their arguments clearly and concisely. Teachers often include expository essays as part of assessments , especially in college-level courses, so students can help themselves succeed by practicing writing these types of essays. When teachers are integrating writing throughout the curriculum, students can use expository essays to demonstrate what they've learned in other courses.

Sample Expository Essay Topics From Students

There is no best topic for an expository essay since everyone is inspired by different subjects. Tenth-graders wrote the following general expository essay topics. Students can practice writing these topics or use the list to come up with ideas of their own. The important thing to remember is that these expository essays are based on facts rather than the writer's beliefs or feelings.

• Explain why you admire a particular person.
• Explain why someone you know should be regarded as a leader.
• Explain why parents are sometimes strict.
• If you had to be an animal, which would you be and why?
• Explain why you especially enjoy a particular teacher.
• Explain why some cities have curfews for teens.
• Explain why some students are forced to leave school once they are sixteen.
• Explain how moving from place to place affects teens.
• Explain why getting a driver's license is an important event in the lives of many teenagers.
• Describe the major stressors in teens' lives.
• Explain why you like or don't like working in a team.
• Describe some nonmaterial things that make you happy.
• Explain why some teens commit suicide.
• Explain how music affects your life.
• Explain the impact of different music genres on society.
• Explain why students listen to a particular type of music.
• Explain why some teens skip school.
• Explain the likely consequences of skipping school.
• Describe the likely consequences of doing poorly in school.
• Explain why some teens do drugs.
• Describe the likely consequences of selling drugs.
• Describe the likely consequences of taking drugs.
• Explain why some teens smoke cigarettes or vape.
• Explain the likely consequences of being kicked out of school.
• Explain the likely consequences of skipping classes.
• Explain the likely consequences of siblings constantly fighting.
• Explain why some teens wear makeup.
• Explain the consequences of having alcohol on the school campus.
• Explain the likely consequences of being sexually active without using protection.
• Explain why some teens' parents do not like to be alone with their child's boyfriend or girlfriend.
• Explain the likely consequences of increasing the time between classes from five to 15 minutes.
• Explain why some teens join gangs.
• Explain the difficulties teens have once they are in gangs.
• Explain how life for a teenager changes once they have a baby.
• Describe what you feel a boy should do if he finds out his girlfriend is pregnant.
• Explain why you should or should not laugh at embarrassing moments.
• Describe the effects of marijuana.
• Explain the likely consequences of teens becoming sexually active.
• Explain why it is helpful to organize your materials and activities.
• Explain why your schoolwork is important.
• Describe the ways you help out at home.
• Explain the likely consequences of abolishing capital punishment.
• Explain the consequences of adopting a pass/fail grading system.
• Explain the likely consequences of enforcing an 11:00 p.m. curfew.
• Explain the likely consequences of ending forced busing.
• Explain why some teenagers dislike saying the Pledge of Allegiance.
• Explain why some schools don't have open lunch policies.
• Explain why some teenagers are materialistic.
• Explain why some teens get jobs.
• Explain the consequences of having a job while in high school.
• Explain the likely consequences of dropping out of school.
• Describe some productive ways students can spend their leisure time.
• Explain why dealing with divorce can be difficult for many teens.
• Explain why teens love their parents even when family situations are difficult.
• Describe the things that bring you the greatest happiness.
• Describe three things you would like to change about the world and explain why you would change them.
• Explain why you prefer living in an apartment (or house).
• Describe the likely consequences of requiring a childbearing license.
• Describe three objects that symbolize your culture and explain why you selected them.
• Explain why you are interested in a particular career.
• Explain the likely consequences of requiring students to wear school uniforms.
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115 Engaging expository essay topics

Published March 20, 2021. Updated December 22, 2021.

Early on in your college studies, it is highly probable that you’ll be asked to write an expository essay and it won’t have to be for a writing class. If you have a paper to write for biology, American history, psychology, or philosophy, it will likely be an expository essay.

“Expository” comes from the word “expose”, so an expository essay exposes information and ideas. The purpose of an expository essay is to inform reader as you explain, describe, or define a topic. The information that you expose might come from the teacher or your own research. The assignment guidelines will let you know what the scope and length of your essay should be.

You can present information using several methods of development. These methods include:

• Problem and solution
• Compare and contrast
• Cause and effect
• Description
• Classification

Using one or more of these methods will help you organize and present your information in a logical way.

Worried about your writing? Submit your paper for a Chegg Writing essay check , or for an Expert Check proofreading . Both can help you find and fix potential writing issues.

