Chapter 11 - Expository and Explanatory Essays
Teaching learners to explain clearly in a language they are still acquiring
The gap this chapter addresses
These students consume explanatory content constantly - tutorials, Wikipedia, how-to videos. They recognise the genre fluently as readers; producing it is the new skill.
Lean on existing genre awareness explicitly - ask what makes a tutorial video work, then map it onto paragraph structure.
Additional activities for Chapter 11
Activity A15-20 min
Tutorial Teardown. Students watch a 2-minute how-to video and list, in order, the explanatory moves it makes (problem stated, steps numbered, common mistake warned against), then map the same moves onto a written process paragraph.
Activity B15-20 min
Fact vs. Opinion Sort. Given ten mixed sentences from a draft, students sort each as fact or opinion, then revise any opinion sentences that were mistakenly presented as fact.
Further resources
GenAlphaWrite Companion Website
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writealpha.com
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© Dr. Saad Torki
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Last update: 10 July 2026