Basic Features of Explanatory Essays

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Basic Features of Explanatory Essays

• This information on Explanatory Essays has been
  adapted from The St. Martin's Guide to Writing
  New York St. Martin's Press, 1994

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Explanatory Essays display certain basic features

• a well-focused subject
• a narrow concept
• an appeal to readers interests
• a logical plan
• clear definitions

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• writing strategies appropriate to the essays
  point and to the kind of information it presents
• careful use of sources

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A well-focused subject

• The primary purpose for explaining a concept is
  to inform readers
• but writers of explanatory essays cannot possibly
  hope to say everything there is to say about a
  concept, nor would they want to
• Instead they must make choices about what to
  include, what to emphasize, and what to omit.

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• Most writers focus on one aspect of the concept.
• Toufexis (you will read her essay shortly) for
  example, focuses on the chemistry of love.

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A main point or thesis

• In explaining a concept, you may make a point
  about the concept.
• You should not, however, argue any position or
  case.

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An appeal to readers interests

• In explaining concepts, good writers usually try
  to appeal directly to their readers interests.

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Appeal to Readers Interests

• They may put this appeal right at the beginning,
  as Toufexis does by being
• blunt "lets cut out all this nonsense about
  romantic love"
• and challenging "let's put love under a
  microscope."

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A logical plan

• Explanations must follow a clear path to keep
  readers on track.
• For organizing explanations and cueing readers,
  experienced writers rely on many strategies.

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A logical plan

• They divide the information in such a way that it
  supports the main point and then alert readers to
  these divisions with
• forecasting statements,
• topic sentences,
• transitions,
• and summaries.

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A logical plan

• In addition, they may try to frame the essay for
  readers by relating the ending to the beginning.

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A logical plan

• For example, Toufexis frames her essay with
  references to Ph.D.s
• she forecasts the three sciences from which she
  has gleaned her information about the
  neurochemistry of love
• and nearly all of her paragraphs begin with a
  transition sentence.

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Good writers never forget that readers need clear
signals.
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Clear signals

• Because the writer already knows the information
  and is aware of how it is organized, it can be
  difficult to see the way someone reading the
  essay for the first time would.
• That is precisely how it must be seen, however,
  to be sure that the essay includes all the
  signals the reader will need.

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Essays explaining concepts depend on clear
definitions
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Clear Signals

• In order to relate information clearly, a writer
  must be sensitive to the readers' knowledge
• any terms that are likely to be unfamiliar or
  misunderstood must be explicitly defined

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Essays explaining concepts depend on careful use
of sources
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Careful use of sources

• Explaining concepts nearly always draws on
  information from many different sources.
• Writers often draw on their own experience and
  observation.
• But they almost always do additional research
  into what others have said about their subject.

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Careful use of sources

• Referring to sources, particularly to expert
  ones, always lends authority to an explanation.
• Students and scholars are expected to cite their
  sources formally because readers judge their
  writing in part by what theyve read and how
  theyve used their reading.

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Careful use of sources

• In English and humanities courses, we use Modern
  Language Association (MLA) style.
• This calls for parenthetical citations within the
  essay that are keyed to a list of works cited at
  the end.

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Careful use of sources

• Make judicious decisions about when to
  paraphrase, summarize, or quote your sources.
• Whether you paraphrase, summarize, or quote your
  sources, you must always give a parenthetical
  citation to your source to avoid plagiarism.