Adjectives make writing livelier and more exciting but can also lead a reader to forming an opinion about a topic. Expository writing is full of simple, direct writing that does not leave room for descriptive writing. In an expository paper about real estate the essay might say "the house sits on a piece of land overlooking a stream." Descriptive writing might use the same sentence in a different way to say "the house with faded red paint sits on a rocky piece of land near a flood-prone stream." Though both examples might be true, each sentence gives an entirely different picture of the subject matter.
Instructions, manuals, guidebooks and informative essays assume readers know little about the subject. Writing basic information about something means a minimal learning opportunity to those with advanced knowledge of the material. Reading each step-by-step instruction can be boring to those who already know something about the information presented in the paper and may cause them to skip ahead or not be interested at all. Expository writing often leaves the audience wanting more advanced information, and thus readers may go to other sources for more details about the topic.
Expository writing leaves the reader with no way to ask questions, especially if the instructions are unclear and confuse the reader. If readers get stuck or if the intended outcomes of the directions aren't met, this leads to frustration, especially if the manuals or set of instructions are connected to a product, software program or recipe. If readers cannot understand the instructions, they might not use the product again. If readers are able to inform the writer of their confusion, it may take a long time to correct the problem.
Expository writing does not reveal the opinion of the writer, therefore leaving the reader to make up his own mind about the essay and the subject matter. Because this style of writing lacks an opinion, the writer may choose to leave out certain facts, controversial statements, government resources or other materials and take a "center line" approach writing independently. Expository writing doesn't allow for comments or opinions on a set of instructions or directions; this can leave the audience confused, forcing readers to develop their own system or causing them to make a mistake or error.