This page will cover the following points:

Tips for choosing a good expository topic

Expository essay topics about travel, expository essay topics about government, expository essay topics about health, expository essay topics about social media, expository essay topics about technology, expository essay topics about education, expository essay topics about money and the economy, expository essay topics about food, expository essay topics about society, miscellaneous expository essay topics.

If your instructor assigns you a topic, then you don’t need to think about what you’re going to write, but usually, instructors give you at least some choice about your topic.

An expository essay, which gives information, can be about literally anything. This is both good and bad:

Good : It can be anything! Woohoo! You choose! What does your little brain want to write about?

Bad : OMG, it can be ANYthing! There are too many choices! Argh! What do you choose??

If you can choose the topic, choose something you like or are curious about, especially if you have to do research. Researching takes time, analyzing takes time, and writing takes time. For the sake of your sanity, choose a topic you are interested in!

If you don’t need to do research, you’ll still need to present information using an appropriate method of development.  Write what you know about your topic rather than your opinions about it.

Still have no idea where to start? Then check out our list of topics for expository essays. These can work for essays that require research, as well as essay that don’t.

Topic overview

The topics are listed as general topics so you can decide how to approach any of them.

Let’s do a sample brainstorm to show you how you can approach a topic that you don’t need to research.

We’ll choose topic 1 below:

the benefits of travel.

Do you believe that travel has benefits? Let’s say you’re for it and believe there are benefits.

What kinds of benefits does travel offer? Well, it’s good for the traveler to learn about new places. It’s good for the place to have visitors who spend money there. It helps people from different places learn about one another.

From these general ideas, which one interests you the most? Let’s say you want to write about how travel benefits the traveler.

What are some ways that traveling benefits travelers? Well, it gives them the opportunity to learn about a new place. It takes them out of their comfort zones and makes them figure out how to handle new situations. They get to see how other people live, and realize that not everyone lives the same way. It encourages appreciation for where they come from, and for the new place they’re visiting.

Do you see how you’re developing ideas to write about? Note that there are no correct choices. You get to choose what to write about.

Your instructor will not grade you based on whether they agree with you, but on how you presented your ideas.

• The benefits of travel
• Eco-tourism
• Women traveling alone
• Culture shock
• Gap year abroad
• Responsibilities of a tourist
• International versus domestic travel
• Travel in times of COVID
• Different modes of travel
• A significant trip you took

Let’s do a sample brainstorm to show you how you can approach a topic that you need to research.

Remember that you can either choose a topic you have knowledge about, or one you don’t know much about but are interested in. You’re going to do research either way, so interest in the topic is the key.

We’ll choose topic 2 below: Why some people don’t vote.

What do you already know about this topic? Well, some people don’t vote because they don’t want to, and other people don’t vote because they’re not allowed to.

From those two options, which one do you want to write about? Let’s choose the first one:

people don’t vote because they don’t want to.

What do you know about the reasons why people don’t want to vote? Well, some people don’t pay enough attention and simply don’t care about politics. Other people are disappointed in their options and don’t like any of the candidates, so they don’t vote for anyone. Finally, others feel that politicians never do anything that directly benefits them, just their rich donors, so there is no point in voting because it won’t make a difference either way.

Do you see how you’re developing your ideas? At any point, you can begin your research. Maybe you have no idea why people don’t vote, so that’s where you start Googling. Or if you already have ideas about why people don’t vote, you can research each idea/reason to get additional information.

If a topic interests you, feel free to choose it.  Here are several topics related to government.

• Hyper-partisanship
• Why some people don’t vote
• Removing money from politics
• Ending gerrymandering
• Abolishing the electoral college
• Voter suppression
• Consequences of capitalism
• The separation of church and state
• Democracy versus oligarchy
• House of Representatives versus the Senate

Right now, with the world still struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic, you might want to choose that as your topic. You absolutely can! There are dozens of ways you could approach the topic of COVID-19! Here are just a few:

• Describing how the disease started and spread.
• Writing about the various ways people are protecting themselves from the virus.
• Comparing how different countries responded to COVID.
• Explaining how COVID caused the economy to suffer.
• Describing the process of vaccinating the entire country.
• Comparing COVID pandemic with the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918.
• Writing about the response from the White House and how that led to the number of deaths.
• Writing about people who believe COVID is a hoax and how that makes containing the virus much more difficult.

So, you can see that with a general topic like COVID-19, there are many ways to approach the topic, depending on what you’re interested in learning and writing about.

