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Explanatory Writing

Explanatory Writing. Outline - When writing an explanatory writing assignment, you are expected to write about a page and a half to two pages in 30 minutes. PARAGRAPH ONE: Introduction ATTENTION GRABBER: Begin with a BRIEF anecdote (story) that you will expand in paragraph 3.

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Explanatory Writing

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  1. Explanatory Writing Outline -When writing an explanatory writing assignment, you are expected to write about a page and a half to two pages in 30 minutes.

  2. PARAGRAPH ONE: Introduction • ATTENTION GRABBER: Begin with a BRIEF anecdote (story) that you will expand in paragraph 3. • NECESSARY INFORMATION: -State the quote and the speaker in a complete sentence. For Example: Thomas Edison said, “Genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration.” -Explain the quote in your own (different) words • THESIS: explain how the quote relates to the world and to you. This is your last sentence in paragraph one. Ex. This quote by Martin Luther King Jr. reminds me of the Holocaust and the time I was in the school play.

  3. PARAGRAPH TWO: World • Topic Sentence: Relate the quote to the WORLD (a movie, book, song, poem, sport’s figure, event in history etc.) • EXPLAIN the event and how it relates to the quote. EVIDENCE and COMMENTARY. • Closing Sentence (sum up your paragraph).

  4. PARAGRAPH THREE: Self • Topic Sentence: Relate the quote to YOURSELF/someone close to you (make up a story if need be). ***This should be the same story you used in Paragraph One (Full-circle Ending)*** • EXPLAIN how your experience relates to the quote. EVIDENCE AND COMMENTARY.

  5. Paragraph 4 : Conclusion • Reflect on lesson learned from the quote. • RESTATE THESIS (summarize main points)

  6. HERE’S ONE GOOD WAY TO PLAN: • Draw four columns. • Brainstorm for each paragraph.

  7. REMINDERS about what you need to think about and include when writing an explanatory essay: • Eye-catching opening. Ideas: dialogue, action happening, an onomatopoeia like “bang!”, or an anecdote (story) Example: Running through the hall, with my palms sweating, I knew I was going to be late to class. • Describe the setting. An easy way to get yourself started is to describe the setting of your anecdote (where it takes place). Think of your five senses to help you – things you see, hear, smell, tough and taste in that setting. Example: As usual, the hall smelled of sweat because the 8th graders had just completed gym class. I saw Billy up ahead of me, running too, and I could hear the bell ring even as I ran. I was going to be late again. • Thesis. Tell all your sub-topics in the last sentence in your introduction. Example: This quote by Mother Goose relates to the movie Avatar, and to one time when I was late to class.

  8. Sensory Detail. Think of your five senses: sight, sound, touch, smell, taste. Use these to your advantage while writing – list the sounds, sights, smells in the air etc. This makes it easier for your reader to picture your situation. • Enriched vocabulary. Try to impress me with words that I would never expect to hear in your writing. Do NOT use tired words like nice, happy, sad etc. • Descriptive Language. Use many adjectives, and describe EVERYTHING in specific details. Paint “word pictures” for your readers. • Figurative Language. Use metaphors, similes, personification and idioms. • Compositional Risk. Beginning with an anecdote, using flashback, figurative language used throughout. • Grammar and Mechanics.

  9. Well-developed.Explain EVERYTHING. How does what you are talking about relate to the quote? • Show, not tell. Do NOT say things like, “I am going to tell you…” or “These are the reasons why…” • Example: This quote reminds me of a time when I was continually late to class. • Use Transitions. • Examples: first of all, one way, throughout, finally, more importantly etc. • Sentence Variation. Begin some sentences with prepositional phrases and transitional phrases)

  10. Ask yourself: What did I do on purpose to make my essay excellent?

  11. Practice Doing Things On Purpose • Similes and Metaphors – compare two unlike things for effect. Simile e.g. “He looked like a bear.” Metaphor e.g. “He was a bear surrounded by little people.”

