Lesson 11

COMMUNICATION FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES

THE EXPLANATION ESSAY

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. demonstrate an understanding of the conventions of the explanation essay;

2. appreciate the value of clearly explaining a phenomenon; and
3. write an explanation essay of at least 500 words on a topic of your choice.

Test your knowledge of facts by answering the following trivia questions:

1. Why are plants green?

2. Why is traffic heavy in cities?
3. Why can't a man become pregnant?
4. Why do we celebrate the coming of a new year?
5. Why does Swiss cheese have holes?

INPUT

WRITING AN EXPLANATION ESSAY

'Why' questions are very important. If people in ancient times or the recent past did not ask
'why' questions or attempt to answer these questions, we would have very limited knowledge about
many things in our world. If Isaac Newton, for example, did not ask why things fell down after throwing
them up, he would not have discovered the law of universal gravitation.

Addressing 'why' questions means providing explanations for phenomena. An explanation essay
is one such example of a written piece of work that addresses 'why' questions. It explains a particular
topic to its readers. Since it is meant to inform or educate the readers, the essay should present
convincing and adequate support for the explanations.

The following reading selection is an explanation essay which attempts to answer some "why"
questions similar to those in the opening activity above. Note how the topic is presented, explained, and
supported. Note as well how the essay ended.

Before reading the text, look up the meanings of the following words and phrases that are used
in the selection

• Lingua franca
 Linguistic nationalism
 Cultural chauvinism
 Conversant
  Siloed cubicles
 Crème de la crème
 Mano-a-mano
 Bourgeois stories
 Batting an eyelash

A MANSION OF MANY LANGUAGES*

By Danton Remoto (2017)

(1) In 1977, my mentor, the National Artist for Literature and Theater Rolando S. Tinio, said: "It is
too simple-minded to suppose that enthusiasm for Filipino as lingua franca and national language of the
country necessarily involves the elimination of English usage or training for it in schools. Proficiency in
English provides us with all the advantages that champions of English say it does-access to the vast fund
of culture expressed in it, mobility in various spheres of the international scene, especially those
dominated by the English-speaking Americans, and participation in a quality de of modern life of which
some features may be assimilated by us with great advantage."

(2) Professor Tinio continues: "Linguistic nationalism does not imply cultural chauvinism.
Nobody wants to go back to the mountains. The essential Filipino is not the center of an onion one gets
at by peeling off layer after layer of vegetable skin. One's experience with onions is quite telling: Peel off
everything and you end up with a pinch of air."

(3) Written 40 years ago, these words still echo especially now, when by some quirk of history
and economics, enrollment in English courses are rising because (a) there are many vacant positions for
teachers of English and literature in the private and public schools, and (b) there are many vacancies,
still, for jobs in call centers with entry level pay of P18,000 plus signing bonus, and a career that will
make you earn twice your present salary in just a few years. With the opening of the doors of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to everyone in the region, more and more Filipinos are
being hired to teach English in Indonesia, Thailand, and, yes, even our best friend, China.

(4) Why? First, Filipino teachers will accept a pay scale lower than that of their Western
counterparts. Second, they are conversant with American popular culture, a happy (or unhappy) result
of decades of American colonialism and neo-colonialism. Third, they are still Southeast Asians beneath
their skin, and are thus familiar with Asian cultural practices, whether said or unsaid. One is the
importance of saving face, the meaning of "maybe" or "I will try" to an invitation means he or she does
not want to hurt you, be he or she will not show up. Another is the primacy given to family. Already in
his 50s, one is still called Totoy or Baby or Blue Boy, and still lives with one's parents and extended
family. You can see that as well in the other Southeast Asian countries, where families are nuclear and
not split, where food is communal and not eaten in siloed cubicles.

(5) Three long decades of teaching English and Journalism to students (together with four years
of teaching Filipino) have shown me that the best students in English are also the best students in
Filipino. And how did they master the two languages?
 (6) One, they had very good teachers in both languages. Two, they inhabited the worlds of both
languages. Three, they have gone beyond the false either-or mentality that hobbled their parents.

(7) Let me explain.

(8) My best students in English and Filipino were tutored by the crème de la crème, many of
them teaching in private schools. The enrollees in the university where I taught are mostly intelligent
students from the public schools and the provinces. Lack of books and untrained teachers prevent them
from having a level playing field with the other freshmen. A year of catching up is necessary for them to
have the skills to have a mano-a-mano with the other students.

(9) Moreover, I introduce them to the worlds of the language they are studying-be it in the
formal realm of the textbook or the popular ones of film, graphic novel, YouTube or anime. I encourage
them to keep a journal as well, which is not a diary where you write what time you woke up and why. A
journal, or its postmodern cousin, the Web log or blog, aims to capture impressions or moods on the
wing. If at the same time it sharpens the students' knowledge of English, then that is already hallelujah
for the English teacher.

