KS1 / KS2 English: How to write an explanation

CHRIS PACKHAM:

Hello my name is Chris Packham, and over the years I’ve been fortunate enough to take part in many wildlife programmes, everything from the Really Wild Show, to Springwatch. And this means that I get to meet lots of fabulous animals, like Topaz the otter here, who is absolutely beautiful, and also as you can see very hungry. Greedy otter aren’t you!

Now when I’m not in front of the camera presenting, I like to be behind the camera, taking photographs of wildlife; birds, mammals, insects, anything that’s exciting.

And to do that I use one of these, a modern digital camera, but to be honest with you, they are a bit tricky to use, so it’s best to read the ‘How To Guide’ before you get started.

Now a ‘How To Guide’ is an example of explanation writing, because it explains how or why something works, normally in technical language, sometimes in a series of logical steps or a sequence, often using diagrams or photographs to illustrate this. And it teaches you how to do something, like use a digital camera.

Today I’ve come to a wildlife park to photograph their animals, so I’m going to try to show you how to get a good picture of wildlife, and together we are going to write a ‘How To Guide’.

So the first thing we need to do is come up with a title, something that will capture the imagination of the reader, and it’s often good to involve a question. I’m going to call mine ‘How Do I Photograph Amazing Animals?’.

Now the next thing you need to do is write an introduction, just a paragraph to explain what the guide is going to do.

Next, in order to explain this to the reader, we need to write a set of instructions. We are going to write these in a logical sequence, so that step by step we can explain how to use a camera. Now I’m going to use numbers to make the order clear, so…

“‘Number 1: First find yourself a good location, somewhere dry with nice light and plenty of wildlife. Then set up.

Number 2: Wait patiently for that wildlife to come out, and then be ready to spot it.

Number 3: Finally when you find something that you want to photograph, zoom in so that you can get that nice close up.’”

Now you will have noticed that all of my sentences have been short and simple, and they’ve been written in the present tense. They are about what’s going on now, instead of the past and the future. I’ve also been using ‘action verbs’ like ‘find’ and ‘wait’, to explain that the reader needs to do something.

Then I’ve been using ‘time linking conjunctions’, such as ‘first’, ‘next’, ‘then’ and ‘finally’, as well as ‘causal linking words’ like ‘so what’ and ‘because’, to explain why the reader needs to do something.

In a ‘How To Guide’ it often helps to have diagrams or illustrations, to show the reader what to do or what to look for. So I’ve included these illustrations of a wolf, to show how to frame the animal up before you take the photograph.

Now I need to ensure that all of the readers of my guide can understand any of the technical words that I’ve used, things like ‘frame the shot’, ‘close up’, or ‘focus’. So to do this I’m going to explain them in simple terms in a ‘glossary’ at the back. And a glossary is no more than a list of words, in alphabetical order, with simple explanations alongside them.

Lastly, I need to write a short conclusion, just a paragraph explaining the guide in summary, perhaps with a little more information for the readers. The words I might use are things like ‘To conclude’ or ‘In summary’, and I might put a link to a website in, with more information about wildlife photography.

Well now that I’ve explained how to take a really good wildlife photograph, I’ve switched my lens and it’s time to get cracking, with some really super animals.