EXPLANATION TEXT

I''m concerned with the outbreak of the Corona Virus disease (Covid 19)
May this material help teachers and students to do home schooling

#FIGHT FOR CORONA#

THESE MATERIALS ARE DESIGNED FOR SMAN 1 SAMBIT PONOROGO STUDENTS. HOWEVER IF ANYONE WANTS TO USE IT PLEASE DO FEEL FREE. 

Explanation Text

a. Definition and Social Function

Explanation text is the text that explain how and why things happen. This text  is used to explain to the readers or listeners or why things happen. It also explains the process involved  in  the  formation  or  working  of  natural  or socio

cultural phenomena.

b. Generic Structure

An explanation text consists of :

1. General statement          : to position the reader or listeners.
2. Sequenced explanation  : Statement that shows how or why something occurs.
3. Closing

c. Language Features:

-          Focus on generic, non-human participants.

-          Use mainly of general and abstract nouns, action verbs, simple present tense, passive voice, conjunction of time and cause, noun phrases, complex sentences, and technical language

Example 1

How the Body React to Heat

General Statement:

When the human body is exposed to very hot conditions one result can be heatstroke. This is often the case for athletes and people who have to work outside in summer.

Sequence of explanation :

Heatstroke is a sudden, uncontrolled rise in body temperature. It is reactions that result from not being able to replace fluid lost-through perspiration. If the lost fluids are not replaced then dehydration occurs and this lads to a decrease in blood.

          In this situation the body must decide whether to give the blood to the main organs [livers, kidneys, and so on] or to skin. Because the main organs are more important, they will receive the blood. Also, as a consequence of the drop in fluids, the body loses its ability to sweat. The situation becomes critical. The body now can’t produce sweat; therefore, it can’t cool itself. Excess heat can’t be released through the skin as a result of the loss of blood supply to that part of the body to overheat.

          Heatstroke can cause permanent injury if not treated properly. It is one of how the body can react to heat.

To do the exercise click the following link:

https://forms.gle/mvn31DGXthmAAhmz8

Example 2

Dear Sir,

We have writing this letter to you because we are concerned about education quality of this high school.

To improve the students’ quality in language learning, we need language laboratory.
As we know, two of the subjects given on the national final examination are Bahasa Indonesia and English. Especially on English, there is listening comprehension section on the test. Students should be prepared to do listening test and one of the instruments needed is language laboratory.

Actually we have tape recorder to teach listening, but it is a matter of problem since the teacher must bring tape recorder, wire, cassette and other material from class to class. It wastes of energy and time. Teachers are busy on preparing instruments. If we have language laboratory, teacher can prepare the material of lesson without disturbing preparing the instruments.

Furthermore, language laboratory is not only used by English lesson, but also can be used by any language lessons. There are four language lessons, they are Bahasa Indonesia, English, Arabic and Bahasa Jawa. Those teachers can use language laboratory when teaching and it is very useful for students.

Exercise 

Bread

General Statement:

Almost everyone eats bread daily, especially for breakfast. Bread making is not a complicated task. You must have an oven, water, sugar, salt, flour and yeast. The basic ingredient is flour comes from wheat. There are two kinds of flour which is soft, and the hard one.
Hard flour, made by Winter wheat, is better choice for making bread. Bread using hard flour produces better texture and taste. Luke warm water is added to the flour to make dough.

Sequence of explanation :

Yeast is a microscopic organism, the size may not be impressive but it is capable of producing carbon dioxide. It is also easy to use. Powered yeast needs only be dissolved in water to be used instantly. Yeast works best in the presence of sugar and warmth.

Besides, encouraging yeast to grow quickly in the dough, sugar is added to give flour to the bread. Salt is added for the same purpose, to make the bread taste nice. However, it has the reverse effect on yeast, unlike sugar. The next ingredient is oil, olive oil, com oil, peanut oil and butter. It is essential for making the bread tender. After mixing with all these ingredients, the flour are hard beaten before sent to the oven.

