4 characteristics of expository texts

The characteristics that define an expository text are the objectivity, the denotative language and the logical organizationIn addition to the ability to relate concepts new with previously acquired knowledge.

Expository texts provide information about a specific topic, with the aim of expanding and transmitting knowledge. They can be called expository-explanatory if, in addition to presenting information, they want it to be understood by the reader.

They are the most used type of text in the academic and professional field, so we will analyze their characteristics in depth and see an example of each of them.

1. Objectivity: does not express opinions or emotions

Objectivity is one of the most important traits, since expository texts avoid making judgments and emotions on the part of the author.

Some of the tools used to create a target text are:

• Copulative, impersonal or third person verbs.
• Verb forms of the indicative mood, such as the present, which give the text a timeless character.
• The use of sentences with the non-personal forms of the verb, infinitive, gerund and participle is recurrent.
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Example

The Moon is a star, the only natural satellite of the Earth, whose orbit revolves around the planet during an approximate cycle of 28 days. Its diameter is 3,476 km and it is located at a distance of 384,400 km from Earth.

Oxygen and minerals, such as iron, silicon and magnesium, are the main elements present in its composition.

2. Denotative language: no double meanings

The language used in expository texts must also be objective and varies depending on the public to whom the information is directed. The lexicon can be technical or cultured when the reader is knowledgeable about the subject.

However, in most of these texts a predominant vocabularyformal, but simple, whose purpose is the dissemination of concepts for non-specialized audiences.

In both cases, the language avoids the use of stylistic resources that may reduce coherence or lead to confusion. It's a kind of concrete language and didactic, if we compare it with the creative language used in literary texts.

Example

The respiratory system is the system that supplies oxygen to living beings. In humans, it is made up of the respiratory tract (nasal passages, pharynx, larynx, and trachea) and the lungs (bronchi, bronchioles, and alveoli).

In animals, the respiratory system can be branchial, tracheal, pulmonary or cutaneous, and some use more than one type simultaneously.

3. Logical order: natural development of ideas

Expository text organizes ideas logically and in a natural order, such as, through subject-verb-complement constructions or by placing adjectives after nouns.

The information maintains hierarchical organization thanks to the use of titles, subtitles and epigraphs.

Expository texts use textual connectors that establish relationships between concepts and help develop the topic logically. There is a great variety of types of connectors, some examples are: in addition, therefore, then, that is, however, this is, etc.

The structure of expository texts generally consists of three blocks (introduction, development and conclusion). Initially, these texts pose a problem to which they provide a solution as they are developed and their structure allows ideas or concepts to be explained so that they are understandable to the reader.

But the organization of the expository text varies depending on its theme and we can find other kinds of structures such as:

• Classification
• Question answer
• Comparison
• Cause-consequence
• Illustration

Example

Salmon are anadromous fish, that is, fish that live in the sea, but spawn in rivers. His life is divided, mainly, into two phases, the fluvial and the marine.

The life cycle of salmon begins with the hatching of their eggs in fresh water, where they remain during the larval and juvenile stages. After that period, they migrate to the ocean, where they go through a phase of adaptation to the salty environment, to finish developing. During the time they remain in salt water, they travel thousands of kilometers in search of grazing areas where they can feed. In addition, this is a stage in which they undergo physiological and behavioral alterations, a preparation for the adult phase and reproduction.

They then return to the river in which they were born, where their reproduction and spawning take place. Most of the salmon die at the end of this phase, although a small portion manages to return to the sea and carry out a second reproductive phase.

4. Relationship of concepts: knowledge and learning

Expository texts deliver a series of new ideas that the reader must relate to their prior knowledge, that is, the new information is interpreted and assimilated thanks to what was previously acquaintance.

To promote the learning of these new concepts, the expository texts must be understandable, that is, they not only present information, but also explain it so that it is understood.

For this reason, the use of resources such as:

• Reformulation: it is the explanation of complicated fragments with simpler words that facilitate their understanding.
• Appositions or paraphrases, to expand the explanations.
• Conceptual maps and diagrams.
• Definition Y description, to explain concepts precisely and through their particularities.
• examples, analogies and graphic resources, to deliver information in a more illustrative way.

Example

Spanish is a Romance language.The Romance languages ​​are Indo-European languages ​​that derived from Vulgar Latin and that have a relationship of morphological and phonetic similarity to each other. Indo-European languages ​​are called, derived from a hypothetical common language, which spread from India and the Russian steppes to Europe.

The Romance languages ​​are divided, from a territorial point of view, into insular and continental languages. Of the insular languages, Sardinian (Sardinia) is preserved and of the continental ones, French, Italian, Provençal, Castilian, Romanian, Portuguese, Catalan and Galician must be highlighted.

See also:

• Types of texts.
• Literary text and non-literary text.
• Summary and Synthesis.

References:

• Álvarez Angulo, T., & Ramírez Bravo, R. (2010). The expository text and its writing. Pages, (32), 73-88.
• Alvarez Angulo, T. (2001). Expository-explanatory and argumentative texts. Barcelona: Octahedron.
• Giglio de Magallanes, St. (2005). Towards understanding expository text. Reading and Life, (26) 2, 54-63.
• Gil-Garcia, A., & Cañizales, R. (2004). Pedagogical tools for understanding expository text. Reading and life. Latin American Reading Magazine, 25(3).