Grammaropolis
The Writing Company · with the Mayor

Write to Explain

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Write to Explain

When you explain, you are the guide. Show the way, one stop at a time.

An explanation is a little trip you take your reader on. Here is what it needs.

  1. Where we are going
    Tell your reader what you will show them. One sentence.
  2. Two stops, in order
    Your two steps. First one, then the other. Order matters.
  3. What to notice
    Add one helper tip. What could go wrong? Say it.
  4. Leave them knowing the way
    End so your reader can do it too.

Spend your tools

Your craft moves still help. Here they are, pointed at explaining.

Nelson portrait

Nelson · Specific nouns

A noun names a person, a place, a thing, or an idea. "Food" is fuzzy. "Cereal" is the real thing. Name the real thing.

I made some food. I made a bowl of cereal.

Vinny portrait

Vinny · Strong verbs

Some verbs sit still. Action verbs move! "Went" sits. "Raced" zooms. Pick the verb that moves.

I went to the kitchen. I raced to the kitchen.

Connie portrait

Connie · Long and short sentences

A short sentence is quick. A long sentence takes its time. Try one of each, and let them take turns.

I got up and I got the bowl and I got the milk and I ate. I got up. Then I got the bowl, the milk, and my spoon.

The Mayor portrait

The Mayor · Beginning, middle, and end

Every story has three parts. The beginning opens the door. The middle is where something happens. The end tells how it felt.

Things happened, all mixed up. I wanted breakfast. The milk splashed. I felt proud.

The Explain Plan

Same three moves as always. When you explain, the plan is the Tour.

The Mayor's Power Plan

  • Pick it. Choose one thing you know how to do.
  • Plan it. Map your stops before you go.
  • Pour it on. Write, and add the helper tips.

The Tour

Plan the way, and your reader can follow you.

  1. Name where we are going: what will you show me?
  2. The stops, in order: your two steps.
  3. What to notice: one helper tip for each stop.
  4. Leave them knowing the way: an end that hands them the skill.
Watch the Mayor plan it

Watch me plan a tour for something you might know: how to make a bowl of cereal, for a reader who never has.

Pick it. How to make a bowl of cereal. I can do it, and I can show somebody else. That is the whole trick of explaining.

Plan it.

  • Where we are going You can make your own bowl of cereal in two steps.
  • The stops, in order 1. Pour the cereal into the bowl. 2. Pour the milk in slowly.
  • What to notice Cereal first, then milk. Pour the milk slowly, or it splashes.
  • Leave them knowing the way Two steps, and breakfast is yours. Now you can make it tomorrow.

Pour it on. When I write it, I keep my stops in order. First the cereal, then the milk. On a tour, the reader follows me step by step.

Start the quiz →