1.        Answer the Qustions below

1.    What is explanation text?

2.    What is the social function of explanation text?

3.    How do we make explanation text?

4.    What are the generic structure of explanation text?

5.    Compare the explanation text in Indonesia and English. What are the similarities and the differences? 

THE EFFECTS OF ACID SOIL

Soils with a pH of less than 7.0 are acid. The lower the pH, the more acid the soil. When soil pH falls below 5.5, plant growth is affected. Crop yields decrease, reducing productivity

Soils provide water and nutrients for plant growth and development. Essential plant nutrients include phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium and sulfur. Plants require other elements such as molybdenum, in smaller quantities. Some elements e.g. aluminum and manganese, are toxic to plants.

Nutrients become available to plants when they are dissolved in water. Plants are able to take up phosphate, nitrate, potassium and sulfate ions in solution.

The solubility of nutrients changes with pH. In acid soils (low pH), molybdenum becomes less soluble and aluminum becomes more soluble. Therefore, plant growth may be affected by either a deficiency of molybdenum or too much aluminum.

Both crop and pasture plants are affected by acid soils. There may be a range of symptoms. Crops and pastures may be poorly established resulting in patchy and uneven growth. Plant leaves may go yellow and die at the tips. The root system of the plant may be stunted. Crops may yield less.

Plants vary in their sensitivity to low pH. Canola and Lucerne are very sensitive to acid soils so do not grow well. Lupines and triticale are tolerant to soils of low pH so they still perform well.

Land can become unproductive if acid soil is left untreated. Incorporating lime into the soil raises the pH. Therefore, liming soil can reverse the effects of acid soil on plants and return a paddock to productivity.

a. Answer the following questions based on the text above!

1. What soil provide  for plant growth and development?
2. What are the essential plant nutrients?
3. What is the nutrient for?
4. What are the toxic of the plants?
5. How do plants take up phosphate, nitrate, potassium and sulfate ions ?
6. ‘Crops and pastures may be poorly established resulting in patchy and uneven growth.’ (paragraph 5 line 3). What does the word ‘patchy’ mean?
7. What plants are very sensitive to acid soils?
8. What plants are tolerant to soil of low pH?
9. When do nutrients become available to plants?
10. “Plants vary in their sensitivity to low pH” (paragraph 6 line 1). What is the synonym of the word ‘vary’?

TYPES OF VOLCANIC ERUPTION

Volcanic eruptions have caused of the worst disasters in the world. They can wipe out entire cities and kill thousands of people.The name of volcano comes from Roman term. It derives from VULCAN which is the name Roman fire god. Romans believed that Vulcan lived on a volcanic  Italian coast. Romans called the island VULCANO.

According to scientists, volcanic eruptions are divided into four basic groups. They are commonly known as Hawaiian, Strombolian, Vulcanian and Peleean. The term of Hawaiian eruptions are named after the vulcanoes in Hawaii. These volcanic eruptions are the least violent type. They produce highly fluid lava which flows quietly. This gradually builds up a shield volcano.

Strombolian eruptions are named after Stromboli. These result from the constant release of gas from the magma. As the gas escapes, it produces tephra that piles up, turning into a cinder cone.

Strombolian eruptions happen when sticky magma plugs the central vent. This makes the magmatic gas build up pressure until it blasts. The magma is turned into volcanic dust and bombs.

Vulcanian eruption which comes from the ancient Roman belief, are more violent than the strombolian eruption. Vulcanian eruption happens and brings magma which is more viscous. Vulcanian explosions are usually larger and noisier than the stromboliant eruptions.

            Paleean eruptions are famous as the most violent kind of volcanic eruptions. The name of paleean comes from the eruption of Mount pelee, Martinique in 1992. It killed almost 38 thousand people. A pallean eruption occurs when the magmatic gas build up tremendous pressure. This causes violent explosions with glowing clouds of hot ash and dust.  

b. Answer the following questions based on the text above!