(10) And the third is that today's generation of students is no longer burdened by the guilt of
learning English and mastering it. I still remember those writing workshops I took in the 1980s, when I
was asked why I wrote bourgeois stories in the colonizer's language. The panelists said I should write
about workers and peasants-and that I should write in Filipino. Without batting an eyelash, I answered
that I don't know anything about workers and peasants, and to write about something I don't know
would be to misrepresent them. To the charge that I write only in English, I showed them my poems in
Filipino, because the modern Filipino writer is not only a writer in either English or Filipino, but a writer
in both languages, or in Bisaya or Bikolano or Ilocano or Waray, languages that are like colorful balls he
or she juggles with the dexterity of a seasoned circus performer.

(11) So it's not a choice between English and Filipino, but rather, English and Filipino, plus the
language of one's grandmother, be it Bikolano, Waray, or Tausug. And in college, another language of
one's choice, be it Bahasa Indonesia, German, or French-the better to view the world from many
windows, since to learn a new language is to see the world from another angle of vision. In short, one no
longer has to live between two languages, but to live in a mansion of many languages.

(12) To end in a full circle, we must return to Rolando S. Tinio, who said: "Only the mastery of a
first language enables one to master a second and a third. For one can think and feel only in one's first
language, then encode those thoughts and feelings into a second and a third."

(13) In short, as a friend and fellow professor has put it, "The Philippines is a multi-lingual
paradise." The earlier we know we live in a paradise of many languages, the better we can savor its fruits
ripened by the sun.
 ? COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (Answer for personal understanding but not to be passed)

The reading selection above is an example of an explanation essay. Sharpen your understanding
of the text by answering the following questions.

1. How does the author introduce the topic of his essay?

2. In paragraph 4, the author asks the question "Why?" This signals that he is explaining
something. What exactly is the phenomenon he is explaining?
3. What are the explanations he provides for the phenomenon. you identified in no. 2 above?
Give three answers.
4. In paragraph 7, the author writes, "Let me explain." What exactly is the phenomenon he is
explaining?
5. What are the explanations he provides for the phenomenon you identified in no. 4 above?
Give three answers.
6. How does the author end his essay?

TASK 1. (Not to be passed)

Understanding the Essay

Name: Section:
Score: Date:

Based on your reading of the essay by Remoto, answer the following questions:

1. The author asserts that the Philippines is a "multi-lingual paradise." He believes that having many
languages are an advantage for the Philippines and to Filipinos. Do you agree with the author?
Discuss your agreement or disagreement with a partner.

2. Was the author able to fully explain the phenomenon he chose to explain? Discuss your answer with a
partner. Make sure to provide support for your answer with specific strategies used by the author in
making his explanation.
TASK 2 (Not to be Passed)
Writing an Explanation Essay

Name: Section: Date:

I. Pre-writing (Served as a guide in writing task)

Before you write your explanation essay, fill in the table below.

What is the phenomenon you are explaining?

What explanations are you providing for the

phenomenon above?
Give at least three.

How do you plan to introduce your topic?

How do you w plan to end the explanation essay?

Did you do research for your explanation essay?

If you did research, what specific ideas in your

essay are generated through research?

If you did research, what are your sources?

List all your sources. Use the citation format recommended by the American Psychological Association
(APA). You may find this format in http:// www.apa.org/ pubs/software/index.aspx
Writing (To be complied and passed)

Write an explanation essay on any topic of your choice. You may need to do some research
about the topic in order to better explain it. The essay must be at least 500 words long and is organized
as follows:

Introduction - one or two paragraphs

Body - at least three paragraphs
Conclusion - one or two paragraphs

Your essay will be marked using the following rubric:

CONTENT
Have you substantially explained the phenomenon you chose to explain? Did you 10 Points
provide convincing and adequate support for your explanations?
ORGANIZATION
Have you arranged the main points of your essay clearly and logically? Are there order 7 points
and logic in the ideas you presented in each paragraph and in the entire essay?
LANGUAGE AND MECHANICS
Did you observe proper use of language forms (grammar) and mechanics (punctuation, 3 points
capitalization, etc.)?
TOTAL 20 points

DEEPENING
ACTIVITY

Make a new list of trivia questions. Provide an answer for each of the questions in your list.
Present your questions and answers to the class.

PEER ASSESSMENT (Comply this too!)

Get a partner to evaluate the explanation essay you have written. Let him/her read and analyze
your essay, then make him/ her fill in the following checklist. He/She may also provide some comments
in the last column of the checklist. Subject your partner's essay to the same process. Revise your
respective essay accordingly.

Explanation essay checklist Yes No Not Comments

Sure
1. Does the author explain a phenomenon?
2. Does the author provide convincing support for his/her
explanation?
3. Is there an identifiable introductory paragraph (or
paragraphs) in the essay?
4. Are there identifiable 'body paragraphs' in the essay?
 5. Is there an identifiable concluding paragraph (or
paragraphs) in the essay?

SYNTHESIS

1. An explanation essay is a written piece of work that addresses 'why' questions. It aims to inform or
educate readers.

2. Writing an explanation essay requires pre-writing activities that will help you sharpen the focus of
your writing.