Explain the Thing: A guided Workbook for Writing Expository Essays

After learning how to write with voice and clarity through narrative, students are ready for the next essential academic skill: helping a reader understand something clearly and completely. Explain the Thing is Book 2 in the Archer Academy Writing Series and introduces students to expository writing—the foundation of academic explanation.

This workbook teaches students how to take a concept, process, or phenomenon and explain it logically, neutrally, and effectively. Rather than relying on rigid formulas or five-paragraph templates, Explain the Thing trains students to think like teachers: identifying what matters, organizing ideas logically, and guiding a reader step by step toward understanding.

Inside, students will learn how to:

• distinguish expository writing from narrative and argument
• choose focused, explainable topics
• develop clear controlling ideas
• organize information using logical structures
• write section-based essays instead of formulaic paragraphs
• craft effective explanations using examples and definitions
• integrate sources without overwhelming the reader
• revise for clarity, logic, and flow
• edit with confidence and format essays in MLA style

With structured guidance, practical exercises, annotated model essays, and clarity-focused checklists, this workbook helps students build the core explanatory skills required for success across disciplines—from science and history to psychology, communication, and beyond.

Expository writing is where understanding takes shape.

Explain the Thing shows students how to make meaning clear.