The RSCC Online Writing Lab

A Brief Guide to Writing Example Essays
Kimberly Davis, Writing Tutor

An example essay is a paper written with detailed comments which support the thesis statement. When writing an example essay, it is therefore important to choose a topic that offers an adequate variety of examples to describe the subject.

An example provides a method of explaining what something is by comparing it to something else. Examples also provide further information to support a writer's statements and give the writer an opportunity to expand his or her subject. This makes an essay more interesting to read. If you write that The Backstreet Boys write slow love songs, for instance, providing an example of such a song gives the reader a better idea of what the band is all about because the example shows the lyrics. It also gives the writer an opportunity to discuss the song's rhythm and topic in more detail.

Description and examples go hand in hand. For instance, if the topic were “media,” some examples of media would be television, radio, and newspapers. A writer might narrow the topic to television and then describe different news programs, such as 20/20, Dateline, and  60 Minutes.  When using these shows as examples, the writer could describe how they are different from each other. One show might be set up in fifteen-minute segments over different topics, while another might cover one topic over an entire hour.
 

Features

1. The essay should have a clear introduction which starts out with a general sentence introducing the topic. Each sentence thereafter should become more specific and should introduce new information. The introduction ends with a specific thesis statement that might include two to four main examples of the topic. For an example of such a paragraph, see The Backstreet Boys: A Popular Rock Band.
2. The body of the paper examines each of the examples in more detail, in the order they were introduced in the thesis. Each paragraph provides description and information.
3. The conclusion of the paper might restate the thesis and include final thoughts on the topic.
4. Be sure to use good organization in the paper. The more information one has about the topic, the easier it is to write an example essay.

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