Using Expository Texts to Promote Comprehension and Learning

This essay provides an overview of expository texts, their characteristics, and their application in middle school education. It discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using expository texts for learning, highlighting their role in promoting comprehension and knowledge acquisition. The essay addresses the challenges middle school students face when reading expository texts and emphasizes the importance of developing a positive attitude towards them. It also explores the use of graphic organizers as a tool to enhance understanding and facilitate learning within the classroom, suggesting various visual aids for description, sequencing, comparison, cause-effect relationships, and problem-solution scenarios. The paper concludes that expository texts, when used effectively, can significantly contribute to students' creativity, critical thinking, and self-dependent learning.

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Introduction
The term expository is an adjective that refers to explain, explicate or erudite. Expository texts
are therefore texts or writings that totally the opposite of texts that uses a lot of emotions such as
fictions novels (Bluestein, 2010).An expository texts is dynamic in nature and they exists to
provide facts. They are factual in nature and are often used for educational purposes because of
their nature to try and explain something in a much broader way. They are often based on
purpose of exposing a hidden or unclear truth and it usually focuses on educating the reader more
that entertaining the reader.
Discussion
Expository texts are have descriptions that are clear and concise and they are organized in a very
meaningful manner.
Expository texts as applied in middle-school content-area classroom
Expository texts are a common lesson in middle-school. They are commonly used because of the
nature to educate and their coherence as far as delivering of knowledge is concerned. Middle
school students, however, do face a lot of challenges when reading expository texts. Well, this
has been attributed to the fact that some expository texts require critical thinking in order for
them to be understood. It is important to note that expository texts could either be narratives or
even informational notifications (Caldwell & Leslie, 2010).As a result of the challenges that
middle-school students face when dealing with expository texts, it is important that they develop
a positive attitude to the whole concept of expository texts so as become even much better
readers and learners. Moreover, middle-class students usually need some really high amount of

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reasonable and also attainable goals for the purpose of reading expository texts. Most of the
times, middle-class students depend so much on their teachers and/or tutors to simplify the text
for them rather than having the urge to understand the idea and concepts being mentioned therein
by themselves. It is therefore important that teachers be objective in nature and this could be
achieved by setting different goals for different students but with consideration to their reading
and understanding levels (Meyer & Ray, 2017).
Advantages of using expository texts
The use of expository texts for learning purposes is very advantageous. Some of the advantages
that are associated with expository texts are outlined below;
Their scope of study is limited
Expository texts have a limited scope of study. This implies that the subject being discussed us
narrow and is limited in nature. A narrow scope makes expository texts unique and much easier
to understand
Objectivity
Unlike other texts, expository texts often contain some research and also evidence to substantiate
and comprehend the main idea. They have a unique feature of eliminating any form of opinion
and some personal preferences thus increasing the validity of ideas being conveyed in the text.
They are informative

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It is the nature and purpose of expository texts to inform. They have a unique ability to build
knowledge and increase one’s level of understanding on a given subject matter. Most expository
texts don’t give assumptions but rather, they state facts that are often based on research.
Disadvantages of expository texts
Chronology of events
This is the main disadvantage of expository text. Usually, but not always the chronological
nature of expository texts is not suitable for events that are non-sequential in nature. Expository
texts usually focus on informing and therefore the issue of chronology is not put into
consideration. It is for this reason that middle-class students find it hard to understand most
expository texts (Bugg & McDaniel, 2012).Expository texts may for instance might place the
author and/or maybe the reader in a position of understanding the text in a manner that the
sequence of events is ignored and this makes them absolute irrelevant at times.
Expository texts are complex
Unlike other forms of texts and writings, expository texts are complex in nature. In as much as
they try to create and bring in some new knowledge they do so in a much complex manner that
makes it impossible for students not to understand it (Dymock & Nicholson, 2010). They
comprise of ideas and thoughts that are not at times well-arranged due to the nature of the
chronology and sequence of events in the texts itself.
Uses of expository texts in promoting comprehension and learning in middle-school content-area
classrooms

