Exemplification Essay Writing: Tips and Topics to Consider

During college, every student will have homework that will take the form of an argumentative essay, a narrative essay, or a descriptive essay. Yet, an exemplification essay may catch some of the students off-guard – simply because it is not required that often.

This type of essay is similar to an argumentative essay – so if you already know the basics of that one, you are halfway there. With the exemplification kind, you bring the arguments – but you also have to bring a lot of specific examples to strengthen your point.

Not every student knows how to write an exemplification essay properly – so this article will cover the basics of what you must have in mind. You will also find examples of topics and outlines that will help you throughout the writing process.

   Writing Tips to Consider

An essay, regardless of its type, will have certain guidelines that you’ll need to follow. However, when it comes to an essay of this kind, the following will be all the more appreciated:

• Include examples in the text

If you are writing your essay in class, the professor may be lenient about using citations of figures; but they will still appreciate it better if you use your own ways to incorporate them in the text.

• Write a strong thesis

The exemplification essay thesis is the exact sentence in the introduction that puts some order in the reader’s thoughts. Without that thesis, the reader will not know what to follow exactly, so their mind will be going all over the place. Suggest to them what you want to prove, without necessarily divulging every method that you intend to use.

• Choose the topic accordingly

Make sure that the topic that you choose is something for which you can bring many examples. You are not looking for a topic to persuade your reader yourself; instead, you are trying to lay down facts and examples that will do the convincing.

• Avoid boring examples

Be extra careful when you are choosing the examples. Instead of going for something that the reader might consider boring and obvious, go for examples that will attract the reader’s attention.

• Choose fundamental examples

If the example does not fully describe your statement, then the reader doesn’t want to know about it. Unless it entirely describes what you want to prove, avoid using irrelevant examples just to fill in the word count.

• Vary the examples

Many students make the mistake of sticking to the same type of examples. To make your essay more interesting, try incorporating examples from various domains: history, events, statistics, etc.

• Express your belief

When you are writing an essay – be it an argumentative or an exemplification one – always go with something that you strongly believe in.

You may be surprised how easy it is for your feelings to flow out when you are writing – even when you are not intending to. A sincere essay is always an excellent one – so make sure that you include your own opinion.

• Always state your source

If you are working with exemplification essays, you definitely have a variety of sources to strengthen your point. It may be a good idea to ask your professor about different writing styles and choose the one that they prefer.

By following these tips, you are bound to come up with an interesting essay that will capture the attention of your reader.

   Topics to Consider or Avoid When Starting the Essay

An exemplification essay topic may come in various forms and from different sources. However, many people choose topics that do not really do justice to the type of essay chosen.

When it comes to these types of essays, you need to pick a topic that has two sides that you may argue. Choosing a topic that has just one obvious side will beat the purpose of these types of essays, and it will make it very hard to back up your reasoning.

Here are some examples of topics that will definitely make great exemplification essays:

• Traditional vs. Online Education
• Gun Control: Is it Strict Enough?
• Free Healthcare: Should Everyone Have Access to It?
• Gender-Separated Classes: Will They Lead to More Constructive Learning?
• Can Glacier Melting Lead to Water Shortages?
• Ecosystem Changes: Do They Lead to Species Extinction?
• The Feminist Movement and the Implications It Brings on Modern Workplaces
• Decriminalization of Marijuana: Should It Happen?
• The American Dream: Do Americans Need a Leader?
• Child Discipline: Are Today’s Disciplinary Rules Not Strict Enough?
• Religious Freedom: Should Religion Be Taught in School?
• Should Human Euthanasia Be Legalized?
• Is Homeschooling as Effective as Traditional Schooling?
• Does Immigration Increase the Risks of Terrorist Acts?
• Online Voting: Should Everyone Do It?
• Should Every State and Country Abolish the Death Penalty?
• Does Music Help in the Student’s Learning Process?
• Are Payday Loans Appropriate for Today’s Economy
• Relocation: Does Working from Home Improve the Productivity of an Employee?
• Social Media: Is It Helpful for Local Businesses?
• The Historical Figures That Had a Strong Impact on the World’s History
• Is Emotion the Main Thing That Drives the Actions of a Character in a 19^th Century Book?
• Should Seniors Over a Certain Age Be Banned from Voting?
• Should Individuals Under the Age of 18 Be Prohibited from Using Social Media?
• Online Reviews: Are They Trustworthy Enough?
• Is Global Warming Caused by the Increased Growth in Population?
• Should We Ban Nuclear Energy Production?
• Is Freedom of Speech Greatly Affected by Political Correctness?
• Is Polygamy the Answer to a Healthy Relationship?
• Sugary Foods: Should they Be Banned?
• Can Social Anxiety Be Overcome If You Step Out of Your Comfort Zone?
• Is there Any Difference between Being a Hoarder and a Collector?
• Are Ghosts Real or Are They a Production of Fantasy?
• Can People Reach Success Even If They Did Not Get a Degree?
• Is Immigration a Good Way of Stimulating the Economy?

As you can see, each of these topics involves pros and cons, as well as different views that could be approached in order to answer a question. You need to support your view, but also bring arguments (and plenty of examples) as to why the other side is not that good.

On the other hand, the following topics are the types that you should avoid using when writing such types of essays:

• Is It Dangerous to Use Opiates?
• What is Your Favorite Musical Genre?
• Talk about a Chapter of Your Favorite Book
• Describe the Process of Making Corn Syrup

The topics above are either too personal, too one-sided or don’t bring any arguments for the topic. While they may make good descriptive essays, they will not work as well when it comes to exemplification essays.

   An Outline to Keep in Mind

So, you were given the task, but you are not exactly certain how you should format this type of essay. It will take some time to master the writing, but once you have narrowed down your research.

An exemplification essay outline should look something like this:

1. Topic: The topic should be self-explanatory and attract the attention of the reader.
2. Thesis: Offering the reader a “hook” where you introduce the topic that you are about to discuss – without necessarily offering a conclusive answer.
3. The Body of the Essay: Ideally, a personal exemplification essay – or any type of essay, for that matter – should have at least three body paragraphs. For example, if you are writing an essay on why today’s food sources are considered unhealthy, break them down into paragraphs tackling fast food, industrial farming, and the modern meat industry. Don’t forget that for every fact and argument brought to the table, you need to come up with very strong examples.
4. Conclusion: In the conclusion, you may want to touch upon every aspect you tackled in your essay – but without going too much into detail. Furthermore, be careful not to bring any new arguments in the conclusion; it will just leave your readers unsatisfied and believing that they missed on something important.

Each essay will bring different arguments – but make sure that they are all objective and supported by facts and examples. Otherwise, it will become just your regular personal essay, without being supported by any facts.

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  Final Thoughts

It may take some time to master essay writing. You may read countless exemplification essay examples, but it may take a few drafts until you come up with the perfect one. What’s most important is to stick to the point, bring arguments – and support them with examples from various domains.

Make sure that you choose the right topic when you are writing an exemplification essay – one that will hook the reader and leave them wondering. Read it over as many times as you can – and even give it to a friend to read. Your work is done once they are convinced that your point of view is the right one.