How to Write an Exemplification Essay

Almost every student must write at least one exemplification essay during their education. It is a common assignment that helps develop students’ analytical, argumentation, and writing skills.

Writing an exemplification essay may seem difficult, especially if you have never done this before. But, by looking through some information, you will understand that everything is much easier. This article will give you a comprehensive explanation of an exemplification essay and how to write it properly.

Exemplification Essay Definition

Before going into a writing guide, let’s define an exemplification essay. It is an argumentative essay where examples support arguments on a particular topic. The purpose of writing an exemplification essay is to demonstrate and prove your statement or point of view with related standards. A good exemplification essay should mostly contain models, but students can also provide quotes, statistics, and other data from reliable sources.

Providing arguments without evidence of your statement is not enough for an exemplification essay. In this type of argumentative essay, the main focus is on giving examples. Thus, a student must conduct in-depth research on a particular topic and collect credible data to write a great exemplification essay. Writing the exemplification essay is a great way to elaborate and demonstrate your point of view on a certain topic or idea.

How to Write An Exemplification Essay: Step-By-Step Guide

Now, let’s figure out how to write an exemplification essay. To create a good piece, it is always recommended to divide writing into several stages. Such an approach will simplify the process and allow you to be sure that you didn’t miss something. We have already created a workable plan to make it easier for you. Let’s look at each stage of the exemplification essay writing process.

Start by Choosing a Topic

The first stage of writing an exemplification essay is topic selection. A good exemplification essay topic is essential to create an interesting and useful exemplification essay. Frequently, professors assign a subject to students. And in this case, you can skip this step. But if you don’t have a given topic for your exemplification essay, you should spend some time and choose it on your own.

To choose a great topic for your exemplification essay, you have to pay attention to several points:

• Professors’ requirements. Sometimes, professors provide certain conditions for topic selection and expect students to stick to them.
• Simple, but the topic should be related to the field you study.
• A chosen topic should be relevant, useful, and interesting for your audience.
• Broadness and complexity. It is critical to pick an exemplification essay topic that is not too broad so that your paper won’t seem too general. But also, a case shouldn’t be too narrow, as finding great examples in specific issues is hard.

Take your time to find the best topic for your exemplification essay. Then, later in this article, we will share with you some good exemplification essay topics that you can use to get inspired for your piece.

Investigate a Topic

Once you choose a topic, it is time to conduct research. Make sure you pay enough attention to this step, as the more information you will find, the more related and relevant materials you will have to write an exemplification essay. To investigate your topic, you can use several sources, such as:

• Academic journal articles
• Digital databases
• Non-fiction works

The in-depth research will help you see the problem from different perspectives and figure out how you want to demonstrate your point of view. During the investigation, note all the useful information: ideas, arguments, examples, statistics, etc. This way, you will get enough relevant material to write an exemplification essay. Remember that you should focus on finding great examples, which are the core of an exemplification essay.

Organize Information

The next step after conducting research is to organize all collected information. Many students skip this step and go right into writing the exemplification essay, but it is a completely wrong approach. To make the entire writing process much easier, you should spend some time organizing.

Please review all the information you found and divide it into groups. Thus, you will understand what information can be useful as examples, what information is great for creating strong arguments, and so on. It is better to keep different data in different folders so that you wouldn’t distract yourself from various other documents.

Also, by organizing your material, you can double-check if you have enough information to write an excellent exemplification essay. If you seem to miss something, it is better to do additional research.

Choose a Suitable Example

As said in the definition of an exemplification essay, examples are essential to this type of essay. Thus, you must spend some time examining your findings and then choosing the most relevant and appropriate standards. After you organize your material, finding great examples to support the arguments won’t be hard.

How to understand that an example is a good one? Use these criteria to evaluate your material and find the best for including to your exemplification paper:

• The information is from a credible source
• The example is concise and clear
• Chosen examples are strong evidence for your arguments

As an example, exemplification essays’ length is usually no more than 500-750 words, so there is no need to pick more than 4-5 examples. Make sure you have one instance for one argument, and it will be enough. However, if your professor has specific requirements, make sure you stick to them.

Create an Outline for Your Exemplification Essay

The next step is the last one in the preparation process. You have to write the outline for your exemplification essay. Creating an overview before writing the exemplification paper is a helpful step. This way, you can understand how you want to present your information and what paragraphs you want to include. How to create an outline? Follow these steps:

• Think about what sections you need to include
• Outline a possible structure
• Choose the best way to develop your thesis through paragraphs logically
• Note what information should be included in what paragraphs

Later in this article, we will discuss the exemplification essay outline in more detail. Thus you will get a better idea of how to create a well-structured exemplification essay.

