An introduction to informative and explanatory text features for KS3 & GCSE students

1. Inform & Explain

3. To Inform
•To present new information to your audience

4. To Explain
•To reveal ‘how’ or ‘why’ processes or events
occur

5. Information texts
•Timetables
•Menus
•Factsheets
•Newspapers
•Magazines
•Public announcements
•Websites

6. Explanation texts
•Guidebooks
•Textbooks
•Documentaries
•Magazines
•Newspapers
•Websites

7. 2 in 1
In practical terms, most exam texts and
writing tasks will require you to inform and
explain at the same time – the two purposes
are compatible and often inseparable

8. Structure
•Logical order (sequenced by time or causally)
•Brief focused paragraphs
•Topic sentences
•Movement from general to specific content
•Clear links between paragraphs
•Headings & subheadings
•Imagery and graphics

9. Writing features
•Present tense
•Emphasis on connectives (time, causality)
•Formal impersonal or informal personal
•3rd person
•Facts dominate over opinion
•Clear, concise expression
•Any new terms are explained or defined

10. Example Question
•Write an information booklet on an area you
know well. You could include information on
places to visit and things to do there.

11. Example Question
•Write a letter applying for a part-time job
that you would like. Explain why you would
like the job and why you think you are the
right candidate to fulfil the post.

12. Example Question
•Write a letter to the governors of your school,
informing them of the changes you would like
made to your school and explaining your
reasons for wanting those changes to take
place.

13. Example Question
•Explain your dreams and ambitions for the
future and consider how you might go about
achieving them.

14. Example Question
•Many young people have concerns about the
world they live in. Write informatively about
one or more of your concerns and explain the
reasons for them.

15. Example Question
•Write a letter to a friend who moved away
from your area three months ago. Inform him
or her about the things that have been
happening to you in the three months since
they moved away.

16. Example Question
•Explain what you think is needed to build a
good relationship between parents and their
teenage children and explain why you think
this.

17. Example Question
•Students often say that they get bored during
the long summer holiday. Write an article
informing students of some of the things they
could do in order to prevent boredom

18. Example Question
•Explain what qualities a best friend should
have and explain, giving examples, why you
think this.