EXPLANATORY texts: characteristics + examples

When we want to express ourselves in writing we need to use the right text to make it reach our receiver in the best possible way. In Spanish, we can find different types of texts whose mission is to get the type of message we want to the right person. Some of the most used texts are explanatory texts, therefore, in this lesson from a PROFESSOR, in addition to showing you its characteristics, we want to focus on the explanatory texts and their characteristics. Let's see them.

Explanatory texts are those that serve to give an objective vision on a certain topic or issue. That is, they seek to inform and make certain very particular data, facts and concepts known. Their main characteristic is that they are always approached objectively. In other words, the author of the same does not take part in the matter and does not offer his personal vision of what he is narrating.

Because they seek to convey information, this type of text can also be explanatory, since in their eagerness to provide information with clear content

They also make clarifications and data with the objective of detailing the message to be transmitted as much as possible. The explanatory texts focus on a specific topic contained within others that are more general and of interest to the general public.

Now that we know what explanatory texts are, we can focus on what concerns us in this lesson, which are their characteristics.

Explanatory texts must provide an objective view on a certain topic, so it is necessary that they always present a hypothesis or theory about the topic we want to deal with.

They are considered formal texts, since they do not use colloquial language, although we must point out that the use made of it is denotative, that is, it does not look for double meanings and shows the definitions as they are. In this way, it is guaranteed that the reader does not make an erroneous interpretation of the content that is being provided. Therefore, we can say that the language used is precise and clear with great use of connectors, enumerations and comparisons whose objective is to enumerate the text and facilitate reading and understanding.

Is it so written in third person, precisely in order to guarantee their objectivity by the author and the reader of the topics.

The matter to be discussed should be interest to the reader and it must reach him in the most objective way possible, making him understand it, avoiding the appeal to his emotions and his persuasion. That is, we must show you in a clear and objective way the key points of the subject, but without trying to convince you of anything. Through these texts it is not intended that the reader shows us the opinion of it, nor that it takes the author's side.

Linguistic resources of explanatory texts

In order to produce expository texts and reach readers, it is necessary to use different resources linguistics that help us to obtain the information that he needs in a clear and affordable.

• Using comparisons: to better understand the text, similarities are used to help understand the topic at hand.
• Use of definitions: They are essential in expository texts, since these statements are in charge of explaining or representing a concept in an objective way.
• Use of examples: this resource is one of the most used, since thanks to them the text can be understood more easily. They are especially useful when we are faced with highly technical or complex issues for an audience not specialized in the matter.
• Use of graphics and images: thanks to them it is much easier to understand the issue that is being raised. This type of visual resources help the exposed to be better fixed.

Explanatory texts are widely used in pressin order to disseminate information about science or other types of content of general interest. Below we show an example (fragment) from the newspaper El País entitledWeird bugs:

Following in the wake of the biblical Leviathan, there has been no maritime region in which the devil has not appeared represented by a fabulous creature emerging from the depths of the waters.

A few days ago the birth of H. P Lovecraft (August 20, 1890), author who reinvented the horror genre with a series of stories set around the sea monster baptized as Cthulhu; a cosmic entity whose appearance is the closest thing to a giant dragon-octopus crossbreed.

The immensity of the unknown located at the bottom of the waters, has been feeding the myth of Cthulhu through the ages since the sea monster appeared for the first time in the short story The Call of Cthulhu, published in 1928 in Weird Tales, an American pulp magazine devoted to fantasy and terror. From then on, for the followers of the Providence writer, a terrifying secret is hidden deep within the oceans, seas and marshy waters. The power of fiction is what it has, that it turns the entire reality around. […]”

We hope this lesson on Long Texts: Features helped you better understand them. If you want to continue learning with lessons like this, do not hesitate to visit our section on Spanish language.