Exemplification (Illustration)

Overview Exemplification refers to prose whose primary purpose is giving information. Some familiar examples of this kind of writing include encyclopedias, dictionaries, news magazines, and textbooks. In addition, much of your own college work may be classified as exposition: book reports, political analyses, laboratory and business reports, and most essay exams, to cite only a few of the possibilities. Although expository writing does present informtion, a good exemplification essay is more than a collection of facts, figures, and details. First, each essay should contain a thesis statement clarifying the writers purpose and position. Then the essay should be organized so that the body paragraphs explain and support that thesis. In an exemplification essay, the writer says, in effect, here are the facts as I see them; therefore, the writers main purpose is not only to inform readers but also to convince them that this essay explains the subject matter in the clearest, most logical way.
Objectives: Learn the characteristics of an Exemplification/Illustration paper and use it effectively in all genres of writing and communication.
1) What is the meaning of a “Real American”? Define what you think a real American is and then support your definition with examples. 2) Make a generalization about something you learned from your best or worst job. Then support this generalization with specific examples. 3) One student last semester wrote about our human tendency to fool ourselves. Make some generalizations or observations on this subject. Support these points with specific examples. Write an essay on any one of the above topics.