EXPLAINING CONCEPTS

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EXPLAINING CONCEPTS

• PRIMARY PURPOSE OF EXPLANATORY WRITING
• TO INFORM EDUCATE READERS IN A CONFIDENT
  EFFICIENT MANNER.

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EXPLANATORY WRITING (cont.)

• MUCH OF WHAT WE READ IN NEWS-PAPERS, MAGAZINES,
  ENCYCLOPEDIAS AND REFERENCE WORKS, ETC. IS
  EXPLANATORY WRITING.

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EXPLANATORY WRITING (cont.)

• WRITER MUST SYNTHESIZE INFOR-MATION FROM
  DIFFERENT SOURCES INTO A COHERENT PRESENTATION.

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EXPLANATORY WRITING (cont.)

• MAY BE BASED ON FIRSTHAND OBSER-VATIONS
  INTERVIEWS AS WELL AS ON LIBRARY INTERNET
  RESEARCH.

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EXPLANATORY WRITING (cont.)

• THOUGH SOMETIMES THEY ARE EX-PERTS ON THE SUBJECT
  BEING EX-PLAINED, MOST WRITERS OF EXPLA-NATIONS
  ARE PEOPLE WHO STUDY THE WORK OF OTHERS IN ORDER
  TO SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH READERS.

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EXPLANATORY WRITING (cont.)

• EMPHASIZES ESTABLISHED FACTS ABOUT A SUBJECT.

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EXPLANATORY WRITING (cont.)

• APPEALS TO READERS INTELLECT RATHER THAN TO
  THEIR IMAGINA-TION OR EMOTIONS INSTRUCTS RATHER
  THAN ARGUES OR ENTER-TAINS.

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WRITER-READER RELATIONSHIP

• WRITER MUST KNOW THE SUBJECT WELL ENOUGH TO
  EXPLAIN IT SIM-PLY CLEARLY MUST ASSUME AN AIR
  OF AUTHORITY W/OUT TALKING OVER READERS HEADS.

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WRITER-READER (cont.)

• WRITER MUST ESTIMATE READERS KNOWLEDGE OF THE
  TOPIC TO DETERMINE WHAT NEW INFORMA-TION TO
  INCLUDE.

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WRITER-READER (cont.)

• WRITER MUST DEFINE UNFAMILIAR TERMS AND PACE
  INFORMATION SO AS NOT TO BORE OR OVERWHELM
  READERS.

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WRITER-READER (cont.)

• IN ADOPTING THE ROLE OF EXPERT, ITS HELPFUL
  FOR A WRITER TO EN-VISION AN AUDIENCE THAT KNOWS
  LESS ABOUT THE CONCEPT BEING EX-PLAINED THAN THEY
  DO.

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POSSIBLE AUDIENCES

• 1. A GENERAL ADULT AUDIENCE WHO READ THE
  NEWSPAPER AND A FEW MAGAZINES. WRITERS PURPOSE
  IS TO INCREASE AUDIENCES UNDERSTAND-ING OF A
  CONCEPT THEY ARE ALREADY FAMILIAR WITH.

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AUDIENCES (cont.)

• 2. HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS BEING INTRODUCED TO AN
  UNFAMILIAR CONCEPT.

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AUDIENCES (cont.)

• 3. COLLEGE CLASSMATES BEING SHOWN THAT A
  SEEMINGLY DIFFICULT CON-CEPT IS ACTUALLY
  UNDERSTANDABLE INTERESTING.

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WHATS A CONCEPT?

• IDEA
• PRINCIPLE
• THEORY
• BELIEF
• IDEAL
• ETC.

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PERVASIVENESS OF CONCEPTS

• CONCEPTS ARE ESSENTIAL TO UNDER-STANDING NEARLY
  EVERY SUBJECT, ARE ENCOUNTERED IN MANY KINDS OF
  WRITING (INCLUDING COLLEGE TEXT-BOOKS).

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EXPLAINING A CONCEPT BASIC FEATURES

• A FOCUSED CONCEPT
• BECAUSE SO MUCH COULD BE SAID ABOUT A TOPIC, A
  WRITER MUST DE-CIDE WHAT PARTICULAR (USUALLY ONE)
  ASPECT OF A TOPIC TO EMPHA-SIZE.

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APPEALING TO READERS INTERESTS

• MOST EXPLANATORY WRITING IS NOT MEANT TO BE
  OVERTLY ENTER-TAINING, BUT THE WRITING SHOULD
  STILL BE LIVELY VIVID.

