10

EXPLANATIONS

THIS CHAPTER WILL ASSIST YOU TO:

identify the general purpose, structure and features of different types of
explanations
plan for teaching grammar within the context of a meaningful text
integrate oral, written and reading activities to facilitate students’
understanding of and skills involved in reading and writing explanations.

KEY TERMS
cause and effect
conclusion
explanation
labelled diagram
sequence
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PURPOSE, STRUCTURE AND FEATURES

Explanations are used to describe how or why things happen. ‘Being asked to explain
something is a daily occurrence in most people’s lives, but the choices we make in oral
language are quite different from those choices authors will make when writing in
their disciplines’ (Rossbridge & Rushton, 2011, p. 86). They may include a sequence
of events (explaining how something happens) and provide reasons or justification for
a particular process or phenomenon (explaining why something happens). They are
often part of other texts to provide extra information that answers the questions
‘How?’ or ‘Why?’ Many young people are naturally curious about how the world
works, and explanations provide a formal response to such curiosity (Zbaracki, 2015).

Jan, L. W., & Taylor, S. (2020). Write ways 5e ebook. Oxford University Press Australia and New Zealand.
Created from ecu on 2023-10-11 14:36:26.