  12. Rewrite these sentences using figurative language • The football fans cheered loudly. • The tree in autumn lost all its leaves. • The full moon shone brightly. • The dance moved gracefully.

  13. Practice Using Sensory Details (looks, feels, sounds, smells, tastes) • A sweet scent of lilacs perfumed the air. • Lushgreen leaves surrounded the lavendar blossoms. • The bees hummed and buzzed like a noisy power saw. ***Use sensory words to make your writing more specific and concrete***

  14. Practice- Write at least two words that describe each subject below • A tree in winter • Stew simmering on the stove • A crowd at a football game • A book on a library shelf • Starting a car engine on a cold day

  15. Personfication – adding human character traits to something non-human Change the underlined word to words that would describe a human’s action. • My bedroom door opened. • My old shoes squeaked when I walked. • The book fell off the table. • All the cars’ headlights went on.

  16. Sample Explanatory Essay As  I sat there waiting for my friend, Anna, to call me, I realized that I needed to stop depending on her for a ride to work anymore. This was the third time she had been over a half hour late in the past month! The quote, “A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds,” by Mother Goose came to mind while I was waiting. This quote helped me to understand that although people may have good intentions when they say something, it doesn’t mean that they are going to follow through and be able to keep their word. It reminded me to make sure that I am a person of my word, that when I say that I will do something or be somewhere, I have to be there, or else my word will become cheap and others will have no reason to believe me, even when it really matters . This quote relates to a well-known story of the boy who called “Wolf” too many times, and also to a friendship in my life.

  17. Being  a person of your word is important, as can be seen in the story “The Boy Who Called Wolf”. In the story, there was a young boy who was responsible for keeping the sheep outside of the village safe. He was a shepherd. It was his job to call out loud for help if a wolf or other predator came nearby to harm the sheep. This boy wondered whether the men from the village would actually come if there was a problem, so one day he called, “Wolf!” and the men all dropped their work and ran to him to help. When they saw they had been tricked, they angrily went back into town. Another time, the boy just thought it would be funny to see all the grown-ups run, so he called, “wolf!” again. He kept this up, and soon people stopped coming when he yelled. However, one day, a wolf really did come up to the sheep, but when the boy called, “Wolf!” no one really believed him, and so no one came to help him. He had been a boy of “many words, and not of deeds” and was “like a garden full of weeds”, totally useless and annoying to everyone. His words did not match his actions, and he proved that if you are not a person of your word, people will stop trusting you.

  18. In  order to avoid becoming a burden and annoyance to my friends, I took note of my friend Anna. As I mentioned before, my friend Anna often gave me a ride to work. However, although I really enjoyed our time together, I was beginning to become annoyed with her. Since she had been late so many times, even though I couldn’t help it, I got in trouble at work for being late. I knew it was really her fault. My friend frequently told me one thing, and used her words, but her actions did not match her words. Anna’s words were not helpful; it turned out that they were untrue and did not serve the purpose that they should have. This reminds me of a garden full of weeds, because a garden should serve a practical or beautiful purpose, and it can’t do that if it is full of weeds.  

  19. These situations helped me to realize that I need to keep my word and avoid becoming like “a garden full of weeds”; something that could be beautiful, but is really unpleasant to experience. The quote , “A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds,” by Mother Goose related to the story of the little boy who cried “wolf!” and to my friendship with Anna. If you want to be trusted, make sure you keep your word!

  20. Explanatory Writing Checklist – answer each question. • Do you have an eye-catching opening (begin with an action or story)? • Did you explain what the quote means in the first paragraph? • Do you have a thesis statement at the end of the first paragraph (tells how the quote relates to the world and to yourself)? • Do you have a clear topic sentence introducing the topic of the second paragraph (how it relates to the world?) • Do you explain how the quote links to the world? • Do you have a clear topic sentence introducing how the quote relates to you personally? • Did you elaborate on your anecdote from paragraph one, and explain how the quote relates to your life? • Did you restate the thesis at the end of the essay? • What did you do on purpose to make your essay good (simile, metaphor, magic three, sensory details etc.)? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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