What is an Exposition?

An Exposition, is a type of essay that students are required to write, either for tests, class work, or home work. An exposition is the the very beginning of a story, it introduces the main characters, plot, setting, and initial conflict. The purpose of exposition is to inform, explain, analyze, or define a theory, an idea, or information. It is used to describe or explain a matter, or to give information. It discusses about a topic and gives the writer's opinion about the topic by providing arguments. It is a literary technique that includes a hypothesis, body and a conclusion. It is a piece of writing that explains and argues the writer's points. Expositions convey information to the reader within the literary piece, for example, in the form of a monologue. Exposition is one of four rhetorical modes of discourse, which also include argumentation, description and narration.