Exploratory essay differs from the majority of the projects of this type for the reason that the very name of this academic writing presupposes that the author passes through the territory that he has never dealt with before and thus, he must find his own way to get through this.
Let us stay away from the metaphors of that kind and speak more down-to-earth. When you’re required to deal with the exploratory essay, you’re actually going to write having not the slightest idea about what kind of conclusions you will finally draw. As a rule, you’re given a certain point at the very beginning and have to prove it in the project. In order words, the essay is your means to find a point.
Taking into account everything mentioned above, it is possible to point out a range of specific features:
- The essay of this type is based on a question of a problem rather than on an idea.
- In the course of the exploratory essay one should analyze several solutions of a particular problem, highlighting their weak/strong sides, before picking any of them.
- There are two ways to go when dealing with essays of this kind: the first one is called “impromptu” (by default) and the other one – “retrospective” (first goes the conclusion and later – the most suitable “exploratory” content is provided), While the latter provides the author with an opportunity to create the essay that is smoother, the former is more natural.
It’s typical for the exploratory essay to be assigned to the high school, college or university students, when the idea is to help them learn something on their own, rather than having it taught by the tutors. While some students find it absolutely baffling, the others confess that this is the best way to learn. Anyway, once you’re assigned with the task to write an exploratory essay, you must cope with it. So, try some of the basic tips provided below.
In general, the essay of an exploratory type should be built in accordance with the following scheme:
The author should use this essay section to define the topic of the project, as well limit its boundaries. One can deal with it in many different ways – by a description of some event, by a term paper quotation or by asking a direct question right in the very first line of the paper.
The other task you should accomplish within this segment lies in providing explanations of the problem and telling the reader why it is crucial. Ensure to enumerate the general viewpoints on it or some of your ideas regarding how to solve it.
This is where you should inform your readers on all background information you have gathered while researching. Perform analysis of one of the viewpoints you’ve mentioned and do it the same way with all the other point, add some comparison. Make sure to pick the best solution or provide your own in case the pre-existing ones do not satisfy you.
Open up the opening paragraph and re-read it. Have you answered the question? Tell your readers about your points of view regarding the decision.
The most crucial aspect of the exploratory essay that you have to keep in your mind is that you’re required to explore, perform detailed researches in order to find the right solutions as well as learn something new, but not to re-state good old truths like “stealing is wrong”. Everyone knows that, the question is – why?