You've probably seen it a hundred times.
The bad guy has the hero at gunpoint and can shoot him whenever he wants. Instead, he goes into a long, detailed explanation of his master plan. "It's too late to stop me, you fool! The bomb will go off in twenty seconds, and it can only be disarmed with this remote control!" Why does the villain seem surprised when the hero kicks the remote out of his hands and stops the explosion with seconds to spare? After all, in the time it takes a villain to explain his master plan, any hero of reasonable ability will be able to figure out an escape.
When evil-doers explain their plans, it's not that different from a science book that explains supernovas or a YouTube video that explains how to juggle. They're all using a special form of communication known as explanation. The main purpose of explanatory text, which is sometimes called expository writing, is to explain complicated ideas.
DJ Exposit
Narrator:
While explanatory writing is a type of informational text, it's different from other types of informational text in several key ways. Instead of just providing basic information, an explanatory essay focuses on the more complex and hard-to-understand aspects of a topic. Generally, explanatory text goes deeper into a topic and provides more detailed information about a concept, process, or issue.
For example, imagine you wanted to learn to become a DJ. Informational text might tell you what equipment is needed to be a DJ, or how to choose music that appeals to your audience. Explanatory text, though, would provide much more specific details, such as how to use a mixer or what causes speakers to make the kind of feedback noise that can ruin a show. In explanatory text, you might also find instructions for perfect beat-matching, or more advanced strategies for getting people out of their seats and onto the dance floor.
Explanatory text is often more challenging than other types of informational text. It's all about teaching the reader new information, and it uses special vocabulary, technical terms to describe processes that may involve many steps or seem complicated in other ways. If you understand the characteristics of explanatory text, you can not only read but write like an expert on almost any topic, with a little research or experience.
Question
What is the major difference between informational and explanatory writing?
