Explanation

Explanation

Explanation texts explain how or why things happen eg how acid soil affects farm productivity.

Explanation begins by identifying the phenomenon (thing) that will be explained. (Phenomenon identification.)

Then there is an explanation sequence which explains how things work.

Example of an explanation: shows the structure and language features.

Writing explanations

When writing explanations use:

• general nouns eg nutrients.

• technical terms (often used) eg pH, acid

• present tense eg provide

• words that show cause and effect eg if.

	Use the sample explanation text to answer these questions.
	1	List some general nouns that are used in the text.
	2	There are other technical terms used in the text. List some of these.
	3	List some of the words (or phrases) that have been used to show cause and effect.
	Check your answers