Yes, Hello, I wrote an essay in an hour (no proof read)

An exploratory paper is a structure of paper designed to ask a question or series of questions for the reader to think about and mull over the possible answers. An exploratory paper is in contrast to that of the expository style of writing, in which the author has a central idea and is attempting to make the reader understand and follow. The two writing styles are similar in the way that in the end, the reader comes away with an answer as well as a question that didn’t know they were asking.

David Foster Wallace’s “Consider the Lobster” article is an example of the exploratory paper in that it asks one, if not multiple, central question. His central question is that whether or not it is humane to catch, boil, and eat a live and sentient being. His article is extensive, chronicling not just a famous lobster-themed festival, but his whole experience. His writing style is unique in itself, switching from first person to second, as well as telling of his experience through the perspective of a lobster and how they think about their rise in popularity through the ages. I, for one, enjoy how he detailed every aspect of the festival experience and atmosphere to add to the importance of what it truly means to be a lobster.

Alice Walker’s article on Southern black women at the turn of the 20^th century has not one central question posed like Wallace’s exploratory exposé, but a handful of them. She poses the question of who were the women, the Saints, of the South? Not just matriarchs of present day families, but how did they get to where they were, and why. Beginning her exploratory article from the perspective of an outsider simply walking around, casting glances at the subject of her writing, is an intriguing style choice, in my opinion. I enjoy how she does not concentrate on just a few aspects of black women in southern 20^th century America. She speaks on the history of black women writing and making art in not just America but in different countries and cultures, posing more central questions along the lines of: why are black women deprived of the arts they wish to pursue? Must they settle for such insipid lives when they were destined for much more?

Both Walker and Wallace write in the aforementioned exploratory writing style, though they express it differently. The two authors both ask not one, but multiple principal questions about their respective subjects. While similar in writing format, the two tackle the exploratory style very differently. They both write from multiple perspectives, but the way in which they do so sets them apart greatly. Wallace speaks on his personal experience at a festival, bringing in details of the history of the festival, the main concentrate of it (lobster), and even of how new and old patrons feel about the festival. Walker speaks on new patrons of southern black women from a personal and present perspective, but more commonly uses the context from historical black figures to get her point across. She focuses on the “what-if” quality of her topic and how history shaped a people and their artistic repression, while Wallace focuses more on the central subject at hand, which is undeniably lobster.

While the two journalists are equally alike and different, I am just small and sleepy. When typically writing for myself, I must confess I stick to a somewhat likened style of how Walker composes, but will definitely follow Wallace’s footsteps to make word count. Because that seems to be exactly what he is doing. The writing process is always challenging to me, and I imagine that the most difficult prospects of writing an exploratory paper will be making sure I fit all the criteria and do not slip into an expository format as well as making sure I do not just ramble about my topic, never making a truly coherent sentence. I am hoping that in the end, I will have a large vocabulary, as well as a better eye for picking out the difference in writing styles and formats.