Understanding Explanatory Text

Explanatory text is a text that explains the cause and

effect of a phenomenon, be it natural, scientific,
social, cultural, and other events. Explanatory text
contains facts that can answer questions about "how"
and "why" a phenomenon occurs.
Purpose of Explanatory Text

the main purpose of explanatory text is to describe the

process and causes of a phenomenon. The explanation
presented in the explanatory text is based on scientific fields
(scientific in nature) which refers to facts, reality, theories, and
the results of research conducted by scientists.
 Explanatory text structure
• General statement
• A row of explanations
• Interpretation
• Conclusion
 Characteristics of Explanatory Text

• Scientific
• logical
• Objective
• Not exposition text
• Not a procedural text
 Linguistic Rules of Explanatory Text

• Copula
• Active verb
• Conjunction
• Adverb of time
• Scientific term
• Noun pronouns
 Writing Explanatory Text

• Determine the topic of interest

• Creating a draft / text outline
• Gather references
• Develop text
• Editing text
 Examples of Explanatory Text
Borobudur temple

Borobudur Temple is the largest Buddhist historical building in the world. Borobudur Temple was built
long before Angkor Wat in Cambodia and the great cathedrals in Europe. This temple was built in 824
AD, during the time of King Samaratungga of the Syailendra Dynasty. Today, Borobudur Temple is a
place of pilgrimage for Buddhists from various countries such as China, India, Tibet and Cambodia.
Borobudur Temple is located in Central Java, at the top of a hill with the surrounding scenery of lush
rice fields and hills. The area of ​Borobudur temple is 123 x 123 m3 which consists of 1 main stupa, 72
terawang stupas, and 504 Buddha statues. In addition, there are also 2672 relief panels which, if
arranged in a row, can reach 6 km. In 1814, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles found Borobudur Temple in a
damaged condition. He suggested that the temple be cleaned and carried out for restoration. The
Borobudur restoration project was started from 1905 to 1910. Then with the help of UNESCO, the
second restoration was carried out in August 1913 to 1983. In 1991, Borobudur was designated as a
world heritage. The beauty and splendor of Borobudur Temple attracts domestic and foreign tourists.
Borobudur Temple is also one of the mandatory destinations when visiting Yogyakarta.