1.      What is the text about?

2.      Where does the word ‘volcano’ come from?

3.      What does the word  ‘volcano’ mean?

4.      How many types of volcano based on the text above? Mention and explain!

5.      Which type of volcano is the most violent? Why?

6.      Which volcano is the least violent? Why?

7.      Do you think volcano is as a result of human errors or disaster?

8.      Suppose there is volcano at your region. What will you bring first to save?

9.      Where will you go if there is volcano?

10.      There is always ‘blessing in disguise’. What do you think of this expression? 

THE PROCESS OF RAIN

Water in the earth is kept in many places like the ocean, the river and the lake. But don't be wrong, the plants leaves and the land also kept water.

Each day, this water will evaporate with help of the sun. The process where water evaporates from plants is called transpiration. Afterwards the vapor will experience the process of condensation where the vapor will condense and turn into a cloud. The form of the cloud always changes according to weather conditions.

The clouds will move to different locations with the help of wind that bellows vertically or horizontally. The movement of the vertical wind results in the cloud forming big 'lumps'. After that, the wind increases the size of the cloud and each cloud will overlap. Finally the cloud will reach the atmosphere that has a lower temperature. Here the particles of water and ice are formed.

            Eventually, the wind cannot support the weight of the cloud and so the cloud that is full with water will experience a process called precipitation or the process where rain or hail falls to earth.

c. Answer the following questions based on the text above!

1. What is the text about?
2. Where is the water kept?
3. What is transpiration?
4. What make the clouds move to different location?
5. What is the effect of vertical wind movement?
6. Where is the particles of water and ice are formed?
7. What is precipitation?
8. ‘Finally the cloud will reach the atmosphere that has a lower temperature. Here the particles of water and ice are formed.’ (paragraph 3 line 5). What does the word ‘reach’ mean?
9. What do you think of the advantage and disadvantage of the rain?
10. Who get more benefit from the rain? Why?

HOW THE BODY REACT TO HEAT

When the human body is exposed to very hot conditions, one result can be heatstroke. This is often the case for athletes and people who have to work outside in summer.

Heatstroke is a sudden, uncontrolled rise in body temperature. It is reactions that result from not being able to replace fluid lost-through respiration. If the lost fluids are not replaced then dehydration occurs and this leads to a decrease in blood.

In this situation, the body must decide whether to give the blood to the main organs [livers, kidneys, and so on] or to skin. Because the main organs are more important, they will receive the blood. Also, as a consequence of the drop in fluids, the body loses its ability to sweat. The situation becomes critical. The body now cannot produce sweat; therefore, it cannot cool itself. Excess heat cannot be released through the skin as a result of the loss of blood supply to that part of the body to overheat.

            Heatstroke can cause permanent injury if not treated properly. It is one of how the body can react to heat. 

Answer the following questions based on the text above!

1.                                     The text mainly talks about….

2.        What is the effect if the human body is exposed to very hot conditions?

3.        What is heatstroke?

4.        ‘This is often the case for athletes and people who have to work outside in summer.’ What does the word ‘this’ refer to?

5.        When does dehydration happen?

6.        ‘It is reactions that result from not being able to replace fluid lost-through respiration.’ (Paragraph 2 line 2). What is the synonym of the word ‘replace’?

7.        When does heatstroke cause permanent injury?

8.        What are the main organs in our body?

9.        When did the body cannot produce sweat?

10.    What will you do first if you know there is someone who suffers from dehydration?

WHAT CAUSES WEATHER

  Weather is the physical condition of the atmosphere at a particular time. It includes temperature,  air pressure and water content, known as wind. Winds are formed when  the cooler air moves in to replace the rising warm air. Warm air is usually less dense than cold air; therefore, it creates low air pressure. 

