Week 5 — Readings & Resources · Narrative & Expository Writing

Course: English Composition (ENGL 1A) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Lindgren
Objective covered: Objective 4 — Compose in multiple rhetorical modes (this week: narration and exposition). · SLO A

How to use this page

Everything here is a link to an external resource — open it in your browser, the same way you'd open a YouTube link. Nothing needs to be downloaded, and there is nothing to buy.

This week's load is deliberately light: 3 short readings + 1 video, grouped by the two big ideas (the two modes, and the showing-not-telling move), plus one optional free reference. Read or watch one item per group and you're ready for the quiz; do all of them and you'll be very comfortable. Total time is roughly 30–45 minutes if you do everything, far less if you pick one per group. Because this is major-essay week, the best use of your reading time is to skim a couple of these and then spend the rest drafting.

Reading order that matches the lecture: ① the two modes — narration & exposition → ② the craft move — showing, not telling (concrete sensory detail) → ③ organize and land the point.

A habit to start now: before you draft your essay, finish the sentence "This story matters because ___" (your significance), and for the moment that carries it, list what you saw, heard, smelled, and felt. Showing is built from concrete detail, not adjectives.

① The Two Modes — Narration & Exposition

Maps to Lecture Segment 2. Narration tells a true story to make a point; exposition explains or informs. Most essays mix them — name the primary job.

Reading — "Narrative Essays" (Purdue OWL)
🔗 https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/essay_writing/narrative_essays.html
Why it's assigned: the clearest short statement of what a narrative essay is and the rule that earns the most points all week — "The essay should have a purpose. Make a point!" A narrative is a story told because it means something, not a list of events.
⏱ ~6 min

Companion — "Expository Essays" (Purdue OWL)
🔗 https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/essay_writing/expository_essays.html
Why it's here: the matching page on the other mode — investigating and explaining an idea "in a clear and concise manner," held together by a clear thesis and logical transitions. Read it if you're leaning toward the expository option for your essay.
⏱ ~6 min

② Showing, Not Telling — Concrete Sensory Detail

Maps to Lecture Segment 3. The line to carry out of this week: don't tell me you were nervous — show me the damp steering wheel. Showing means specific sensory evidence, not more adjectives.

Reading — "Descriptive Essay: Techniques" (Excelsior OWL)
🔗 https://owl.excelsior.edu/rhetorical-styles/descriptive-essay/descriptive-essay-techniques/
Why it's assigned: the cleanest plain-language walk-through of showing vs. telling and using all five senses — with a memorable before/after (the flat "I love the taste of popcorn" vs. a sentence that lets you taste it). It also names the trap we hit in class: don't overdo it. (Excelsior OWL is a free, college-run writing lab.)
⏱ ~6 min

Optional companion — "Narrative Essay" (Excelsior OWL)
🔗 https://owl.excelsior.edu/rhetorical-styles/narrative-essay/
Why it's here: a short tour of how a narrative is built — point of view, chronology/conflict, and giving the story a point — handy if you want one more pass on structure before you draft.
⏱ ~6 min

The video

Maps to Lecture Segments 5–6. Watch how a real first-year-comp series builds a personal/reflective piece — finding the point and writing it for a specific reader.

Video — "Writing Practice: The Reflective Essay | Rhetoric & Composition | Study Hall" (ASU + Crash Course)
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6ECrgO_YKg
Why it earns the click: a lively, first-year-composition-specific walk through writing a reflective/narrative essay — looking at an important moment, finding what it means, and shaping it for an audience. (Chapters: what a reflective essay is · writing it for a specific audience · conclusion.) From the Study Hall Rhetoric & Composition series we use all term.
⏱ ~10 min

Want the modes framed first? The series' "Introducing Purpose and Strategies" (Study Hall) 🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phuFapCHJB0 frames how writers pick a strategy (including narration and exposition) to fit their purpose. Optional, ~7 min.

Optional one-stop reference (free online text)

If you'd like one optional reference to skim all term, the OpenStax Writing Guide with Handbook keeps its full text free to read online — a reputable, currently-available college writing reference. Its chapters on memoir / personal narrative and on process and informative writing line up directly with this week.
🔗 https://openstax.org/details/books/writing-guide
Why it's here: a free, returnable reference for the whole course — entirely optional this week. (Linked as a free reference; this course makes no open-license or copyright claim about it.)

Pick-one quick path (≈16 min total)

In a hurry? Do exactly these two, then go draft:
1. Read "Descriptive Essay: Techniques" (group ②) — the showing-not-telling move you'll use in the essay.
2. Watch "Writing Practice: The Reflective Essay | Study Hall" (the video).

Heads-up (links rot): these point to outside sites that occasionally move or rename pages. If a link ever fails, tell Prof. Lindgren and use the free OpenStax reference above in the meantime. Nothing here is hosted by our course — these are all external resources, linked, not reproduced.