Explanation Essay

Explanation essay is a kind of essay that gives an explanation of the process, idea or event, gives it a brief survey and clarification. If you are studying at a college or at a university, you are likely to have tasks like this. At the first glance, writing an explanation essay is easy. All you need is to know what you are actually writing about.

Writing an Explanation Essay: Seemingly Difficult Task with Easy Solution

When you start to write, you suddenly understand that it is not as easy as it seemed at first. Explanation essays are a capricious kind of writing. They require understanding of the topic, attention to the details and skills of writing that allow you to vary the volume of your essay – sometimes you will have to cut it shorter or expand.

What do you need to write in an explanation essay?

• Make sure you understand the process or concept you are going to explain. Without understanding, it will be difficult to explain it. Read some article or book concerning your topic (if there are any books or articles available – on the internet or in other sources.
• Plan your explanation essay so that you understand better what you should write about and in what order.
• Your explanation should not be too complicated. Use short sentences; avoid overburdening the text with indigestible long expressions, complex sentences and specific terminology. Try to explain the essence of the process you are describing with simple sentences and in simple terms.
• A good explanation essay should also be clear and informative. Do your best to clarify the process or idea that is the topic of your essay. Do not distract your attention (and the attention of the reader, of course) by the facts, details and stuff that do not help to clarify the essence of whatever you are writing about and do not extend the information about the thing.
• Proof-read your explanation essays when you have finished them to avoid mistakes and misprints. This rule works well with other kinds of essays and with any kind of writing, not only with explanation essays.

Explanation essay – secrets of successful writing

To make sure your explanation essay is good and clearly written it would be probably the best solution to give it to somebody who does not understand anything in the topic. If they manage to understand it after reading your essay, it is good.

If you have nobody to check the correctness of your essays this way, you may do it yourself, pretending to know nothing about the subject. It is not only a way to check yourself, but also a good exercise for a mind that gives you food for thought.

Finally, if you understand that your essay leaves much to be desired, do not worry. They are never superb at first. Practice makes perfect.