Cool air is more dense and creates high air pressure. Usually we have fine weather when the air pressure is high and there are clouds, rain and snow when the air pressure drops.

f. Answer the following questions based on the text above!

1. What does the text explain?
2. "Warm air is usually less dense than cool air…." (Paragraph 1) The underlined word has the opposite meaning to ...
3. The second paragraph mainly tells that ...
4. What does the weather include?
5. When are the winds formed?
6. When is low air pressure created?
7. ‘Warm air is usually less dense than cold air; therefore, it creates low air pressure.’ What does the word ‘it’ refer to?
8. Which air creates high air pressure?
9. Why does cool air creates high air pressure?
10. When do we usually have fine weather?

HOW A SPIDER’S WEB FORMS

A Spider web looks delicate but it is very strong. It can hold 4000 times a spider’s weight. But how does it form.

First the spider spins a thread of silk. The thread gets blown over to a branch by the wind. Then she makes another two threads and makes a Y shape. Next, she makes more threads and they look like spokes off a wheel. Then the spider goes in a spiral, out and back in, sits in the middle and waits for food. This is how a web is formed.

g. Answer the questions below based on the text!

1. What is the text about?
2. What does a spider web look like?
3. ‘A Spider web looks delicate but it is very strong’. (paragraph 1) What does the word ‘it’ refer to?
4. ‘A Spider web looks delicate but it is very strong’. (paragraph 1) What does the antonym of ‘strong’?
5. What is the first step to make spider web?
6. What is the form of another two threads?
7. What does the more threads look like?
8. Where does the spider wait for the food?
9. Where does the spider go?
10. What can you learn from spider?

POVERTY

What people call poverty is a bad thing. If you are poor you are worthless in the eyes of other people. At meeting they don’t pay any attention to what you say. Also women do not love a man who is poor. Women want to have money, clothes, and lots of other things. Also if you are poor you will not be able to send your children to school. But if you have money then  you are able to send them. If you have a child who goes to school he will need fees for school, clothes, and money to buy food. If you don’t have money you can’t pay for these things.

(From Larson 1984:372)

h. Answer the questions below based on the text!

1.      What is the text about?

2.      ‘What people call poverty is a bad thing’. What is the opposite of ‘poverty’?

3.      Why is poverty a bad thing?

4.      ‘At meeting they don’t pay any attention to what you say.’ What does the word ‘they’ refer to?

5.      Why do at meeting other people don’t pay any attention to what you say?

6.      Why do women dislike poor man?

7.      If you have a child who goes to school, what does he need?

8.      What do we need to pay all our necessities?

9.      What will you do to reduce poverty in Indonesia?

10.What will you do to avoid poverty in your life?

HOW DOES RAIN HAPPEN

Rain is the primary source of fresh water for most areas of the world, providing suitable conditions for diverse ecosystems, as well as water for hydroelectric power plants and crop irrigation.

The phenomenon of rain is actually a water circle. The concept of the water cycle involves the sun heating the Earth’s surface water and causing the surface water to evaporate. The water vapor rises into the Earth’s atmosphere. The water in the atmosphere cools and condenses into liquid droplets. The droplets grow until they are heavy and fall to the earth as precipitation which can be in the form of rain or snow.

However, not all rain reaches the surface. Some evaporates while falling through dry air. This is called virga, a phenomenon which is often seen in hot, dry desert regions.

i. Answer the questions below based on the text!

1. What is the text about?
2. What is the main idea of paragraph 1?
3. Rain is the primary source of….
4. Hydroelectric power plants and crop irrigation need….
5. ‘Rain is the primary source of fresh water for most areas of the world, providing suitable conditions’ (paragraph 1)? What does the synonym of ‘suitable’?
6. Why does the surface water evaporate?
7. What is the form of the droplets which grow and fall to the earth as precipitation?
8. What is virga?
9. Where does virga happen?
10. What is the advantage and disadvantage of the rain?