Write Your Exemplification Essay

Now, it is time to start writing your exemplification essay. To ensure your paper is well-written, it is not enough to write down all the information you found. If you want to report an excellent article, pay attention to these points during the process:

• Make sure you state your thesis at the beginning, and it is clear for the readers
• Stick to your exemplification essay outline
• Provide argument and examples coherently
• Include transition sentences to link between topic sentences and examples

It is recommended to divide your exemplification essay into 5-6 paragraphs: one paragraph for the introduction, 3-4 sections for the main body, and the last to conclude your exemplification essay. If you want to know more about how to write each of these parts, keep reading this article. We will tell you everything in detail.

Review and Edit Your Exemplification Essay

Once you finish the first draft of your exemplification paper, you have to proofread it. This step allows you to double-check the text and find errors and misspellings you didn’t see during the writing process. Proofreading your text, make sure that:

• The text is grammatically correct
• There are no misspelling words
• The exemplification essay is structured correctly
• The idea is logically developed through the main paragraphs
• Your exemplification essay fulfills the school’s requirements

If unsure, you can proofread your exemplification essay and find someone else who can make it perfect. It can be your friends who are good at writing or a professional writer from an essay writing service. Anyway, ensure that the quality of proofreading is good so you won’t miss any errors.

When you finish proofreading the exemplification essay, edit everything you find inappropriate. Once you finish editing, review the text again to ensure you didn’t miss something. This way, you will create a perfect final draft of your exemplification essay.

Evaluation Criteria for Exemplification Papers

Even if your essay is well-written, your professor can have another opinion. There are always some criteria used to evaluate students’ work. And if you want to be sure that you create a good exemplification essay, it is critical to pay attention to grading criteria. That’s why you should understand how your work will be evaluated before writing an exemplification essay. Usually, professors provide a document with grading criteria to students. But, if you didn’t receive something like that, don’t worry. Here are some of the main exemplification essay grading criteria you should be aware of:

• Clarity of thesis statement. The audience should understand what the central theme of your exemplification essay is. A thesis should be narrow, specific, and stated clearly.
• Sentence flow. It is important to make your exemplification essay easy to read. Thus, a professor will evaluate the wording and transitions you use to link sentences and paragraphs. Make sure your sentences are concise and all sections are cohesive.
• Quality and clarity of examples. Examples are the core of an exemplification essay. A writer should present relevant examples that clearly explain their arguments to readers.
• Grammar and word usage. A well-written exemplification essay should be error-free and contain appropriate wording. Ensure that word usage is formal, not distracting for readers, and suitable for an academic exemplification essay.
• Level of detail and coherency. The information should be coherent and detailed enough to explain your thesis and make the exemplification essay interesting for the audience.

How to Structure an Exemplification Essay

It’s time to discuss a proper exemplification essay outline in more detail. Well-structured exemplification essay makes it easy for the audience to understand the presented information. So, it is important to follow a certain structure when writing exemplification essays.

The outline is not difficult, as this type of essay follows a traditional structure. Thus, your writing should include an introduction, main body paragraphs, and conclusion. But there are still some nuances on what to have in each part of the exemplification essay. You can find a detailed explanation of how to write a good introduction, main body, and conclusion below.

Introduction: What to Include

The first paragraph of the exemplification essay is an introduction. It is an important part as, at this point, you need to grab your audience’s attention and explain what you will talk about in your exemplification essay. Remember that the introduction should take no more than one paragraph and 10% of the whole essay.

The best way to start your exemplification essay is to place a hook sentence at the beginning. A hook is a simple but powerful sentence that will grab readers’ attention. It should be related to the main idea of your exemplification essay and appropriate for the essay style.

Once you are done with a hook, provide general information on your topic, so the reader will know what they will read in your exemplification essay. Then, state a thesis you will develop and prove in the exemplification essay.

Main Body: What to Mention

After you create a catchy introduction, it’s time to move to the main paragraphs of your essay. It is a part where you develop the idea you stated in the introduction, present arguments, and, most important, back up your ideas with examples.

The best way to write an exemplification essay’s main body is to divide all information into smaller paragraphs. We mentioned before that the main body should include about 3 sections. It means that one argument should be explained in one paragraph. Thus, if you want to provide three ideas, you will have 3 paragraphs of your exemplification essay’s main body.

What is important is to make sure that all sentences are logically linked to one another. To do so, you must use exemplification essay transition words between corrections. For example, a common structure of the main body paragraph looks like this:

• Thesis sentence
• Argument
• Supporting example

To ensure a good sentence flow, use supporting sentences between these parts in a paragraph. Supporting sentences can start with such exemplification essay transition words as:

• However
• Besides
• In fact
• As an example
• In particular
• As revealed by
• Specifically
• As well
• Furthermore
• Thus

If you want to learn more about the usage of transition words, review some exemplification essay examples. In this way, you will get a better idea of how to create a good sentence flow.