However – if you’ve had enough of COVID for now, here are other health topics to consider:

• The consequences of vaping
• The prevalence of obesity in the US
• Vaccines: helpful or harmful?
• A woman’s right to choose
• Eating healthy in college
• Universal health insurance
• The right to die for terminal patients
• Public health versus personal freedom in times of COVID
• Addiction as a health issue rather than a criminal issue
• Mental health and health insurance

Social media started as a way for people to interact with each other online. If you had friends or family far away, you could post pictures and chat with them. In the last 15 years, social media has become a part of our daily lives.

You can still share pictures and chat with people, but the ways social media is used have exploded. Businesses, organizations, schools, activists, politicians, celebrities, and more have found ways to make social media work for them.

Here are some social media topics to write about:

• Social media and body image
• Social media and interpersonal communication
• Censorship on social media
• How businesses use social media
• Activism through social media
• Social media and the workplace
• Cyber bullying
• The spread of radicalization through social media
• Doom scrolling
• How social media affects employee privacy

When most people think about technology, they think about things like their cell phones or laptops.  However, technology is applied to business, education, energy, military, medicine, food, relationships… there is hardly an aspect of modern life that is not impacted by technology.

Here are some topics about technology you can explore.

• Net neutrality
• Accessible high-speed internet
• Alternative energy
• Automation in jobs
• Digital learning
• Self-driving cars
• Gamification
• Effects on productivity
• Military technology
• Effects on reading skills

You’re still going to school currently, aren’t you? Otherwise, why would you need to write an expository essay? But depending on your age, it’s possible you’ve been in school for most of your life. Maybe you love it, maybe you hate it, but recognize that it’s necessary to reach your goals.

Either way, here are some topics about education for you to consider.

• Foreign language requirements
• Commuting from home versus living on campus
• Virtual classrooms/teaching
• Value of a college degree
• Trade school versus college
• Characteristics of good teachers/professors
• Pass/fail instead of letter grades
• Funding charter schools
• The age at which students should start getting homework
• School funding tied to standardized test scores

Right now, money – or rather, the economy – is a highly discussed topic.  When you turn on the news at least some of the stories will be about money and the economy. The news stories are about everything from raising the minimum wage, to taxing billionaires, to an economic depression, to a soaring stock market, to where is my stimulus check… it’s all about money.

Here are some topics about money that you can explore.

• Raising the minimum wage
• Implementing a maximum wage
• The burden of student loan debt
• The $75,000 threshold of happiness
• Universal Basic Income
• Effects of consumerism
• National deficit
• The high cost of poverty
• Stock market
• Bitcoin (or another cryptocurrency)

You are what you eat. Cliché but true. No one survives without eating, so food is a topic that everyone can relate to. You can approach the topic from the angle of good health or you can look at how food contributes to illness. There are ethical, environmental, and economic angles, all related to food.

Do any of these topics appeal to you?

• The health benefits of cooking
• The food pyramid
• Ethics of eating meat
• High fructose corn syrup
• Industrial farming
• Genetically modified foods
• Benefits of vegetarianism
• The cost of fast food
• Sugar versus artificial sweetener
• Super foods

Merriam-Webster lists one definition of society as “a community, nation, or broad grouping of people having common traditions, institutions, and collective activities and interests.” Although it might seem that American society is currently too divided to have any “common interests”, there are always topics that matter to large portions of society.

You may find some of these topics interesting to explore.

• Domestic terrorism
• Gun control
• The death penalty
• Homelessness
• A shorter workday (for example: a 6-hour workday)
• A shorter work week (for example, Monday through Thursday)
• Black Lives Matter protests versus January 6 riot on the Capitol.
• Patriotism versus nationalism
• LGBTQ+ rights

Before you turn in that paper, don’t forget to cite your sources in APA format , MLA format , or a style of your choice.

If you’ve made it this far without finding a topic you’re passionate about, don’t despair! There are 25 more topics for you to choose from.

These are general topics that you can brainstorm and approach from any number of angles. Since you’re going to research regardless of whether or not you know a lot about the topic, the key to choosing the best topic is your interest in it.

• The confederate flag
• Renting versus owning
• Over-population
• Toxic masculinity
• Wikipedia as a source of information
• Experiential learning
• Effects of divorce on children
• Immigration policies
• Decriminalization of prostitution
• Defund the police
• Systemic racism
• Organic food
• Growth mindset versus fixed mindset
• Intersection of feminism and race
• The cost of adult illiteracy
• Rehabilitation for juvenile offenders
• Teenage pregnancy
• Benefits of reading
• Legalizing marijuana
• Coconut oil
• Off-grid living
• Applications of 3D printing

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