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Expository texts play a very crucial role towards promoting comprehension and learning in
middle-school. Despite of the challenges that it brings with it to the middle-school students as far
as understanding is concerned expository texts could be very useful.
Middle-school years are often the most crucial time for learners. It is during this stage of learning
that most students turn away from reading at all. Expository texts have a very crucial role to play
here. As a result of their nature of informing and creating new knowledge they from a very
important basis of promoting comprehension and learning (Jitendra, Burgess, Gajria, 2011).
Through various sets of expository texts student’s awareness and knowledge is boosted. Their
level of creativity is also increased. Their creativity increases as a result of the nature of
information conveyed in the texts. Usually most students lack the creativity and critical thinking
abilities to understand expository texts. With the right teachers, however, who explain important
and relevant concepts conveyed in the texts they are in position to understand the texts. The more
texts they are engaged in the more their levels of creativity and critical thinking is increased
(Wilson & Smetana, 2011).At long last, they become self-dependent students who can
understand ideas without any supervision or explanation.
Therefore, expository texts generally promote comprehension and learning in middle-school
content-area classrooms.
Graphic organizer for use of expository texts within my practicum activities
Graphic organizers play a very crucial role in understanding of concepts as portrayed in
expository texts. They not only facilitate understanding, they also make it much easier for
students to appreciate the issues being addressed therein (Akhondi, Malayeri, Samad, 2011).

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For a graphic organizer to use within my practicum activities, there are a number of issues that I
would consider. For instance, the following are some of the graphic organizers that I would
incorporate;
For the case of making descriptions, the image below would be used. It is much simpler and it
shows gives descriptions in a much compressed version. I prefer this to the use of long
descriptive sentences in trying to describe a concept. For the case of expository texts, this can be
used to describe certain ideas and thoughts conveyed in the text in a much simpler manner.
In the case of giving a sequence, I would use the image shown below. It very simple and easy to
understand. It will show the order of events and the flow of ideas in the right sequence

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For comparison between two related or different ideas and/or thoughts, the image shown below
would be used. This image is very objective in nature as it clearly indicates point by point the
differences and or similarities between the two ideas and/or thoughts.
When describing the causes of something and the effects that it causes, the image shown below
would be used. This image is very effective since it clearly indicates the effect as a result of a
certain cause

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When indicating or identifying a certain problem and its solution as depicted in a text the image
below would be used. This image is also very effective as it directly points a problem to its
immediate solution. There can be various solutions to one problem and this can also be indicated
by increasing the solution box.

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References
Akhondi, M., Malayeri, F. A., & Samad, A. A. (2011). How to teach expository text structure to
facilitate reading comprehension. The Reading Teacher, 64(5), 368-372.
Bluestein, N. A. (2010). Unlocking text features for determining importance in expository text:
A strategy for struggling readers. The Reading Teacher, 63(7), 597-600.
Bugg, J. M., & McDaniel, M. A. (2012). Selective benefits of question self-generation and
answering for remembering expository text. Journal of educational psychology, 104(4), 922.
Caldwell, J., & Leslie, L. (2010). Thinking aloud in expository text: Processes and
outcomes. Journal of Literacy Research, 42(3), 308-340.
Dymock, S., & Nicholson, T. (2010). “High 5!” Strategies to enhance comprehension of
expository text. The Reading Teacher, 64(3), 166-178.
Jitendra, A. K., Burgess, C., & Gajria, M. (2011). Cognitive strategy instruction for improving
expository text comprehension of students with learning disabilities: The quality of
evidence. Exceptional children, 77(2), 135-159.
Meyer, B. J., & Ray, M. N. (2017). Structure strategy interventions: Increasing reading
comprehension of expository text. International Electronic Journal of Elementary
Education, 4(1), 127-152.
Wilson, N. S., & Smetana, L. (2011). Questioning as thinking: A metacognitive framework to
improve comprehension of expository text. Literacy, 45(2), 84-90.