Let’s be honest. Most expository writing prompts online suck. The topics are hardly meant for high school, let alone college. And the majority aren’t even meant for expository writing. This unfairness stops today! We did what no one has ever done before and created a list of expository writing ideas from the ground up, so you won’t find a single recycled or tired idea, even if some are quite traditional.
Enjoy!
Hand-picked College Expository Essay Topics
Good Expository Topics
These prompts are exactly what it says on the tin–good. The ten options we’ve come up with cover a variety of relevant topics that should fit most English and Humanities assignments. Unsurprisingly, many of the ideas below are pandemic-related. Still, you should ask your professor if such prompts are appropriate for your class. And even if you have to omit the Covid-19 disaster, you can still discuss the economic, environmental, social, and psychological issues stemming from a year in lockdown mode.
- Explain the causes of the current mental health crisis.
- Discuss the problem of officers being forced to resign due to police misconduct.
- Evaluate the educational and scientific values of the zoo.
- Discuss the potential of economic recovery post-pandemic.
- Explain why early retirement became more prominent in recent years.
- Discuss how vaping is equally dangerous to smoking for teens and adults.
- Consider mandatory national service as a means to unite a nation.
- Discuss the aging pains of ‘the oldest democracy’ in the world.
- Analyze why government and religion can never stay independent.
- Describe the moment Google turned from a revolutionary to a ‘pillar’.
Some of these may seem too stale or safe, but that’s what makes them a sure thing. They are equally easy to research and write about, so your piece will be ready in no time flat.
Interesting Expository Essay Topics
We knew we’d get your attention with this block of prompts! However, remember that everyone’s different, and what’s interesting for us may not be oh-so-exciting for you. Still, we’ve narrowed down the options to the ten you see below that should fit various classes and assignments. Of course, you can always tweak and amend the topics to make them more to your taste.
- Analyze your personal input in climate change.
- Describe the possibility of time travel
- Discuss the need for emotional support animals on college campuses.
- Consider the duration of an ex-president’s impact on society.
- Explain the social and economic repercussions for the unvaccinated.
- Evaluate the success rates of remote education throughout the pandemic.
- Consider the downsides of signing a corporate NDA.
- Analyze the reduced wish to have children among millennials.
- Describe why burnout has become more pronounced post-pandemic.
- Explain why being an individualist doesn’t call for doing everything alone.
Uncommon Expository Essay Topics
If you are ready to take the time to do your research and wish to sink your teeth into some juicy topic, any on this list will do you justice. Most are extra-relevant in the world we live in, and they have been around long enough to generate a conversation without going boring. This is your chance to add your voice to the discussion. So choose a prompt that’s close to your heart and mind, and your piece will be A-worthy for sure.
- Choose an extinct species to be resurrected if science makes it possible.
- Explain the benefits and drawbacks of increased longevity.
- Describe why quality sleep should be a healthcare priority for everyone.
- Describe the crushing debts that peek from behind every American dream.
- Analyze the ways the rich get out of paying taxes.
- Consider the value of following your calling instead of making money.
- Describe the impact of post-pandemic travel on the planet.
- Discuss the necessity for historical reparations.
- Explain why every person should devote a year to national service.
- Analyze the traits that make people susceptible to modern cultism.
Funny Expository Essay Topics
Funny may not be the word we were looking for, but the ten ideas below are certainly more entertaining than some of the heavy topics for an explanatory essay above. Besides, it’s your writing style, ironic or sarcastic delivery that can make any prompt truly funny for you and your readers both. Just remember to keep your jokes civil and general without disparaging anyone personally. Otherwise, you may seem culturally insensitive and get a failing grade for unappreciated jokes.
- Explain why American states need to be broken down into tiny pieces.
- Discuss how the trees are only available to the rich and mighty in the cities.
- Consider the upsides to working a 15-hour workweek.
- Analyze the current state of affairs of US businesses and their relation to climate change.
- Explain why extreme populism is the best political strategy.
- Describe the ways the Oppressive Language List will soon ruin English forever.
- Explain why space billionaires choose the worst time to leave the Earth.
- Consider the least destructive ways of dealing with in-laws.
- Describe the ever-increasing American drinking problem and its consequences.
- Analyze why straight men get attracted to gay women.
How to Think of a Unique Topic for an Expository Essay?
We’d be proud to tell you that every idea on this list is super-original, created without any outside input. But that would not be true. Instead, we used an age-old trick of borrowing from the best to craft fresh and relevant prompts, and we’ll share the secret with you.
You need to focus on the current news trends, the hot topics under discussion. You can find those through:
- Social media. Check out your Youtube, Facebook, Tumblr, and other feeds. Instead of looking for a cute new meme, focus on the conversations with thousands of comments. Those are the issues you want to cover in your essay.
- News outlets. You can use a generic Google aggregator, though we prefer going straight for the source, meaning a magazine or newspaper website. Check out editorial posts and opinion articles, as well as the ‘Popular’ section. You’ll find plenty of topics to choose from, along with at least one reliable reference.
- Your professor or TA. For a quick fix, take five minutes to talk to your prof and let them guide you through the process of narrowing down your idea into a topic they’ll find suitable for the assignment. You can even start with any of the prompts on our list.
Whichever approach you prefer, we recommend you consult the TA or the professor before you start writing. There’s always a chance you misunderstood the assignment parameters, or the prof wants a particular twist to the topic you may miss if you skip this consult. Once you receive the green light from the prof, nothing should stand between you and your high grades.