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APPEALING TO READERS (cont.)

• WAYS TO APPEAL TO READERS
• CREATE AN INTRIGUING TITLE.
• COMPOSE A STRONG HOOK.
• USE HUMOR OR EVERYDAY LANGUAGE.
• ADDRESS READERS DIRECTLY.

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APPEALING TO READERS (cont.)

• USE VIVID, MEMORABLE EXAMPLES SCENARIOS.
• (A SCENARIO IS A GENERALIZED ANECDOTE THAT IS
  NOT ABOUT A PARTICULAR PERSON BUT ABOUT AN
  EXPERIENCE THAT IS TYPICAL OF MANY PEOPLES
  EXPERIENCES.ST. MAR-TINS GUIDE, P. 215)

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APPEALING TO READERS (cont.)

• STRESS IMPORTANCE OF GIVE REASONS FOR LEARNING
  ABOUT THE CONCEPT (SUCH AS HOW IT APPLIES TO THE
  READERS LIFE).

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LOGICAL PLAN

• ONE OF THE MAIN CHALLENGES OF EXPLANATORY WRITING
  IS ORGANIZ-ING THE INFORMATION IN A CLEAR,
  LOGICAL MANNER THAT SUPPORTS THE MAIN POINT.

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LOGICAL PLAN (cont.)

• NEED TO USE READER CUES SUCH AS FORECASTING
  STATEMENTS, TOPIC SENTENCES, TRANSITIONS,
  SUM-MARIES.

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LOGICAL PLAN (cont.)

• WRITER MAY ALSO FRAME ESSAY BY EXPLICITLY
  RELATING THE ENDING TO THE BEGINNING.

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CLEAR DEFINITIONS

• NEED TO CLEARLY EXPLAIN TERMS THAT READERS MIGHT
  NOT KNOW OR MIGHT MISUNDERSTAND.

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DEFINITIONS (cont.)

• (IN A SENSE, AN ESSAY EXPLAINING A CONCEPT CAN BE
  THOUGHT OF AS AN EXTENDED DEFINITION OF THAT
  CONCEPT.)

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APPROPRIATE WRITING STRATEGIES

• CLASSIFICATION
• SORTING INFORMATION INTO CAT-EGORIES AND
  DISCUSSING THEM ONE AT A TIME.

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WRITING STRATEGIES (cont.)

• PROCESS NARRATION
• RECOUNTING SEQUENCES THAT UNFOLD OVER TIME
  AND/OR IN SPACE.

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WRITING STRATEGIES (cont.)

• COMPARISON/CONTRAST
• EXPLAINING THE UNFAMILIAR BY EXAMINING
  SIMILARITIES TO AND/OR DIFFERENCES FROM THE
  FAMILIAR.

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WRITING STRATEGIES (cont.)

• CAUSE-EFFECT
• EXPLAINING HOW OR WHY SOME-THING CAME TO BE THE
  WAY IT IS OR WHAT COULD OR WILL HAPPEN AS A
  RESULT OF SOMETHING ELSE.

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WRITING STRATEGIES (cont.)

• CAUSE-EFFECT
• IN EXPLANATORY WRITING, THE WRITER FOCUSES ON
  ESTABLISHED CAUSES EFFECTS OR THE SPECULA-TIONS
  OF OTHERS.

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CAREFUL USE OF SOURCES

• EXPLANATORY WRITING IS USUALLY BASED ON RESEARCH
  AND INCLUDES REFERENCES TO ONES SOURCES
  (ESPECIALLY EXPERT ONES).

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SOURCES (cont.)

• REFERRING TO EXPERT SOURCES LENDS AUTHORITY TO
  ONES WRIT-ING.

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SOURCES (cont.)

• HOW SOURCES ARE TREATED DEPENDS
• ON THE WRITING SITUATION.

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SOURCES (cont.)

• SOURCES MUST BE CITED IN ACADEMIC SCHOLARLY
  WRITING, WHICH IS JUDGED IN PART BY THE NATURE OF
  ONES SOURCES AND HOW THEY ARE USED.

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SOURCES (cont.)

• COLLEGE WRITERS ARE EXPECTED TO USE A CERTAIN
  STYLE FOR CITING THEIR SOURCES (E.G., MLA IN
  ENGLISH APA IN PSYCHOLOGY).