THE WEB ESSAY: EXPLORING ARGUMENTS

OPEN SESAME

William Zeigler believes that there are two basic types of essays: the exploratory and the expository. The exploratory essay seeks to prove an idea by turning it over and testing it, while the expository essay tries to prove an idea by pinning it down and establishing its validity. Zeigler describes the exploratory essay as "open" and the expository essay as "closed":