Explanation Text

This is writing to ____________________ (purpose of writing). Introduction An explanation text gives you information about a subject that you are interested in and would like to know more about. Structure

1. Title Titles that use words like 'how' or 'why', will help readers to understand what the text is about and make them want to find out more. For example: 'Why do animals sleep through the winter?' Exercise 1: Title Using How or Why In your information report, Floods, the title is simply the subject of the report. Suggest a better title that begins with How and another one that begins with Why to replace the current one. Suggestion 1: How ___________________________________________________________ Suggestion 2: Why ___________________________________________________________

2. Introduction An explanation text usually starts with a statement that introduces the subject or topic to the reader, such as; A flood happens when too much rain falls.

NHJSP4_Eng/ChieSipin/Writing/Explanation Text/2012/13

Page 1

3. Body Next there comes a series of steps that explain how things happen or the reasons why, such as;

In a flood, water from rivers flows over the land. Flood water enters houses and other buildings. A flood is a great flowing or overflowing of water onto land that is not usually submerged or under water. A flood happens when too much rain, brought by storms and strong winds, falls and cannot be absorbed by the soil. Rivers burst their banks and the water spills onto the land. Strong winds blowing across the sea make huge waves that surge onto the land and flood coastal areas.

These steps continue until the question has been answered or the explanation is complete. * Paragraphs You need to write in paragraphs to break up your text and make sure it follows a sequence. * Present Tense Explanation texts are usually written in the present tense because they are explaining how or why something happens. To do this they explain it as if it is happening now.

In a flood, water from rivers flows over the land. Flood water enters houses and other buildings. A flood is a great flowing or overflowing of water onto land that is not usually submerged or under water. A flood happens when too much rain, brought by storms and strong winds, falls and cannot be absorbed by the soil. Rivers burst their banks and the water spills onto the land. Strong winds blowing across the sea make huge waves that surge onto the land and flood coastal areas.

NHJSP4_Eng/ChieSipin/Writing/Explanation Text/2012/13

Page 2

Exercise 2: Present Tense Identify and underline or highlight all the verbs below. There are nine (9) verbs. The first one is underlined for you. River floods happen when rivers and streams cannot carry away all the extra water that falls as rain or comes from melting snow. The water rises in the rivers and streams and overflows onto normally dry land. Floods destroy farmland, wash away people's houses and drown people and animals. Towns and cities are flooded too.

* Conjunctives Explanation texts usually use words called conjunctives that explain things in order, one after another. Paragraphs usually, but not always, begin with conjunctions to show sequence. Some of the conjunctives you might find are: Firstly Next Then After that Meanwhile Eventually Later Finally When Other connectives explain how things work or why things happen, such as: Because So This means Become

NHJSP4_Eng/ChieSipin/Writing/Explanation Text/2012/13

Page 3

* Diagrams and Pictures Explanation texts often include diagrams, pictures or charts to help you understand. Diagrams and charts always have a title, and pictures will often have a caption underneath. Floods sometimes occur when artificial structures such as dams fail. If the dam is poorly designed or built in a place where earthquakes and landslides occur, the dam will break and the water floods the land.

A dam.

Make sure that your caption explains exactly what is going on to help the reader to understand why it is there. Exercise 3: Diagrams and Pictures Write a short caption for each of the following pictures found in your information report on floods. Picture A

Caption: ____________________________________

Picture B

Caption: ____________________________________
NHJSP4_Eng/ChieSipin/Writing/Explanation Text/2012/13 Page 4

* Interesting facts Throw in a few interesting facts to make your writing come alive and keep your reader interested.

Explanation Texts always answer the question in the title.

Evaluate Your Learning Read the following questions and choose the correct answer (1, 2 or 3). Write the number of your answer in the brackets provided. 1. What is an explanation text? (1) A non-fiction text that tells you someone's life story. (2) A story that explains something that happened to you. (3) A chronological non-fiction text that explains how something works or why something happens. [ _____ ] 2. Which of these words is a conjunction of time? (1) but (2) finally (3) alternatively [ _____ ] 3. Which of these conjunctions would explain a fact in an explanation text? (1) and (2) while (3) because [ _____ ] 4. How do diagrams help the reader in an explanation text? (1) They make the text look good. (2) They put things in chronological order. (3) They back up facts and record data in an easy-to-read way. [ _____ ] 5. Why do pictures have captions in explanation texts? (1) To explain the facts. (2) To interest the reader. (3) To explain what the picture is showing. [ _____ ]
NHJSP4_Eng/ChieSipin/Writing/Explanation Text/2012/13 Page 5

 6. Which caption fits best for a picture of a house in an explanation about building houses? (1) Some houses are made of wood. (2) Wood is a good material for building with because it is easy to cut. (3) Stones and bricks are a good material for building houses because they are hard and strong. [ _____ ] 7. Why are paragraphs important in explanation texts? (1) To break up the information. (2) To help the reader know what the text is about. (3) To break up the information into chronological order and easy-to-read chunks. [ _____ ] 8. Which of the following facts would fit into an explanation text about submarines? (1) It's colder in Russia than in Africa. (2) The sea is full of weird and wonderful creatures. (3) The first submarine was built in 1864 in America. [ _____ ] 9. Why are facts important in an explanation text? (1) Facts make explanation texts longer. (2) Facts give the reader clear information about the subject they are researching. (3) Facts are there to make it look like the writer knows more about the subject they are writing about. [ _____ ] 10. What is the main purpose of writing an explanation text? (1) To inform. (2) To persuade. (3) To entertain. [ _____ ]

Bibliography "Explanation Text." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2013. Thomas, Ron & Sydenham, Shirley. Floods. [Online] www.kidcyber.com.au 2009

Visit mschie.weebly.com for more activities and links.

NHJSP4_Eng/ChieSipin/Writing/Explanation Text/2012/13

Page 6