Conclusion: How to End an Exemplification Essay

The conclusion should take one paragraph at the end of the exemplification essay. In this part, you should point out again the thesis of your work and briefly summarize discussed arguments and examples.

A well-written conclusion can leave a good impression on the audience, so make sure you spend enough time writing it perfectly. There is no need to create a long decision. As well as the introduction, the concluding paragraph should be no more than 10% of your exemplification essay.

40 Interesting Topics for an Exemplification Essay

Sometimes students struggle to choose a good topic for their exemplification essays. It cannot be easy to come up with a topic that will interest you and the audience. We are here to help you with it. To inspire you, we collected some ideas for exemplification essay topics.

By looking through the lists below, you can understand what is more interesting for you. We divide all exemplification essay topic ideas into several categories, so you can easily find topics related to your field of study. Feel free to use our pictures for your exemplification essay.

Political Exemplification Essay Topics

Topics that cover politics and government and their relation with other institutions are perfect for an exemplification essay. Here are some ideas:

• Is It Possible to Overcome Corruption Completely?
• Why the Death Penalty Must Be Abolished in the World
• Do Social Movements Have an Impact on the Government?
• Is Diplomacy an Effective Tool for Conflict Resolutions?
• Is Legalization of Drugs Good or Bad?
• What Country’s Government Handles COVID-19 More Effectively?
• Is the Government of Your Country Making the Right Decisions?
• Are Nuclear Weapons a Necessity for Nations in the Twenty-First Century?
• Are Civil Wars the Result of National Politicians’ Failures?
• Should the Election System Be Changed in Your Country?

Culture Exemplification Essay Topics

Need to write an essay regarding cultural issues? Take a look at these topic ideas:

• Can Culture Be a Tool for Politicians to Influence Society?
• What Are the Reasons for the Similarities Between Several Different Cultures?
• How Does Culture Impact Women’s Role in Different Countries?
• Does Culture Affect the Personality of an Individual?
• How Different Are Western and Eastern Cultures?
• Does Religion Have an Impact on Culture in Your Country?
• Why Is Socializing Increasing People’s Mental Well-Being?
• Are National and Cultural Identities Related?
• How does a Particular Culture Influence Art?
• Do Films Contribute to the Creation of Stereotypes of Different Cultures?

Social Exemplification Essay Topics

You can create a great essay about a controversial social problem. Here are some related topics:

• Are Women Less Likely to Be Promoted to the Highest Positions at Work?
• Do Social Media Hurt People?
• What Factors Determine the Success of an Individual?
• Do Parents’ Hopes Impact Children’s Decision-Making?
• Is Gun Control Effective in the Us?
• Body Positivity: Is This Movement Promoting Obesity?
• Is It Possible to Make Healthcare Affordable for Everyone?
• Is It Important for an Individual to Have High Self-Esteem to Reach Success?
• Did Social Media Change the Ways People Communicate With One Another?
• How Can a Working Environment Impact Someone’s Mental Health?

Educational Exemplification Essay Topics

Educational topics are also a great choice for an exemplification paper. Here are several ideas for you:

• Is There a Possible Way to Decrease Bullying in Schools?
• Can Homeschooling Harm Kids’ Social Behavior?
• How Does the COVID-19 Epidemic Impact the Education System in Your Country?
• Gender Bias in Educational Institutions: Does It Still Exist?
• How Academic Failure Contributes to Depression and Anxiety
• Are Students More Open About Their Sexual Orientation at Single-Sex Schools?
• How Different Is Free and Paid Education in Europe?
• Is Listening to Music While Studying Distracting?
• Should the Grading System in Educational Institutions Be Changed?
• Is It Critical to Have Tertiary Education to Be Successful?

Tips on Writing an Exemplification Essay

Even with all the information we provided in this article, it can still be hard to create a good exemplification essay. If you’re not a skillful writer or lack experience in creating exemplification essays, the writing process will take you a lot of time. In addition, you can accidentally make small mistakes or miss something during the research stage. All of these will make your writing process less effective and much longer.

But, there is a way to quickly improve your exemplification essay writing skills. Here are some tips that will make your writing process easier and help you to create a top-notch exemplification essay:

• Review some exemplification essay examples before writing your paper. It will help you to get a better idea of how a well-written essay should be structured. You can find a lot of examples on universities’ websites and in free sample libraries.
• Take a break before writing sessions. Creating an exemplification essay is not easy; in some hours, you won’t work as effectively as at the beginning. Let yourself rest for 30 minutes or an hour, and then take a fresh look at your paper. It will help you to find possible mistakes and improve the article.
• Don’t avoid the preparation process. It is important to spend research and outline as needed. Once you get a clear idea of what information to include and how to structure your exemplification essay, the writing process will become much easier.